Cooking For Kids – The Art Of Kid Friendly Meals

Welcome to the world of picky eaters!  You have kids.  They turn their noses up at everything from peas to oatmeal.  There are two main goals when it comes to cooking for kids.  First, you want to cook what they like to eat, or at least what they will eat.  This means searching through your vast library of cooking ideas to satisfy their hunger.  Second, you want them to eat healthy meals.  They learn about the food pyramid in school, but getting them to live it at home can be a challenge.

Sitting at the table ordering them to eat their vegetables may sometimes be effective, but that doesn’t mean it will be fun for you or them.  You can add some perennial favorites to health filled ideas.  Try putting peanut butter on celery sticks.  This works with cream cheese, too.  Use cucumber chips and ranch dip instead of potato chips.  You get a vegetable in their system and they are getting a treat at snack time. The same holds true for melon and cantaloupes. These make excellent snacks and are a much-needed fruit in these important diets for little ones.

You know you can’t eat macaroni and cheese at every meal, but meals don’t have to be complicated either.  There are easy recipes for dinner kids will love.  We do a lot of mixin’s.  We put chicken or turkey in the spaghetti sauce.  We add tuna and a vegetable to the mac and cheese.  Cheez Wiz ® on a vegetable seems to induce my kids to eat their veggies.  The result is quick and easy recipes that the kids love to chow down.

]]>

The other thing to remember is that while we like the idea of easy cooking, it must be more than easy dinner recipes.  We should plan healthy easy recipes.  When it comes to fruits and vegetables, always go for fresh ingredients.  If you can’t get fresh, use frozen.  There are fewer additives in frozen fruits and vegetable.  The water or juices that carry the sugar and preservative are used in frozen product.  They make a healthier choice in you easy recipes for dinner.

Boldly go where no kid has gone before in your kitchen.  Try new foods.  This is especially a good idea if you will do some cooking with kids.  They are more likely to try what they helped cook.  It also affords you some great family time.  If you do some easy cooking with kids, neither you nor they will get bored with the process and they will be willing to try some new foods and different flavors.  This will add a fresh look to some quick and easy recipes and offer your family some great meals.

Work on the main things.  You need healthy easy recipes.  Great cooking ideas usually make great dinners.  You need budget friendly and kid approved meals.  This may take you a little effort in rewriting what you use for a cooking book, but it definitely has some long term benefits.  Using easy dinner recipes and crock pot cooking will save you time, money, and exasperation.  .  You want meals that are kid friendly and easy on the budget.  Make it fun.  Make it healthy.  Keep it easy.  It is worth the rewards.

For more cooking ideas, kitchen resources and to CLAIM YOUR FREE GIFTS, please visit the Creative Cookery website.

Find More Easy Cooking Articles

Easy Recipes For Dinner

Cooking is generally as hard as we make it.  Easy cooking or hard cooking becomes a choice if you think the process through.  Yes, we may want hard cooking for special occasions such as holidays.  Most times, however, what works best are those easy cooking recipes that we can put together in little time but with a big taste.

Why does this become important?  Either the schedule is tight, the money is tight, or both.  When you get home from work, you are scrambling to get something together to put on the table.  You could do take out or fast food – again!  There has to be some cooking ideas that offer easy recipes for dinner.  You are left staring at the open refrigerator wondering what to cook.

End your kitchen frustration.  Here are four easy cooking ideas the will help you get healthy easy recipes from the refrigerator to the table.

1)         Plan in advance.

Cooking is like anything else.  Plan your work and work your plan.  This is the best way to stay on time and on budget.  Put yourself together a weekly, or even monthly cooking book that you can use.  Break each page down into two sections – first, what you need to buy, second, how to put it together.  You can get everything on the counter in the morning and put the meal together in minutes when you get home.  If you use quick and easy recipes, you have even more time available.

]]>

2)                  Use your crock pot.

You know the one.  You got it as a wedding gift all those years ago.  It’s on the shelf gathering dust.  Wash it up and use it.  Crock pot cooking has dinner ready when you walk in the door.  There is no after work prep time.  You can cook almost any meat, soup, or vegetable (or any combination thereof) in a crock pot.  The words crock pot and easy cooking should be side by side in the dictionary.  The only thing you have left to do in the evening is set the table.  Cleanup becomes easy.  1-2-3 and easy dinner recipes become culinary delights for your family.

