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	<title>Melanie Cooks &#187; Cooking Tips</title>
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	<description>Easy Tasty Recipes With Pictures</description>
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		<title>How To Make An Omelette Without Flipping It</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-make-an-omelette-without-flipping-it/2351/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-make-an-omelette-without-flipping-it/2351/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:49:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=2351</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you not been successful flipping your omelette? Does your omelette tear when you try to flip it? Well, you don&#8217;t really need to flip an omelette in order to cook it through.  I don&#8217;t like the taste of running eggs on top of omelette, and I know how to get the eggs cooked on top without flipping. Here&#8217;s how you do it: Prepare your omelette mixture in a bowl (I like to use eggs, a tiny splash of milk and shredded cheese). Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the eggs &#8211; you should hear the searing sound if the pan was properly heated.  Turn the heat to very low and cover the pan.  That&#8217;s it! The pan cover will ensure that the top of the omelette cooks.  If your lid is see-through, you can watch the omelette cook through it.  Check your omelette after 2 minutes to see if the top is ready.  Do not overcook!  I cook it until there is no runny glop of top. I&#8217;ve never seen anyone else covering their omelettes while cooking, but this method works really well for me.  The omelette is tender, not overcooked and doesn&#8217;t [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
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		<title>How To Cook Faster &#8211; Use Two Frying Pans At The Same Time</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-cook-faster-use-two-frying-pans-at-the-same-time/2328/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-cook-faster-use-two-frying-pans-at-the-same-time/2328/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:55:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=2328</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every cook wants to find shortcuts to speed up their cooking.  Who doesn&#8217;t want to cook faster and get the same results?  Here&#8217;s a very simple, yet often overlooked tip on how to cook faster: use two frying pans at the same time on 2 burners!  And if you have the space on your cooktop, you can even use 3 or 4 frying pans at once if needed :) If you use just one frying pan, you have to wait till one portion of the food finished cooking, remove it from the frying pan and then put the next portion of food on this frying pan.  Think of how much time you are losing by doing that!  I always use the 2 largest frying pans on 2 burners at the same time.  Two huge frying pans are usually enough to fit all the food that I&#8217;m cooking.  I waste no time &#8211; I put all the food on those 2 frying pans, and when it&#8217;s done cooking all at once, I am done! Another advantage of using 2 frying pans at once is that the food is not crowded.  How many times did you have pieces of meat touching just [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<title>How To Make Shredded Meat (Chicken, Beef Or Pork) In A Food Processor</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-make-shredded-meat-chicken-beef-or-pork-in-a-food-processor/2291/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-make-shredded-meat-chicken-beef-or-pork-in-a-food-processor/2291/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:13:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=2291</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You can use shredded meat in many recipes. For example, I use shredded chicken in the chicken salad,  shredded BBQ chicken sandwich, and as an addition to pasta dishes and stir fries.  You can also use shredded meat as a filling for quesadillas, enchiladas and burritos, as well as sandwich wraps.  There are certainly many ways to use shredded meat, but what is the quickest way to make shredded meat?  Certainly, the food processor! Shredded the chicken, beef or pork only takes seconds when you use a food processor.  But if you don&#8217;t use the proper blade and technique, you can end up with the crumbles or gooye glop instead of the shreds :)  If you tried shredding meat in the food processor, and it looked nothing like the shredded chicken on the picture above, read on! Here&#8217;s how to make shredded meat correctly in the food processor.  First of all, don&#8217;t use the &#8220;shredder&#8221; blade.  It seems counter-intuitive, since the &#8220;shredder&#8221; is supposed to be for shredding :) Well, that shredding blade works great for shredding carrots, but not for meat!  For the meat, you need a &#8220;slicer&#8221; disk blade &#8211; the round top blade with a single slit. