Perfect Hard-boiled Eggs

Dave's family has a tradition of eating deviled eggs as an appetizer before Thanksgiving dinner, so I took this picture before I made deviled eggs this year. Here's how I achieved those pretty, yellow yolks:

Perfect boiled eggs have fluffy, yellow yolks. So that your eggs will taste as good as they look, put eggs in a large pot, in a single layer and cover with COLD water. Turn on the heat under the eggs and as soon as they come to a full boil, remove them from the heat and let them sit in the hot water for about 15-20 minutes. I always cover the pan after removing from heat. After they are done, I pour off the hot water and add lots of ice and water to stop the cooking and to quickly cool them.

Fresh eggs are harder to peel than older ones. But, any egg is easiest to peel if you start from the fatter end where the air pocket is located.

How Fresh Are Your Eggs? To make sure your eggs are fresh, put raw egg in a glass of water. If it lays on the bottom, it's fresh. If it is on the bottom, but the small end is up, it's still fine. If it is floating in the middle, but not on top, it should be safe, but not very fresh. If it floats, throw it away, it's a rotten egg.

Ground Beef/Ground Turkey Meal Starter

Every 2-3 months, I buy a bunch of ground beef or ground turkey (I wait for ground beef to go on sale, but I always buy my ground turkey at Costco). Then, I cook some of it up and freeze it to have ready to put in soups, spaghetti sauce, Cheesey Beef 'n Rice, casseroles, lasagna, and any other recipe that calls for browned ground beef or turkey.



For every 1 pound of meat you're going to cook, add 2 Tbsp. Homemade Gourmet's Garlic Basil Seasoning Mix. Mix thoroughly with your hands in a bowl. It will look like this:


I cook the meat, about 2 pounds at a time, by placing a steamer basket in a large pan. Add water to the pan, then the steamer basket, then 2 pounds of meat.

Cook on medium-high heat. Stir the meat like you would if you were browning it normally. I usually put the lid on in between stirring so that it steams and cooks more quickly. The grease will automatically drain off into the bottom of the pan. After it is fully cooked, transfer the cooked meat to a container to cool. Repeat process until all meat is cooked. I never pour the water/grease down the drain . I wait until it's completely cool and the fat has hardened so that I can throw the fat away and then pour out just the water. When the meat is cooled, place in quart-size freezer bags. I usually put 3/4-1 pound portions in each bag. Place in freezer and save lots of time when making future meals!

Poached Chicken Meal Starter

The above pictures are my chicken ready to cook and 5 bags of meal starters. I LOVE having cooked ground beef and cooked, cubed chicken in the freezer. Eliminating that step when it's time to make dinner saves so much time. It can also be a great money saver. I wait for chicken breasts to come on sale, purchase quite a bit and then poach and freeze it. Chicken meat used in soups, salads, sandwiches, and curry dishes is usually poached.

Here are some meals I use poached, cubed chicken in:
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Super Southwestern Bake
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Quesadillas

Here's how it's done: To poach chicken, simmer the chicken in salted stock or water to which 2 ribs of celery, 1 onion, and 1 bay leaf have been added. Cook the chicken until just tender, approximately 20 to 30 minutes. It is important to simmer and not boil the chicken. Boiling yields tougher meat. A low simmer yields more tender meat. Allow the meat to cool. Chop 2 chicken breasts, place in freezer bags (eliminate as much air as possible before sealing), and freeze for future use.