3)         Prepare dinner at breakfast.

Yes, this is not what most people think of as normal.  Yes, this will save you time.  You know when you have to leave for work.  You have the most control over your schedule before you close the car door in the morning.  Leverage the morning time to gain the afternoon time.  Schedule time to get supper ready and use easy dinner recipes.  By using some easy cooking recipes, you keep your ingredients to a minimum and take up the least amount of prep time.  All that is left when you get home is to heat it up.

4)         Prepare many meals at one time.

If you cook an entire month of easy dinner recipes in two days, all you have left on the day to day basis is about 20 minutes to heat the meal. Open the freezer in the morning.  Choose what looks good.  Put it together in under 30 minutes that afternoon.  The hard part has already been done.  Some people get overwhelmed at the thought of cooking 30 meals at one time, but it really isn’t that hard if you are organized about it.  We do it about six times a year.  Start with a week at a time if you want to take a slow start, but this is a great time saver on a daily basis and budget conscious on a monthly basis.

Cooking is usually as hard as we make it.  Easy cooking is a choice for your lifestyle if you think the process through.  We just have to get the hang of what works best.  It’s often those easy cooking recipes that we can put together in little time but with a big taste.

For more cooking ideas, kitchen resources and to CLAIM YOUR FREE GIFTS, please visit the Creative Cookery website.

Cooking with Kids 101

What a scary idea! At least, that the way it seems from the start.  We know a few things from personal experience.  One –cooking with kids can be messy.  Leave some extra cleanup time, especially the first time.  Second, cooking with kids means cooking for kids.  They will want to cook what they want to eat.  Third, quick and easy recipes are crucial to success.  Fourth, the time spent will be precious in your memories.

If you want to be ready for the challenge, realize it will be a learning opportunity that can teach you about yourself and the way your children view you.  Also recognize, its not only a good time, but almost required that you let your hair down a little, relax, and have fun in the kitchen. It really becomes fun, interesting and exciting as you watch little hands help you create easy cooking.  Choose what to cook wisely.  Make sure you find  easy cooking recipes.

When you are trying to think of cooking ideas, remember, this is teaching more than easy recipes for dinner, but real life skills that will help down the road.  Actually, my husband taught me a lot about cooking because his mom taught him.  Yes, I do wipe the spills of the floor and the crumbs of the counter, though I haven’t had any pasta stick to the ceiling.

]]>

One of the biggies is what to cook.  Keep it simple.  Choose easy recipes for dinner.  Shop in advance so you aren’t caught in the middle of cooking having to load the kids into the car for a fast grocery run.  Quick and easy recipes are also needed because long, complicated recipes will not hold the kids’ attention. They really do want to learn and help mommy out, but if it gets to complicated they will get bored with the details.  Use easy recipes for dinner when cooking with children.  If you use easy dinner recipes your chances for success will be much greater than with overly complicated or ingredient intense recipes.  Some simple cooking ideas always include casseroles and crock pot cooking.  Remember, your goal is easy cooking with a minimum of ingredients.

Consider the cleanup.  The cooking is fun, but here is a teaching moment regarding responsibility.  In cooking with kids, clean as you go whenever possible and get them involved in that aspect of cooking, too.  When you consider clean up, you have another reason to want quick and easy recipes.  Yes, you also want healthy easy recipes.  Set yourself up a cooking book that will allow you to clean as you go.

Cooking with kids can be a fun filled day of being silly with the sugar and frolicking with the flour.  Let go.  Have fun.  Make memories.  It’s worth it.

For more cooking ideas, kitchen resources and to CLAIM YOUR FREE GIFTS, please visit the Creative Cookery website.

Easy Cooking 4 CD-ROMs Chinese,Thai,Indian,Greek

Price: $ 24.99

Related Easy Cooking Products

Learning Easy Cooking Recipes From Around The World

There are many different areas that make every country around the world unique somehow. The language, traditions, beliefs, clothing and foods all make up these very individual cultures. It is possible to sample different countries through books, movies, language classes and easy cooking recipes without ever leaving your home or city. This is certainly something that you and your family can enjoy and experience together.