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<title>How To Mince Garlic The Easy Way By Using A Box Grater</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-mince-garlic-the-easy-way-by-using-a-box-grater/1247/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-mince-garlic-the-easy-way-by-using-a-box-grater/1247/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 May 2011 18:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=1247</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you hate using a garlic press to mince garlic? Does your garlic just get squashed and stuck in the garlic press?  Do you use stale-tasting garlic powder instead of fresh minced garlic because you are too lazy to mince garlic? Look no further &#8211; here is an easy way to mince garlic.  Use the box grater!  Mincing garlic with a box grater is much easier than using a garlic press. To mince garlic with a box grater, use the side of the box with the small holes (but not the tiniest ones).  The side that you need to use is shown on this photo. Place the box grater on the cutting board.  Peel the garlic and hold the garlic clove by its very end with your thumb and pointer finger.  Rub the garlic clove on the box grater up and down.  Be careful not to scratch your fingers!  The fingers part sounds scary, but when you get used to using a box grater, it&#8217;s not really an issue &#8211; just make sure you are holding the garlic clove by its end.  Discard the end. Some of the minced garlic will be on the cutting board, and some inside the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Perfect Mashed Potatoes Secrets</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/perfect-mashed-potatoes-secrets/1063/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/perfect-mashed-potatoes-secrets/1063/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2011 13:52:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=1063</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mashed potatoes is a popular dish.  Mashed potatoes taste ranges from awful to great, depending on who makes it.  Have you tried making mashed potatoes, but had them turn out to be less than perfect? You can improve your mashed potatoes recipe significantly if you use these secrets to making perfect mashed potatoes.  Mashed potato secrets are now revealed! Perfect Mashed Potatoes Secret #1: Type Of Potatoes The kind of potatoes that you use to make mashed potatoes matters.  Russet potatoes are the best kind of potatoes for making mashed potatoes.  The second choice is Yukon gold potatoes.  Don&#8217;t use any other kind of potatoes for making mashed potatoes &#8211; especially the red potatoes &#8211; they just have the wrong consitency when mashed. Perfect Mashed Potatoes Secret #2: Don&#8217;t Use A Food Processor Using a food processor is the biggest no-no when making mashed potatoes!  This is the most important secret to making perfect mashed potatoes.  Using the food processor to mash your potatoes will turn them gummy.  The texture and taste of the potatoes mashed in food processor is really nasty! The best tool for mashing the potatoes is a simple potato masher.  Just press on the potatoes with a potato [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How To Prevent Apple Slices From Browning</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-prevent-apple-slices-from-browning/604/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-prevent-apple-slices-from-browning/604/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:19:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fruits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[apples]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=604</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The way to get the fruits eaten is to peel them and cut them into slices.  If the fruits are not prepared for eating, people will be too lazy to prepare them, and fruits will end up spoiled and thrown out. It&#8217;s much easier to cut up a bunch of fruits at once, as opposed to doing just a few at a time.  I cut up the fruits and store them in snack-size plastic containers with lids in a refrigerator.  When someone wants a snack, here are the healthy fruits that are ready for eating!  Cut-up fruits disappear in no time :) Most fruits last for several days in their cut-up state without showing any signs of spoiling.  However, apples turn brown as fast as 30 minutes after being sliced!  For a long time I thought that there is nothing that can prevent apple slices from browning&#8230; until I payed attention to the packaged apple slices in the fast food chains!  How come those packaged apple slices don&#8217;t turn brown? I looked at the ingredient list on those packaged apple slices that don&#8217;t turn brown, and saw ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as an added ingredient.  And what natural product is [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How To Zest A Lemon</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-zest-a-lemon/507/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-zest-a-lemon/507/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:12:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=507</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lemon zest is a wonderful addition to baked goods.  If you are making cakes, cookies, bars, pies or muffins and want them to have lemon scent and taste, add lemon zest! Do you love intense lemon flavor? Mild lemon flavor comes from lemon juice. BIG lemon flavor comes from lemon zest!  