Do you ever want to really wow your family with an amazing dinner, but aren't sure where to start? When you're the one who is often doing the cooking, it can be hard to break from your set routine and really show them something different. It's especially hard when money is a consideration, as it always seems to be these days. Of course there's the classic favorites like steak or a casserole, but they've seen you make that before, and it won't amaze them. If you really want to show off, on a budget, and without having to spend the whole day in the kitchen, why not make them one of their restaurant favorites at home, and cook them one of these fabulous lobster dinners.

Lobster dinners can be a great way to bring your family together for a special meal night at home. Instead of heading off this way and that to different activities, your family can relax and enjoy a delicious, unexpected meal together. It's also a great surprise for a spouse after a stressful week of work. Because who would expect to get a juicy, succulent lobster as their dinner?

The unexpectedness of the meal is what makes lobster dinners such a great buy. It's a restaurant worthy treat that you can make easily in your own home, for a fraction of the cost of eating out.

Making a lobster dinner at home is a great way to give your family luxurious dinners without having to spend a ton of money. But how do you have a great meal like this inexpensively? It's easy, all you need to do is order online. When you buy a lobster dinner in a restaurant, you're paying all of the overhead that the restaurant has, plus a markup for profit. You're getting a great meal, but it's going to cost you. When you buy lobsters at the grocery store, you're also paying a markup. Plus you never know what kind of quality they're going to have. By ordering online, you're getting the freshest lobster available, at market price, meaning great savings for you, and the best quality you can get.

Making lobster dinners couldn't be easier, which is another great incentive to treat your family to one. Simply boil several quarts of water in a stock pot. To this add carrots and potatoes, and your lobsters. As the lobsters boil, they will flavor your vegetables and create stock. When they're finished, take them out, along with the vegetables, and you've got a ready to serve meal, with stock to be served in soups and sauces later. It's a great and easy way to create a balanced meal for your family, and it only takes one pot, which means less clean up for you as well!

When you want to give your family great and special meals to remember, lobster dinners are the way to go. They are simply, and need only easy preparation and clean up. And you can order your lobsters online at a great discount.

With just 4 ingredients, this Easy Crock pot Chicken couldn't be Easier! Cooking the meal in a single pot reduces washing up, and the low cooking temperature and glazed pot make cleaning it very easy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 whole boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cans cream chicken soup (just the soup, not the water, it will come later)
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup (just the soup, not the water, it will come later)
• 2 soup cans of water.

1. Remove all fat and skin from chicken; rinse and pat dry, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. Put in crock pot and add the three soups straight from the cans.
3. Cook on low all day (at least 8 hours) do not lift the lid. Serve over rice or noodles.

General Cooking Tips When Cooking With A Crock Pot

• When you are cooking with a crock pot the key is to let it cook uninterrupted (no lifting the lid). When you lift the lid to check the food you lose valuable heat and moisture. With crock pot cooking you can also reduce time by using the high setting and cutting the time in half then adding one hour. Example with this recipe, it calls for 8 hours of "Low" temp cook time. You can reduce it to 4 to 5 hours cook time on the "High" temp setting.
• When cooking with a Crock Pot, only fill the bowl to two thirds full, If you fill it fuller than that the food will not cook properly. Just make sure that what you want to cook is not more than 2/3 of the bowl or you may need to adjust the recipe or get a larger crock pot.
• Be sure to remove as much skin and fat from the meat you will be cooking. The fats in the food will melt with long cook times and can add an unpleasant texture to the dish.
• When a recipe gives you directions of what goes into the crock pot first, follow those directions. Meats typically cook faster than vegetables, so the vegetables should be placed under the meat.
• If you feel a need to lift the lid and check the food or stir, then you may need to increase the cook time by 15 to 30 minutes for each time you lift the lid.

Happy Cooking!