It may not be as simple a task as you thought to decide which easy cooking recipes to try. There are so many tasty ethnic foods to enrapture your taste buds with. You may never go back to the same old meatloaf and mashed potatoes again. It could be fun and educational to create theme nights around these newly found easy cooking recipes.

Give the Globe a Yummy Spin

Begin your food sojourn in beautiful and exotic Africa with an easy cooking recipe for Chicken Couscous. Just wait until you begin to smell the delicious aromas of chicken, sweet limejuice and zesty garlic, as it will be enough to make your mouth water buckets. Garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts and raisin couscous ensure this easy cooking recipe to be a definite favorite.

Next, head to the Far East and sample some of the oldest and healthiest easy cooking recipes. While you might be tempted to conjure up a batch of fried rice and spicy chicken that would make General Tso blow his top, your taste buds will have more fun with a sweet and sour stir fry or even a teriyaki cabbage stir fry. Many popular Asian recipes call for duck instead of chicken, which is still poultry, but a slightly tastier alternative.

A food trip around the world would not be complete without a night in Tuscany. Or even Rome. While spaghetti has been a family dinner favorite for many years, there are many more amazing Italian dishes that remain undiscovered treasures for your stomach. Give your family something really different on this night with an easy cooking recipe for Lamb Chops Scottadito. The succulent taste of lamb paired with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary will draw a chorus of praises.

Easy French cooking is as delicious as springtime in Paris. It is not all chocolates, croissants and red wine though. The French love food and love preparing it. Follow their lead with dishes that entwine eggplant, asparagus, potatoes and the tastiest herbs in the Western Hemisphere. Stew Provencale is rich and full of flavor, just like the French countryside where it was created and remains so very popular.

Ching He Huang/Chinese Food Made Easy/Cooking for family ‘Lion head’ meatballs www.chinghehuang.com itunes.apple.com www.amazon.co.uk Ching makes a dish named after the way it’s served, surrounded by Chinese cabbage: the meatball is said to resemble a lion’s head, while the cabbage is the lion’s mane. Ingredients For the meatballs 500g/1lb 2oz beef mince 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 tbsp grated fresh root ginger 2 spring onions, finely chopped pinch sea salt 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry (or more, to taste) 2 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 1 free-range egg, beaten 1 tbsp cornflour pinch ground white pepper For the finished dish 100ml/3½fl oz groundnut oil 750ml/1¼ pint vegetable stock 300g/11oz Chinese leaf, quartered lengthways 3 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, then drained (alternative use fresh chestnut mushrooms, sliced) 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water (optional) sea salt and ground white pepper 2 large spring onions, sliced dash sesame oil (optional) Method 1. For the meatballs, place all of the meatball ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine. 2. With damp hands, take a large mound of the minced meat mixture and mould into a ball that is a little larger than a golf ball. Place on a plate and repeat with the remaining meatball mixture. 3. For the finished dish, pour the groundnut oil into a large deep pan and heat over a high heat. Using a metal ladle …

Related Easy Cooking Articles

Easy cooking tips for healthy diet – Singapore Fitness Bootcamp Coach explains

In my experience as a personal trainer and fitness boot camp Instructor in Singapore, I am often asked about herbs and spices and how they can help to boost health, weight loss and fat loss results. I always suggest that people incorporate as many different kinds of herbs and spices as often as possible into their diets.

Why? Here are three awesome reasons to include herbs and spices in your foods.

1. They improve the flavor and taste of food without adding hidden or unhealthy excess calories. No matter what kind of diet you might be on, most, if not all, herbs will fit right into your diet plan. No matter what kind of diet you are on (low carb, high protein, etc) herbs can help you boost your results and make your taste buds happy as well.

2. Herbs and spices teem overflow with stuff that are good for you – vitamins, minerals, all sorts of health-giving phytochemicals etc. These are best found in their natural form rather than in their chemically produced and often ineffective artificial forms found in many multi-vitamins or mineral supplements.

3. In general, they make everything taste so much better without adding evil stuff to what you put into your mouth – artificial colors, chemical preservatives, trans fats, whatever. Well, that is assuming your herbs were not grown close enough to the freeway to absorb tonnes of toxic metals and the like, or on a commercial farm that uses pesticides and fertilizers the way some bodybuilders use steroids. Organic herbs are best because you want to make sure that the quality of your herbs is high so that you get a good amount of the active ingredients in your herbs. Here are some very brief examples of certain benefits that recent research has been suggesting:

Cardamom – stimulate bile flow for liver health and fat metabolism, reduces flatulence, contains limonene that boosts the body’s production of an enzyme with antioxidant properties.

