According to the Institute of Medicine's Guidelines, only 20-30 percent of our daily calories should come from fat. Preparing meals at home helps to keep a close watch over the calories and eliminate unhealthy fats. However, don’t go overboard because some fats (unsaturated) are good for the heart.

Most people love cheese, but it is chock-full of fat and when you choose the low fat varieties of cheddar for example, you get a rubbery, salty mess that doesn’t taste anything like the cheese you know and love. Why not opt for cheeses that are naturally low in fat content. For example, feta and goat’s cheese are good for salads, sandwiches and dishes that list cheese as an ingredient.

Because of the pungent flavor of feta and goat’s cheese, you also end up using a lesser quantity of cheese in anything you prepare. Other options include low fat cottage cheese or ricotta cheese for lasagna and other baked dishes. Broiling, roasting and grilling are some of the healthier methods for cooking meats as opposed to frying meat. Cooking methods like deep frying, pan frying and braising are all to be avoided.

You should also avoid the fattier cuts of meat. Fish can be grilled or broiled and will taste just as good with some lemon juice and a few other spices. Choose lean steaks like flank or round for steak dinners and marinade the meat in a mix of garlic, lemon juice and soy sauce. This will help to tenderize the meat and flavor it without the need for fat rich marinades. Always take the time to trim as much fat as possible from the meat and remove all the skin from chicken before cooking.

You can reduce the quantity of meat especially ground meat in recipes with beans. Black eyed beans and pinto beans are very healthy and have a low fat content. You can use a mix of boiled beans and ground meat for burgers, meatloaf and chili preparations. Add the spices and chopped bell peppers and the burger will be just as tasty. There is no rule that says all frying has to be done with lard or butter.

You can use broth quite effectively to reduce the cholesterol and fat levels in the cooking. Cook vegetables in broth and add broth instead of butter to mashed potatoes. You can also keep some of the water you boiled them in to moisten them for mashing.
Healthy cooking takes a bit of effort initially, but very soon becomes a part of your regular cooking methods.

homemade pierogies recipes

Ingredients: 

• 3 C. all-purpose flour, plus 1 C. reserved
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 C. water
• 4 C. potatoes, peeled, cubed 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 C. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar or American cheese
• Salt, and pepper to taste

How to Make Good Recipes for Homemade Pierogies :

Filling :

To make filling, cover potatoes with water and boil for 10 minutes, add onions and continue boiling until potatoes are fork tender. Drain. Return to pot, add cheese and mash. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

Dough :

In a large bowl, add 3 cups flour, make a depression or “well” in the center and add the eggs. Slowly add water a little at a time, working into the dough as needed. Knead dough until soft and slightly sticky. Cover bowl with damp towel and let dough rest 15 minutes. Sprinkle some of the reserve flour over the work surface and lightly coat hands and rolling pin.

Divide dough into thirds and roll out until about 1/8-inch thickness. Sprinkle reserve flour as needed to keep from sticking. Use sparingly or excess flour will toughen dough. Dip a 3-inch diameter drinking glass, donut cutter or biscuit cutter into reserve flour. Cut out dough circles.

To Assemble :

Scoop about 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of the dough circle. Lightly wet the outside edge of the dough with water. Fold the dough over the filling. Wet the edge of the outer rim of the dough. Start at one end and begin pinching the edge of the pocket shut. Be careful to keep filling off the seam. Seam should be about 1/4-inch wide. You can seal the seam with a fork if desired. Lay closed pierogie on lightly floured waxed paper.

Cover with damp cloth. Repeat above steps with remaining ingredients. Bring 4 quarts of lightly salted water to a rapid boil. Carefully drop pierogies into boiling water. Nudge pierogies from bottom with a slotted spoon. Reduce heat and gently boil until pierogies float (approximately 5 minutes). Test one for doneness. Dough should be cooked through but not soggy.