Chicken marinated in a rice wine, soy sauce, ginger and garlic marinade, then fried and sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds. My family already tried and loved it. A delicious Chinese chicken recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chicken
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 ounces small mushrooms, quartered
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
4 scallions, chopped diagonally
boiled rice, to serve

Marinade:

2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
few drops of Tabasco sauce
1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed

1. Trim the meat and cut into thin strips about 1/2 x 2 inch.
2. Make the marinade: In a bowl, blend the cornstarch with the rice wine or dry sherry, then stir in the lemon juice, soy sauce, Tabasco sauce, ginger and garlic. Stir in the strips, cover and leave in a cool place for 3-4 hours.
3. Place the sesame seeds in a wok or large frying pan and dry-fry over moderate heat, shaking the pan, until the seeds are golden. Set aside.
4. Heat the sesame and vegetable oils in the wok or frying pan. Drain the meat, reserving the marinade, and stir- fry a few pieces at a time until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon.
5. Add the mushrooms and green pepper and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the scallions and 1 minute more.
6. Return the meat to the wok or frying pan, together with the reserved marinade, and stir over a moderate heat for a further 2 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly coated with glaze. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and serve immediately with boiled rice.

With these uncertain times, it can be hard to feel like celebrating life's special milestones. Birthday's and anniversaries might pass without you feeling like, or being able to afford, going out to celebrate. But even in difficult economic times, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is the celebrate the things that really matter. This doesn't have to involve a big dinner out that costs your friends, family and spouse a lot of money. Why not stay in instead, inviting over the people that really matter, and showing them that you appreciate them as you celebrate your special even. You can do this easily with a cost effective lobster dinner.

A lobster dinner sounds like it would be a fancy and extravagant way to go, but that isn't the case. However, remember this preconception, because it's how your friends are going to feel when you serve them this delicious meal. Because it seems so luxurious and expensive, it will make your friends feel like they've come over for an exciting and extravagant party.

But you'll know that you were actually able to save quite a bit of money for this dinner party. The key is how you order your lobster. The main price of most lobster dinners is the surcharge added by the store or restaurant. When you order online, these charges don't apply.

Why is it so much cheaper to order a lobster dinner online, you may be wondering. Well the reason is simple, and it has everything to do with those surcharges mentioned above. When you order a lobster dinner at a restaurant, you're of course paying a premium for everything. Not only will the price of your lobster be marked up, but you'll be paying a premium for appetizers, drinks and desert as well. At a grocery store, you're not just paying for the price of your lobster, you're also paying the fee for all the employees, the store, and the middleman who delivered the lobster. This can all add up to some serious extra costs for you.

But buying your lobster dinner online takes away all of those costs. Because you're ordering directly from the fisherman, you pay only the going market price of the lobster, and the subsidized shipping fees. And because you're getting the lobster directly from the person who fished it, you know you're getting the finest, freshest lobster there is. This is a great advantage when you're cooking at home, and the fresh taste can shine through. And because you're ordering online, you get next day shipping, meaning your lobster will be delivered for your party, fresh and without you having to head to the store in advance, hoping there will be enough lobsters for everyone.

When you want to celebrate, but don't want to go over budget, ordering a lobster dinner online is a great way to have a great time without having to compromise. Your friends and family will be wowed at what you're able to offer them, and you'll enjoy it too.

Chicken curry is a common dish in several countries and regions such as in India, Pakistan, East Asia, and in the Caribbean.

As the name indicates, the main ingredients used to prepare this dish are chicken and curry powder or paste. However, given its popularity there are several recipes variations combining different ingredients. You can find chicken curry recipes prepared with coconut milk, ginger, lemon grass, saffron, etc.

Below you can find two chicken curry recipes: The first one combines chicken drumsticks with curry powder, ginger, potatoes, garlic and sour cream. In the second recipe besides curry powder, orange juice and chicken broth improve the flavor of chicken breasts.

Chicken Curry Recipe 1

10 chicken drumsticks
3 medium potatoes
4 tablespoons curry powder (or more if desired)
8 oz. sour cream
2 large onions
2" piece fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
5 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup water

Cut onions, ginger and garlic into smaller pieces. Put them into a food processor and mince finely. Skin and cut potatoes into quarters. Mix the curry powder with some water to make a paste.
Heat oil in a non-stick Dutch oven. Stir-fry the minced onion mixture until fragrant. Add in the curry paste and stir-fry, mixing well for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and potatoes. Mix well.
Cook, covered, for about 2 minutes. Add sour cream and water. Mix well. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook, covered, on low heat for about 30 minutes. Serve with rice.