Cinnamon – helps reduce blood sugar and “bad” cholesterol

Cloves – 1 tablespoonful contains the RDA of manganese for women. Also contains potassium, calcium and phytosterols in significant proportions.

Cumin – has antimicrobial properties, good source of iron, helps reduce heartburn and improves digestion

Garlic – lowers cholesterol and prevents blood clots, current research suggest strongly that garlic has anti-cancer properties, helps in weight control

Ginger – anti-inflammatory, research suggests it lowers cholesterol

Mustard seeds – contains isothicyanates which are believed to play important roles in cancer suppression

Oregano – has even higher antioxidant properties than the famous blueberry! Oregano oil has been shown to kill parasites in the digestive system and inhibit growth of microbes. Also contains antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic compounds

Parsley – freshens the breath

Tumeric – anti-inflammatory, possible benefits for Alzheimer’s, cancers, digestive disorders and insulin regulation.

So incorporate herbs and spices into your diet, as much as you can, as often as you can, in every creative way possible! You’ll not just get all those health benefits, but you’ll also enjoy your diet more, so it’ll be easy to stay with your healthy lifestyle. That means you’ll surely get those fat burning, fat loss results that you want!

Smart and Easy Cooking with Microwave Ovens

Busier lifestyles dot the city life of today. And it is nuclear families that dominate the scenario in cities; people hardly find enough time to complete routine tasks at home. Cooking is no doubt a basic necessity, but with both partners working, it is difficult to spend time in the kitchen and cook delectable varieties. And you cannot rely on outside food and compromise on your healthy constitution. Well, there are solutions to every problem. For long, microwave ovens have adorned millions of kitchens worldwide catering to the busy people facilitating them cook healthy food in no time.

It is no longer a luxury owning a microwave oven; rather it has become a necessity. You can experience cooking your favorite delicacies in minutes using a microwave. No matter whether you are preparing routine food or even hosting a grand get together, your microwave will never let you down. If you have an advanced oven, you can get four varieties of food cooked at one go in a few minutes. Serve your guests hot food and hear them sing praises for you on the taste and fast cooking. You can virtually cook any type of food, starting from pizza, parantha, daal, rice, vegetables, paneer item, meat item, and whatever you wish to cook. A microwave oven has thus become an indispensable part of a modern kitchen.

There are numerous brands of Microwave Ovens in the market as well as at online shopping malls. The difference in shopping in any of the two options is that for the latter, you need not visit the store. Sitting at home, you can view different brands of microwaves, read the features in details, compare prices, and get one that exactly suits your preferences. Besides, you get great discounts which you will not get at an offline electronic store. Given the tough competition, all microwaves manufacturers give equal importance to sleekness, efficiency, user-friendliness, compact size, price, and more.

The smart functioning features and incredible electronic controls in most of the microwave ovens enables you to either involve in other routine tasks or luxuriate in your favorite TV series without worrying about the food in your oven getting burnt. The automatic mechanism does it all! Switching on the power and setting the digital time are the only tasks you need to do after you put the bowls or trays inside with raw food to get cooked.

Easy Cooking Once a Month Cooking

If you are like most moms around the world, there never seems to be enough time or energy at the end of most days to prepare the nice home cooked meal you would love to have ready made for your family. Unfortunately, cooking a good family meal requires both time and energy. A few wise moms have discovered a concept that has become known as once a month or freezer cooking to assist in those nights when time, energy, or both are in short supply.

The thought behind once a month cooking is that for one or two days (if you prefer to spread the process out over a couple of shorter days rather than one long day of cooking) of intense culinary effort your family can dine well for an entire month. Many women who have tried this have also discovered that not only does it help by always having something nice and home cooked for dinner, but also helps families stay within budget.

Far too many mother’s will guiltily raise their hands when asked whether or not they’ve ever resorted to fast food or junk food meals simply because they were too tired to cook or were missing one ingredient for a meal and did not feel up to running to the grocery store in order to pick up the missing ingredient. This practice can get expensive over time and rob your family of some well-earned fun money.

