Recipes again, Holiday help!

[Jenny]

Sure. I let them try soda on the odd occasion, but they don't really like it (particularly the bubbles) and have never asked for more than a sip. They are always offered soda at b-day parties and other kid-friendly events, but they always ask for water instead. Also, my son doesn't like maraschino cherries, so there you go.

OK, perhaps others can use the tip

My mother, bless her efforts, would not allow us to have soda as kids, nor sugared cereals, and even the Halloween candy was rationed out. She did however raise us on Cheez Whiz, hot dogs, Nestle's Quik and Cool Whip

I never did develop a taste for soda - too bubbly growing up, and too sweet now.

But I still enjoy the occasional box of Kraft Dinner.

[skatemommy]

Thanks for all the tips! A rice dish/casserole sound excellent and I'll have some chicken stock on hand if things start to look a little dry.

[Prancer]

Those look great, but can I really share a recipe with:

without being ?

That's why I said:

When people would ask for the recipe, I would give them my homemade peanut butter cookie recipe and directions .

No one really knows the difference. Just find a peanut butter cookie recipe and use that. It will work fine as long as the recipe calls for smooth peanut butter and not crunchy. There have been times when I have made those with my regular peanut butter cookie recipe and it works perfectly well; it just isn't as sweet.

[BigB08822]

We got some really nice Nonstick Calphalon pans for Christmas. The manual says they are oven safe to 450 degrees but I am concerned because the handles have some rubber on them. I would trust the instructions but I did notice the picture on the front of the manual shows pans with solid metal handles and no rubber. Has anyone used these pans and put them in the oven? I would really like to be able to but the rubber parts make me nervous. I suppose I should just follow the instructions, they do come with a 10 yr warranty, after all.

[acraven]

We got some really nice Nonstick Calphalon pans for Christmas. The manual says they are oven safe to 450 degrees but I am concerned because the handles have some rubber on them. I would trust the instructions but I did notice the picture on the front of the manual shows pans with solid metal handles and no rubber. Has anyone used these pans and put them in the oven?

Brian, the information from the manufacturer certainly ought to be reliable, but unfortunately oven temperatures are not always precise. I checked mine when it was new, and it was running 25 degrees too low; i.e., if I set it at 375, the oven thermometer read 350. If your oven happens to run significantly hotter than it's supposed to be, I guess you could have a problem even if you're careful to set the temp below 450 when you're using the new pans.

I didn't take care of my similar-to-Calphalon anodized aluminum pots the way I should have. I've started replacing them because of surface flaking--I think the result of having left things like tomato sauce in the pots too long rather than immediately transferring the food to a storage container.

[asdf334]

We got some really nice Nonstick Calphalon pans for Christmas. The manual says they are oven safe to 450 degrees but I am concerned because the handles have some rubber on them. I would trust the instructions but I did notice the picture on the front of the manual shows pans with solid metal handles and no rubber. Has anyone used these pans and put them in the oven? I would really like to be able to but the rubber parts make me nervous. I suppose I should just follow the instructions, they do come with a 10 yr warranty, after all.

I think they're oven safe because the material you're seeing is silicone, and not rubber. Just be sure, not to use the pans under the broiler.

Also, you can also find more info / ask them directly here.

http://www.calphalon.com/ProductSupport/Pages/FAQs.aspx

[BigB08822]

Thanks! I will be careful with the temperature and to never broil. We will be taking care of them, never putting them in the dishwasher will be tough but these pans should last a lifetime if taken care of. Thanks for mentioning that other things, such as tomato sauce, can ruin the pans! I had never thought of that. I will make sure to transfer everything immediately after eating and to wash immediately.

[rfisher]

Thanks! I will be careful with the temperature and to never broil. We will be taking care of them, never putting them in the dishwasher will be tough but these pans should last a lifetime if taken care of. Thanks for mentioning that other things, such as tomato sauce, can ruin the pans! I had never thought of that. I will make sure to transfer everything immediately after eating and to wash immediately.