Chicken Curry Recipe 2

2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless chicken breast halves, cut in bite-size pieces
1-3/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/4 cups long grained rice, uncooked
10 ounce package frozen Peas

Combine brown sugar, curry powder, mustard and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon seasoning mixture over chicken, tossing to coat. Reserve remaining seasoning mixture.
Bring chicken broth, orange juice, rice and reserved seasoning mixture to a boil in a large non stick skillet. Add chicken; reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in peas; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Correct salt if necessary.

Salmon is an extremely tasty and healthy choice for any meal. There are a wide variety choices, however most salmon you'll get from your grocery store is Atlantic salmon because it is quite abundant. Other popular and also tasty types of salmon include Sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, and silver salmon. If available, you should give these a try as well. When you do select your fish, make sure that it is fresh-the fresher the better.  The flesh should be bright and colorful, rather than dull or grey. It should also be firm and not feathered. When pressed with your finger, the flesh should bounce back, leaving no trace of indentation. The skin should be translucent and bright and not slimy. The gills should be bright red. The eyes should be clear and rounded; if they are cloudy or sunken in, the fish is already out of date.

Handling salmon, once purchased, requires its own special attention. Once you get home, remove the fish from its wrapping and rinse it with cold water; next rewrap the salmon in plastic wrap and then cover it with a layer of aluminum. Store it in your refrigerator in the coldest part, to keep it fresh. Ideally, you should avoid the typical temperature setting of 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit. Most food is unsafe within this temperature setting. So, remember to keep your salmon as cold as possible. You probably shouldn't keep the fish unfrozen for longer than a day, as it will not keep.  

Do not purchase fish until you actually want to use it. You can freeze salmon by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap, foil and Ziploc bags. When prepared thusly, salmon can keep in the freezer for up to six months, with its flavor and texture sealed intact. When you want to defrost the salmon, place in the refrigerator for a day or about 30 hours before serving time. Do not try to quick defrost with a warm water bath. When handling salmon, it is important that you are careful. Bacteria will often grow on food that is kept in a temperature range of 40F and 140F. Take the time necessary to defrost the salmon. Again, handling salmon is a delicate affair, but its worth the extra work.

We could all use a little luck now days! So why not make this Luck 'O The Irish Corned Beef Dinner for your family? This meal is so easy that even beginning cooks can pull it off very successfully. The corned beef brisket, potatoes, carrots, onion, and cabbage wedges all cook in the same pot for ultimate flavor. With this one dish you have your meat and vegetables all-in-one. Add some steamed and seasoned green beans or a lettuce salad, a crusty bread--Irish Soda Bread is a good choice--and you have a tasty, nutritious meal.

CORNED BEEF DINNER

1 (3 to 4 lb) corned beef brisket
approx 7 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
6 med potatoes, peeled
6 carrots
6 cabbage wedges
1 tsp prepared mustard
3 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
dash of ground cloves

Place corned beef brisket in a Dutch oven and add enough water to cover. Add onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until tender. Remove the meat from the Dutch oven and add the potatoes and carrots to the pot. Cover and bring to boiling; cook 5 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges to the potatoes and carrots, cook another 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, place meat, fat side up, in a shallow baking pan. Spread the mustard over top of the meat; sprinkle with a mixture of the brown sugar blend and cloves. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Serve the meat with the vegetables. Spoon the cooking liquid over the meat and vegetables, if desired.

Serves 6 to 8.

Enjoy!

March is here so I have lightened the menus just a bit; it may not be any warmer outside but March's arrival always makes me realize that Spring is on the way. I have also included a 'bake once - eat twice' combo to help with the food budget and time management.

Fried shrimp is a favorite at our house any time. This recipe for shrimp tempura from the Gourmet cookbook is the best I have ever found. It is quick, easy, and tastes delicious!

