Better way to make grilled cheese

If you're like me, sometimes the easiest things to make never come out right. I can bake cakes from scratch, make a fabulous pot roast, and whip up a mouth-watering pot of chili.

But my grilled cheese sandwiches are always missing something.

I know, you're probably thinking, "Take some cheese, put it on the bread, put it in a pan and flip. What's so hard about that?"

I don't know what's wrong with me. But it's either too light or two dark, the cheese isn't melted right, I use too much butter, etc.

But I think I have stumbled upon the best grilled cheese technique yet. Try it and see what you think:

The Lazy Woman's Grilled Cheese

2 slices whole-grain bread
2 slices cheese of your preference (you can do 3 slices if they are thin or you like it really cheesy)
1 tablespoon butter

1. Turn the heat on under the pan to medium high. Let the pan preheat for about 3 minutes.
2. Butter the first slice of bread and put it in the pan. Put the cheese slices on top. Let cook for 3 minutes.
3. Butter the second slice of bread and put it on top. Flip the sandwich over and cook for 3 minutes.

The 6 p.m. rush

I love to cook.

If I made enough money to hire a chef, I probably wouldn’t. I like cooking and it relaxes me. I love the chop, chop, chopping of onions and even though I may cry, it makes me feel like I accomplished something when dinner is cooked and smells so good.

One complaint I hear from my fellow mommy friends that they only know how to make one or two dishes. I like to call these my “spaghetti and fried chicken” friends. They don’t stray too far from what they know and if a recipe has more than five steps, they won’t make it.

I used to be like that. Longer recipes used to scare me and I used to avoid baking altogether.

But it’s all about confidence. If you believe you are a good cook, the rest will follow. You have to learn to trust your tongue.

So when you’re trying to get dinner on the table every night, try some of these tips:

• Any meat you plan on cooking take out of the freezer the night before. Put it on the lowest level of the fridge, preferably on a plate or platter so the juices don’t leak onto anything else.
  
• Assemble your ingredients the night before. This will help you know if you’re missing any particular ingredient that has the possibility to ruin your dish. (Don’tcha hate that?)
  
• If you have time the night before, prep some food. Chop that onion or bell pepper, make the rice. It saves you time and energy the next day.
  
• Merge dishes whenever possible. Say you make a pot roast on Sunday night. If you have some left over, use it in a chili or in an omelet. No need in wasting food or cooking from stratch when you already have seasoned, cooked meat at your fingertips.
  

What about you, readers? What tips do you have for getting dinner on the table fast?

How to...Chop An Onion

You might just hack at it any old way, but there is a method to chopping onions.

Kitchen Tip: New Use for Alcohol

"Spritz grimy dishrags and bathroom mats with vodka. The alcohol kills bacteria that can cause odors, but doesn't leave a scent - so it won't smell like you've been hitting the bottle."

~ from Everyday with Rachael Ray, February 2009

How to...Remember What's in the Freezer

Why is high fructose corn syrup in everything?

By now, everyone has seen the commercials. The ones where someone offers someone a bite of their delicious sweet treat and the other person recoils back in horror like they just asked them to try some meth. "Dude, that has high fructose corn syrup! Don't you know what that stuff does to you?"

The other person just stares blankly. "What does it do?"

"You know, well, um, it causes...I dunno."
Cue the music. "It doesn't do anything. Eaten in moderation it's fine!"

Commercial, you FAIL!

So what IS the deal with high fructose corn syrup? What is so wrong with it that they had to launch a whole campaign to convince people that it's okay to eat?

If all of a sudden, the water company in your area started running ads saying, "Don't worry - the water's fine," wouldn't you get suspicious like, "Hasn't it always been fine? What's going on?"

I've been trying to make everything healthier for my family's sake, cutting out fats, limiting sodium intake and anything with HFCS. But this stuff is in EVERYTHING - ketchup, barbecue sauce, bread, juice, etc.

What's the deal? According to the Mayo Clinic:

So far, research has yielded conflicting results about the effects of high-fructose corn syrup. For example, various early studies showed an association between increased consumption of sweetened beverages (many of which contained high-fructose corn syrup) and obesity. But recent research — some of which is supported by the beverage industry — suggests that high-fructose corn syrup isn't intrinsically less healthy than other sweeteners, nor is it the root cause of obesity.

So basically what they're saying is, the research is shady. I'm doing my best to get rid of the high-fructose corn syrup. You can too, Mama! Here are some tips:

• Start looking at the labels of foods you regularly buy. If it's processed, it might just have it, so watch out.


• If you find that your favorite food does in fact have HFCS, see where it falls in the ingredients list. Is it the first item? That's bad. Closer to the end? That's better, but not great.


• Make your own. I've discovered that almost all the pre-made BBQ sauces (that make life so much easier!) have HFCS in it. Looks like I'll be hitting up the Food Network site for the Neely's BBQ sauce recipe.


• Swap stuff out. If you have to change brands of your favorite juice to get the kind without HFCS, then make a substitution somewhere else. Do you really need brand-name frozen veggies if the store brand tastes the same? Learn the prices and you'll find that you really can afford to feed your fam more nutritious food.

Have you all been thinking about cutting out the HFCS? Let me know in the comments!

Kitchen Tips: Morning Meals (AKA Breakfast!)

I love getting up early to make breakfast for my family on Saturdays. Nothing else really makes me feel like "Mom."


Of course, my kids are too young right now to enjoy this, so for now it's mostly for me and my husband. I usually make omelets, hash browns and sausage and sometimes some fruit. (Trying to add more fruit so I can preserve my sexy!)


Here are my tips to getting breakfast done fast!

• Make an "omelet kit." Sounds corny as hell, but it works. If you have a little bit of meat leftover from a meal earlier in the week (pot roast, turkey, steaks, chicken breast, etc.) put it in a bag and freeze it for the weekend. Throw in some onions and peppers, and you'll be able to saute and add eggs. Omelet in minutes!


• Wash dishes the night before and set up the pots and pans you'll need. I know, you're supposed to do this regardless, but waking up to a clean kitchen helps you get ready to cook. Also, put your pots and pans in the dishwasher (if you have one) as soon as you are finished making breakfast.


• Do brunch so you only have to cook twice that day. Prepare a hearty brunch around 10:30 a.m. and your family will be good to go until about 3 or so. At which time you can toss them some snacks until you're ready to cook dinner.

Any other time-saving breakfast tips you have? Let me know in the comments!