Have you not been making fresh lemon zest simply because you don&#8217;t know how to zest a lemon?  Now you will learn how to zest a lemon in an easy way. Don&#8217;t ever settle for the purchased dried lemon zest &#8211; it tastes old, fake and not even lemony.  Dried lemon zest that they sell in the spice jars is a far cry from the fresh lemon zest.  Whenever you have a lemon in your fridge and need lemon zest, make the real thing! The best lemons for the lemon zest are organic lemons.  The lemons that are not organic are coated with wax, and that wax will end up in your lemon zest.  The organic lemons don&#8217;t have the yucky wax, so your lemon zest will be the lemon zest &#8211; pure and lemony. Here&#8217;s how to zest a lemon: You need a lemon: You need a box [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-zest-a-lemon/507/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How To Pick A Ripe Avocado</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-pick-a-ripe-avocado/398/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-pick-a-ripe-avocado/398/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:48:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[avocado]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=398</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When the avocado is ripe and ready for eating, the skin peels away from the flesh very easily, and the inside of the avocado is soft and mashes easily with a fork.  Ripe avocado is full of flavor &#8211; it tastes smooth and buttery.  An avocado that is not yet ripe is tough and tasteless. If you peel the avocado that is not yet ripe, there is no going back &#8211; you&#8217;ll have to eat it as is :)  Therefore, before you peel an avocado, always make sure that this avocado is ripe!  If the avocado is not ripe, just leave it on the counter &#8211; it will be ready to eat in a few days. On the other hand, you certainly don&#8217;t want an avocado that is overly ripe (a.k.a spoiled)!  While the unripe avocados can be eaten after several days, a spoiled avocado goes straight to the garbage can :) Here&#8217;s how to tell if an avocado is ripe: Step 1: Analyze How An Avocado Looks The avocado skin should be uniform &#8211; without dents and bruises.  The most common variety of avocado &#8211; Haas avocado &#8211; has a dark green skin with a black tint when ripe [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-pick-a-ripe-avocado/398/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How To Thaw Frozen Shrimp Fast</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-thaw-frozen-shrimp-fast/306/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-thaw-frozen-shrimp-fast/306/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:38:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you decided in the last minute to make a shrimp recipe for dinner?  Need to defrost the shimp right away?  Here&#8217;s the fast way to thaw frozen shrimp. Put frozen shrimp in a colander.  Put colander in a large bowl.  Put the bowl with the colander in a sink, and fill it with cold water.  Leave for 10 minutes. Lift the colander with the shrimp out of the bowl.   Run the cold water through the shrimp, and move the shrimp around with your hands while the water is running.  This will thaw the last remaining pieces of ice, and the shrimp will be completely defrosted and ready to go.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How To Cook Perfect Rice In A Rice Cooker</title>
		<link>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-cook-perfect-rice-in-rice-cooker/283/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-cook-perfect-rice-in-rice-cooker/283/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:53:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Melanie Mendelson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cooking Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Side Dish Recipes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melaniecooks.com/?p=283</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The laziest way to cook perfect rice is to use a rice cooker!  Put rice, water and salt in a rice cooker, press the button and walk away :)  Rice cooker will do all the work in cooking the perfect rice for you. The Ratio Of Rice And Water In A Rice Cooker For white rice in a rice cooker, I always use the ratio of 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water. The rice cooker manual has different ratios depending on the rice type, but I hate reading manuals and just remember the ratio that always worked for me :) How Much Salt In Rice? I use 1/4 tsp of salt per 1 cup of uncooked rice. How To Cook Rice In A Rice Cooker &#8211; Pictures I usually cook 2 cups of dry rice at a time: Using my ratio of rice to water in a rice cooker, I add 3 cups of water: Then I add 1/2 tsp of salt to a rice cooker, and press the &#8220;Cook&#8221; button: When the rice cooker beeps, the rice is ready!  You don&#8217;t even have to take it out right away &#8211; the rice cooker will keep your [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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