Be certain you buy the recommended cleaning materials. The non-stick uses a non-scratch type. You will ruin them if you use the cleaner for anodized pans. And invest in wooden spoons and non-stick spatulas. I never put any of my pans in the dishwasher. The problem with tomato sauce is the acid will react to the anodized aluminum. I use a differnt type of pan if I'm making spaghetti sauce. Take care of them and you will use them for a very long time. Oh, and do not use spray cooking oils on your non-stick pans. Ever. Just use a tiny bit of butter or olive oil instead.

[BigB08822]

Thanks again. Part of the gift was a set of wooden spoons, rubber spatulas, rubber whisks, etc. All the cooking utensils were safe for our new pots and pans. We also read about never using spray oils but I can't think of a time I have ever used that in a pot or pan on the stovetop. I only use that for baking in the oven. It is nice to know, though, just in case I ever had a bold idea. lol

[BigB08822]

I made these cookies tonight and they are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Crunchy on the outside, gooey and chewy on the inside and I love that you can make them really big like you see for sale at bakeries. I would recommend two things. Chill your dough for an hour at least before baking. I cut back the chocolate chips by 1/2 and only mixed in 1 cup. More than enough for me. Lastly, cut back a little on the vanilla. I will probably do 1 1/2 teaspoons next time. I like vanilla but I don't want it to be the main flavor I taste upon first biting in to the cookie. Anyway, trust me, if you want an amazing homemade chocolate chip cookie, do not hesitate:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-bi...ie/Detail.aspx

I baked for 15 to 16 minutes per batch.

[shan]

I made these cookies tonight and they are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Crunchy on the outside, gooey and chewy on the inside and I love that you can make them really big like you see for sale at bakeries. I would recommend two things. Chill your dough for an hour at least before baking. I cut back the chocolate chips by 1/2 and only mixed in 1 cup. More than enough for me. Lastly, cut back a little on the vanilla. I will probably do 1 1/2 teaspoons next time. I like vanilla but I don't want it to be the main flavor I taste upon first biting in to the cookie. Anyway, trust me, if you want an amazing homemade chocolate chip cookie, do not hesitate:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-bi...ie/Detail.aspx

I baked for 15 to 16 minutes per batch.

Sounds yummy! Thanks for the recipe.

[BigB08822]

I have an odd question. I was going to make a roast in the crock pot but decided to use stew meat instead because it was so much cheaper (would have been about the same price for the amount of meat I needed but it happened to be BOGO). I decided to make extra gravy because I usually rely on the roast to let out a lot of liquid.

My gravy is made with a can of cream of mushroom, half a can of water and some lipton onion soup mix. That is for the roast, so for this I decided to double it. In other words, SODIUM SODIUM SODIUM. (although I did NOT double the soup mix, I had to draw the line somewhere. So an extra can of soup) My question is whether or not doubling the gravy will make it more salty? I know it is an odd question but does doubling the ingredients equal more salty flavor or just simply more gravy which will be as salty as it would have been without doubling it. Am I making any sense?

P.S. My cookies have been a huge success and I have a lot of people asking if I will make them for certain events! Might be making some $$ on the side. I used the recipe this past week and did white chocolate and macadamia nuts and they were amazing. Tasted exactly like Subways which, if anyone remembers, I was trying desperately to track down a long time ago. Now I can make them myself! Another hint on the cookies, do not use one of those non stick baking pads. It allows the cookies to spread out too much when cooking. The cookies come up much more plump just straight on the pan and there is no need for spray, at least not with my pans.

[kwanfan1818]

If I'm reading this correctly, your proportions are different from your usual recipe: your gravy has one package of soup mix, two cans of cream of mushroom soup, and either half a can of water or one can of water. (I'm not sure if the water was for the mushroom soup or for the onion soup mix.)

Setting aside the water, if the onion soup tastes saltier than the mushroom soup, then your gravy should taste less salty, since there's a 1:2 ratio of onion soup to cream of mushroom, and the extra mushroom soup should dilute it. If the mushroom soup is saltier than the onion soup, then your gravy should taste more salty.

The "more" or "less" here might be negligible, and there are things that are laden in sodium that don't taste more (or much more) salty than food with a lot less.