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday:
Poached Fish in White Wine Sauce (frozen fish fillets)
Duchess Potatoes (instant garlic mashed potatoes)
Baby Peas (frozen peas)
Baked Tomato Halves
Coconut Cream Pie with Berries (prepared graham cracker crust, instant pudding mix)

Monday
Chicken and Dumplings (crock pot; frozen dumplings or pastry sheets, cream of mushroom soup; save some chicken for Thursday)
Asparagus / Tomato Stir Fry
Stacked Brownies (purchased brownies and ice cream)

Tuesday:
Fire Cracker Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa (canned pineapple and chilies)
Sauteed Pierogies (frozen pierogies)
Green Beans
Fresh Baked Jumbo Cookies

Wednesday:
Quick Baked Ziti (vegetarian; jarred pasta sauce, bagged shredded cheese)
Panned Spinach (bagged baby spinach)
Individual Cherry Pies (purchased pastry shells, canned cherry pie filling)

Thursday:
Warm Chicken Citrus Salad (chicken from Monday, bagged salad greens, jarred citrus)
Triple Corn Chowder (canned corn, purchased corn chips)
Pecan Pie (purchased pecan pie)

Friday:
Blue Cheese Encrusted Beef Stew (prepared pie crust, beef gravy, canned potatoes and carrots)
Tossed Salad (jarred salad dressing)
Apple Dumplings a la Mode (purchased ice cream, prepared pie crust)

Saturday:
Tempura Shrimp (cleaned and deveined shrimp)
Udon Noodles with Soy Dressing (purchased noodles)
Steamed Julienne Vegetables (bagged julienned vegetables)
Fresh Fruit Baskets (puff pastry, canned whipped cream)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family

Cooking food on the grill is the most ancient way to prepare dinner, and the barbeque enjoys a special relationship with pork. All meats turn out great on the grill, but pork develops an especially wonderful flavor after spending some time with the fire.

This pork recipe combines the gifts of the grill with the next best thing to happen to pork: sweetness. Honey and apricot preserves glaze the pork while it grills, and you prepare whole fresh apricots on the grill as well to provide a nutritious accompaniment for the meat.

Recipe ingredients:

2 whole boneless pork tenderloins (about 1-1/2 pounds)

Salt and pepper to taste
6 firm ripe apricots
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup honey
2 Tablespoons dry sherry
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
6 sprigs fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
 
Start by making the apricot mustard glaze. Blend the apricot preserves, honey, sherry, maple syrup, mustard, parsley, and salt until smooth. Then taste and season with black pepper to suit yourself.
 
Now heat your grill to a high temperature. Season your pork with salt and pepper and cook on the grill for 10 minutes. Then brush the meat with the apricot mustard glaze and turn the meat. Take the fresh apricot halves and brush them with the glaze on their cut sides. Place the apricots cut side down on the grill around the pork. Continue to grill the pork for another 10 minutes. Turn the meat a couple times and keep brushing on more glaze. The apricots will soften as they cook and be slightly charred but not mushy.
 
Serve the pork by slicing it into thin medallions and arrange them on plates with apricots.

Everyone knows how hard it can be to come up with new dinner ideas that the family will enjoy. Not only that, but the recipe really should be quick and easy on the cook too. Crock pots are a must-have these days, but after way too many beef stews and gumbos, what can be made that will get them running to the table rather than grumbling away from it?

There are literally hundreds of family favorite crock pot recipes that adults and kids alike love. Easy Ziti  Lasagna, Easy Pulled Pork and Tortilla Chicken are three easy and delicious crock pot recipes that families love and are quick to put together in the morning for a great family dinner later.

Easy Ziti  Lasagna

1 box ziti

2 - 28-oz jars pasta sauce

1 egg

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb sausage

2 tbl olive oil

1 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 bag Mozzarella cheese

16-20 oz. Ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes

dash salt & pepper

Grease crock-pot, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook ziti according to package directions, drain. Brown and drain meat. Toss pasta with olive oil. Add pasta sauce to mixture, toss well. Stir together parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, 1/2 bag mozzarella cheese, and browned meat. Can sprinkle lightly with garlic powder. Beat together ricotta, 2 eggs, parmesan, parsley, salt & pepper. Pour half of pasta/sauce/meat mixture into crock-pot. Spread entire ricotta mixture over first layer of pasta. Cover ricotta layer with remaining pasta mixture, and cover with remaining cheese. Cover, and cook on low 4-6 hours.