There are some important things you must keep in mind if you are considering once a month cooking as a way of life for your family. The first thing you need to keep in mind is that planning is the key. You will need to set aside a day (or two) for the cooking when nothing else is on the calendar. It is simply too difficult to see to all the details if you are planning your cooking event around car pools, soccer games, or dance practices. You need a full day that will be relatively uninterrupted. If you have a spouse, partner, or family member that can take the children for the day this will be the ideal situation. Otherwise be sure to have plenty of distractions on hand for the little ones or find a way to enlist their help with any cutting, chopping, slicing, dicing, or peeling that may need to be done.

You should also create a thorough menu followed by a list of each and every ingredient you will need. Shopping needs to be done on a day other than when you are planning to cook. This means that you aren’t likely to rush through the shopping trip and forget something as a result. Bring your menu and your list and get everything you need in one trip whenever possible. You can also save money by planning your meals for the month according to the sales circulars and coupons you have for the week in order to stretch your budget a little further.

Finally, you need to make sure that you have all the supplies, dishes, and containers you need in order to prepare and store the meals you’ve prepared properly. You should also make sure that the recipes you are using for your once a month cooking marathon are recipes that freeze well. It is even better if you have recipes that double well so that you can get twice the results from the same effort.

You should also make sure you are mentally prepared for your marathon cooking session. Beginning with a nice and tidy kitchen is a great start. Folding card tables make an excellent flat surface for storing things out of the way and freeing up valuable counter space for preparing and assembling the foods that will be prepared. You should also utilize as many appliances in your kitchen as possible for maximum efficiency. Don’t limit all cooking to the oven. Find dishes that freeze well and can be prepared in the crock pot or on the range top. Once a month cooking is a challenge but many women will agree it is well worth the effort on those nights when the thought of cooking seems unbearable and the wallet has been stretched to its limit.

Simple and Easy Cooking With Pasta

This was a good concept for a cook book, and the recipes are quite good.

Pasta

Pasta recipes for young and old alike. Not so long ago rumor had it that pasta was fattening, and many people, particularly women, avoided pasta recipes afraid of putting on weight.

You can buy dried pasta virtually everywhere, and you find fresh pasta in gourmet or specialty stores. The Balearic island of Eivissa, that you probably know as Ibiza,

kept the longest the tradition of making fresh pasta at home.

Most dried pasta cooks in 10 minutes, but it takes about 20 minutes for the water to boil.

You can serve a meat sauce or a lovely tomato and herb sauce along with your pasta.

But try to remember that although a good pasta sauce will provide for a delicious pasta dish, a few minutes of awareness when boiling pasta is essential to ensure a total success of your pasta recipe.

Macaroni and spaghetti constituted its image in the popular mind but in Italy itself a vast range of different shapes suitable for different sauces were developed and adapted across the regions resulting in the diverse forms in which pasta can be found in shops around the globe today.

I think to be healthier, one to two cups of pasta is enough for one meal. The most important thing for my pasta recipes is to keep them light and clean but give them lots of flavor.

Many of the recipes are designed to be versatile, allowing you to substitute ingredients which you have in your vegetable rack or store cupboard.

Easy Cooking With Spice Blends and Rubs

Note: For all cooking methods listed below, you can use a spice blend or rub from In a Pinch Fine Spices , or from your favorite source.

BAKING

Description: Baking with spice blends and rubs is the healthiest method of preparation as it can be done without adding any oil or fats. Baking is a technique of cooking food by dry heat over a specific period of time, usually in an oven. The dry heat of baking causes its outer surfaces to brown, giving it an attractive appearance and partially sealing in the food’s moisture. To create a moister piece of food, bake at a lower temperature for a slightly longer period of time.

Instructions: Simply coat your favorite spice blend or rub onto your meat or seafood and set in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the seasoned food from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for several minutes before proceeding with your desired cooking method.Cover the inside of a baking pan or sheet with aluminum foil. Then, place wire rack on top of your baking pan or sheet. This will allow any drippings to collect onto the foil below, allowing for easier clean up. Place the prepared meat or seafood on top of the rack, and bake in a pre-heated oven (see recipes for specified cooking times). What could be easier?

