Weekly Menu Planner: Will make your life easier

When it comes to 30-minute meals there is no doubt that the famous Rachael Ray is one of the best in the area of easy and quick meals.

Her magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray offer readers new tasteful ideas and provides useful tips on cooking. One of my favorite sections of the magazines is the Menu Planner, where you can find dinner ideas for every night of the week and also you can create the shopping list for the specific meals.

Most of the recipes are simple to make and the great thing about them is that with less than a $100 per week you will get a varied menu.

You can go to her website to sign up to get a weekly new menu or to get different tips and cooking ideas.

Argentinian Choripan: Quick and Simple

One the quick and easy things that my husband prepares and I like to eat are Argentinian Choripanes.

The word Choripan is the combination of two words; Chori which is short for Chorizo(sausage) and Pan which is bread in spanish.

To make choripan all you need is:

• Grilled Chorizo (Sausage)
• Bread Roll
• Chimichurri Sauce
  

I also like to add lettuce, tomatoes, a little bit of mustard and a slice of cheese.

Assemble Your Own Meals

We all live hectic lives and realistically there are many times when our busy schedule doesn't allow us to cook.

When there is not enough time to prepare a meal you do not have to worry. Mr Food no-fuss Meals provides busy people the option to buy meals that are ready to cook.

With two stores in South Florida; one in Fort Lauderdale and the other one in Coconut Creek, customers can choose main dishes, side dishes and desserts from an assorted menu that changes every month.

The customers have the following options:

• No-fuss Sessions: Customer go to the store and assemble their own meals.


• Grab 'n' Go: The store will assemble the meals of choosen by the customer and they need to do is pick them up at the store.


• Delivery: (This is only offer in some store). The store will drop off the assemble meals right at your door.

Looking at the menu from April prices range from $35.95 for the Garlic and Pepper-Crusted Sirloin for a large portion (4 to 6 people) to $24.95 for the Crunchy Chicken Ceasar large portion (6 servings). Sides dishes are between $4.95 to $6.95 for a large portion.

They also have one store in Melbourne, FL, another store in Charlotte, NC, and one in Buffalo, NY.

If you want more information about their meals or to see the menus visit their website.

Bringing a little bit of Colombia to your table

In my past blogs, I have posted several recipes from different parts of the world but I felt that I was leaving behind the food from my native country.

I am going to share with you some pictures and recipes of Colombian Fast Food that easy and quick to make.

Ensalada de Frutas (Fruit Salad)













Colombian Style Hot Dog













Salchipapas (Fries with Hod Dog)

Flavorful Peruvian Food

The Peruvian cuisine offers a mix of different cultures, wikipedia states that the biggest influence of Peruvian food comes from the Spanish cuisine with a mix of native ingredients.

Peruvian food is also influence by the Chinese, Japanese and Italian cuisine. Today, I am going to share with you the quick recipes of some of the most famous Peruvian dishes.

• Causa: Mashed yellow potatoes seasoned with aji and lime.
• Ceviche: Fish fillets cooked with lime juice, served with corn and sweet potatoes.
• Papa a la Huancaina: Potatoes with spicy cheese sauce.
• Tallarines Verdes: Green Spaghetti.

Here it is a video of Peru so you can know a little bit about the country

Food and meals you can freeze

Keeping frozen food or frozen meals handy is a good alternative for busy people but you have to consider different things to make sure you are storing your food in a safe way.

According to the USDA website, in order to safely store food in the freezer the temperature should be 0 °F. This will help to preserve the vitamin content, color, flavor and texture of the food.

The website also recommends to check for any strange odor in the food before using it. Remember that the longer you keep the food in the freezer the more likely it is that the quality of the food will be affected.

Here are some useful links that will help you to understand things from how to freeze food to how long food will last in the freezer:

1. Make-ahead meals and time they last in the freezer
2. Tips for freezing food
3. How long will food last in the freezer?
4. How to freeze different types of food?

Tapas: Famous Spanish Little Plattes

One the most famous dishes in Spain are Tapas. The website Spain.info says that you may find over 100 varieties of tapas.

Tapas can be made with can serrano ham, cheeses, shrimp, croquettes, chorizo, pickles and many more ingredients.

I found the recipes for some of the most popular tapas and here they are:

Potato Omelette (Tortilla de Patata)

Prawn and Bacon Brochettes

Shrimp Fritters

Bread With Olive Oil

I also found on the Tapeña Spanish Wine website a varied selection of recipes to make quick tapas.