Remove pierogies with slotted spoon to a colander. Rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Drain. Move to waxed paper to thoroughly cool. You can then eat them as is, deep fry them, sauté in butter with onions, or freeze them for later!

buffalo chicken pizza

Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbsp butter 
• 1/3 C. red onion, thinly sliced 
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped 
• 1 1/2 C. cooked chicken breast, shredded 
• 1/4 C. Frank’s Red Hot® hot sauce 
• 1 C. pizza sauce 
• 1 12” pizza crust shell 
• 1 1/2 C. mozzarella cheese 
• 1/4 C. ranch dressing 
• 1 Tbsp green onions, chopped

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 425°. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once it is melted add the red onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the chicken and hot sauce to the skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Spread the pizza sauce over top of pizza crust.

Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese then top with the buffalo chicken mixture. Drizzle with ranch dressing. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with green onions. Note: If you don’t like spicy foods it’s easy to make this a BBQ chicken pizza. Simply substitute BBQ sauce for the ranch dressing and toss the chicken with BBQ sauce instead of hot sauce. Cook as directed.

This recipe bakes up in less than 20 minutes, so it’s a great idea for nights when families don’t have a lot of time to eat together. Plus - the kids can help put on the toppings!

banana bread recipes

Ingredients :

• 1 egg
• 2 ½ cups SR Flour
• 2 tablespoons of butter (or margarine) melted
• 2 over ripe mashed banana
• ¼ cup brown (or raw) sugar
• 1 cup milk

How to Make Banana Bread Homemade :

Notes :

how to make Chicken Tikka

Ingredients :

• 1 kg (6) Chicken legs
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 bunch coriander leaves
• 1 large onion, ground to a paste
• 1 1/4 tbsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder 
• 1 tbsp salt, or to taste
• 250 gm Yoghurt
• 1/2 tsp Yellow colour powder

Method to make Chicken Tikka :

First add cuts into the chicken. Then in a large bowl add all the ingredients and mix into a paste. Add the chicken legs and mix well. Leave to marinate for at least 2 hours. Fry on a griddle pan drizzled with a little oil until marked and half cooked. Transfer to a baking tray and bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, and drizzle with chopped coriander on top.

Make Mughlai Dahi Aalo Chicken With Easy

Ingredients :

• 1 kg chicken 
• ½ kg potatoes
• 1 cup yogurt
• 3 chopped onion
• 4 deghi (Kashmiri) red chilies (or 8 dried Chillies)
• 6 small cardamoms
• 1 cup ghee or oil
• Kewra few drops
• 10-12 almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp all spice powder
• 1 tsp Roghan Josh Masala 
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• Salt as required

Method to Make Mughlai Dahi Aalo Chicken :

Boil the deghi chilies in water and add white vinegar in it. Heat the oil in a pan and golden brown the onion it it. Add chicken, salt as required and ginger garlic paste in it. Cook until the colour of the chicken all changes. Take off heat, add yogurt and blend the yogurt by mixing well ensuring it does not curdle. Put back on low heat. Grind the Kashmiri chillies into a paste. Then add red chilli chutney and all spice powder and sauté well. Peel the potatoes, wash and cut to size of your choice, add into the curry. Boil again with 3 cups of water. As it tenders add the roghan josh masala. Add small cardamoms, almonds, poppy seeds, kewra and leave it on dum.

How to Make Pineapple Chicken With Easy

Ingredients :

• 2 lb boneless chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 can pineapple, drained
• 1 pack dry onion soup mix
• 1 large orange, cut into quarters 
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (zeera)
• 1/2 tin tomatoes, chopped 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric 

Method to Make Pineapple Chicken With Easy :

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and wait until they crackle. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes until all combined. Add the salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric and fry for a few more minutes. Toss in the chicken pieces and cook until the colour changes completely. Stir in onion soup powder, and water. Add pineapple chunks. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until done. Transfer into a serving dish. Garnish with orange slices. Pineapple Chicken is ready to serve. Enjoy!! Serve with plain white rice.