Notes: Let meat cool 5-7 minutes before cutting to retain moisture. During the cooking process, heat drives meat’s juices from the surface as it cooks and the juices gather in the center and the center becomes saturated. Letting meats “rest” before slicing allows these juices to slowly seep back towards the surface, resulting in a more consistently moist and flavorful piece of meat.

BROILING

Description: Broiling is a method that is used to quickly cook meats, poultry, and fish.

Instructions: Simply coat your favorite spice blend or rub onto your meat or seafood and set in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the seasoned food from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for several minutes before proceeding with your desired cooking method. To operate the broiler feature of your oven, turn the knob counter-clockwise to the “Broil” position. There will be various levels that you can set your broiler pan on and cooking times will vary, depending on the thickness of the food item, fat content, and personal preference for doneness.

Notes: The broiler compartment is usually a sliding unit located beneath your oven. The door will fold down so that you can easily access to the broiling pan to turn the food over.

GRILLING

Description: Grilling is an outdoor cooking method that is based on direct or indirect dry heat. Instructions: Simply coat your favorite spice blend or rub onto your meat or seafood and set in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the seasoned food from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for several minutes before proceeding with your desired cooking method.In grilling, tender cuts of meat and thick cuts of fish are placed upon a metal wire rack or surface outdoors over heated charcoal briquettes or a gas heated grill.

To light a charcoal grill, arrange enough briquettes spread out onto your pan to exceed the cooking area by 2” all around. Stack the briquettes into a pyramid and coat them with lighter fluid. Wait several minutes to allow fluid to soak into briquettes, and then light with a long match or hand-held igniter (if using pre-soaked briquettes, just ignite after stacking). As the briquettes begin to burn and ash forms on all of the briquettes, arrange briquettes into a single layer using tongs, and set grilling grate over the briquettes. Allow briquettes to obtain a reddish glowing hue before placing food onto grill. This will inform you that the heat is at its optimal cooking temperature.

When using a gas grill, make sure to check all connections between propane tank and grill before turning on grill. For safety reasons, always turn the gas level to a lower setting and press the ignite button to ignite the coils before increasing your heat level. Make sure to replenish your propane tank at most hardware and supply superstores. Please review manufacturer’s instructions prior to operating and cleaning any gas or charcoal grill. Place food items onto grilling grate and cook for several minutes before turning. Avoid turning items frequently as this will slow down the cooking process. Move food away from center of briquettes to cook at a slower rate. Let meat cool 5-7 minutes before cutting to retain moisture. During the cooking process, heat drives meat’s juices from the surface as it cooks and the juices gather in the center and the center becomes saturated. Letting meats “rest” before slicing allows these juices to slowly seep back towards the surface, resulting in a more consistently moist and flavorful piece of meat.

Notes:The choice of using a charcoal or gas grill is entirely up the grillmaster. Whether he or she wants the convenience of a push-button flame courtesy of a gas grill, or the extra pride in properly setting and maintaining a bed of ashen coals, there’s a grill at various price ranges with assorted accessories for everyone.Damp mesquite or hickory wood chips may be added on top of the coals to allow a smoldering effect that provides additional flavor to the food. The high cooking temperatures break down amino acids within the meats, combining with natural sugars, and rise to the surface of the meat to provide the distinctive grilled / browned taste (also known as the Maillard reaction). Tougher cuts of meat should be reserved for slow cooked barbecuing instead of grilling. Occasionally a marinade will help to loosen the toughness of various cuts of meat.

PAN FRYING / SEARING

Description: Pan searing is a method of cooking food where the food is subjected to a high level of heat (450°-500°F) for a short period of time.

Instructions: Simply coat your favorite spice blend or rub onto your meat or seafood and set in refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the seasoned food from refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for several minutes before proceeding with your desired cooking method.Using a heavy bottomed skillet or pan will help to distribute the high heat evenly for more consistent searing. Turn stove to medium high and place a small amount of olive oil in the pan. Increase the temperature to high, place food in pan (skin side down first if skin still on), and sear for 1-2 minutes. Flip over food and sear for another minute or until desired doneness. This cooking method may create a brownish-crust on the outside of your food, but it will help to seal in the juices of the meat or seafood item.

Notes: To pan sear, you can use a very hot, heavy bottomed skillet or pan (cast-iron is a good option) over a high flame, under a broiler, or in an oven with a high temperature (450°-500°F).