Easy Pulled Pork Crock Pot Recipe

1 (5 pound) pork butt roast

salt and pepper to taste

1 (14 ounce) can beef broth

1/4 cup brewed coffee

Cut roast in half. Rub each half with salt and pepper, and place in the slow cooker. Pour broth and coffee over the meat. Turn the slow cooker to Low, and cover. Cook for 6 to 8 hours, or until the roast is fork tender. Carefully remove the roast to a cutting board. Pull the meat off the bone with a fork.

Crock Pot Tortilla Chicken

1 dozen corn tortillas

3 cans cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup

1 (8oz) pkg. Jack cheese, grated

1 (8oz) pkg. Cheddar cheese, grated

2 cans (4oz each) chopped chiles

1 boiled deboned chicken (3 to 4 cups chopped)

1/2 med. onion, diced

Layer in a crockpot: Soup, tortillas, cheese, chicken, chiles, onion, soup; repeat, etc. until ingredients are used up. Start on high for 1/2 hour. Reduce temperature to low and cook for 6 hours.

If you are looking for a delicious meal for your whole family that is also budget friendly, lasagna is the way to go. Easy to make, filling, and economical, this popular Italian dish is popular with almost everyone that loves Italian food.

Origins

Lasagna is a type of casserole that layers meat, sauce, and cheese. There are numerous variations, including some with spinach and others with white sauce. It was originally known by another name, but over time came to be known as lasagna after the special type of pan used to bake it. Versions of lasagna can be found all around the world. The Greeks make Pastitsio, a type of lasagna that includes large tubular noodles, ground meat, feta cheese, and cinnamon. In Poland there is Lazanki, which uses flat lasagna noodles, cabbage, and bacon.

The following recipe is the more traditional form of lasagna that most people are familiar with, the southern style lasagna. This means that it uses a tomato sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese as part of the recipe.

What You Will Need

In order to prepare your lasagna, you will need to gather a few ingredients if you do not have them at home already. You will want:

• An 8 ounce box of lasagna noodles

• A 15 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

• A 28 ounce jar of pasta sauce, preferably one with a bold flavor, though any flavor will work

• One pound of Italian sausage

• 15 ounces of ricotta cheese

• 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

• ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder

• ¾ cup of dry red wine such as burgundy or cabernet

Preparing The Lasagna

Before you get started, you will want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next you will need to prepare the noodles. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling add the noodles and cook for about eight minutes. The noodles should still be slightly firm. Drain on a paper towel and return to the pan. Coat with a little olive oil and allow to cool. To make the sauce you will want to brown the sausage in a large skillet.

Once browned, add in the pasta sauce, crushed tomato, seasoning and garlic powder. Reduce the heat to low and add the red wine. Continue to cook and stir for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Once your sauce is made, you will have to assemble the lasagna. You will need a 13 x 9 pan. Ladle a quarter of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Layer noodles on top, side by side. Ladle on another quarter of the sauce, and then sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella and a third of the ricotta cheeses. Repeat these steps twice to form the different layers, ending with a ricotta topping. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Allow to set 10 minutes before cutting to serve. If you prefer, the lasagna can be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated as desired.

There is a lot of bad talk surrounding the idea of farmed salmon, and for good reason. Most farms are located in pens along the coast where the food and feces of the enclosed salmon pollutes the open ocean that surrounds them. Salmon farming is also environmentally harmful in that it takes three pounds of wild fishmeal to produce only one pound of farmed salmon. The pesticides and antibiotics used by farmers to prevent disease also get out into the open ocean and are ingested by wild fish. Though many flaws exist, sustainable salmon farming is a possibility.

One of the main problems with salmon farming is the issue of food. So much fishmeal is needed to produce so few fish, but luckily there are farms working to change that. Some sustainable farms use a vegetable based feed while others are using a fish based feed made of forage. Forage is a type of fish not consumed by people due to its small, boney body. Another important element for sustainable salmon farming is that the salmon be allowed to spawn in fresh water inland, thereby requiring the implementation of escape routes for the fish.

It is also important to protect wild fish from breeding with or being contaminated by the waste of farmed salmon. A combination of wild and farmed salmon could have a very harmful result on the natural ecosystem. Breeding between the two can threaten the wild population with disease, competition, and genetic dilution. Keeping these two populations separate is very important for sustainable salmon farming.

The biggest requirement for the success of good salmon farming is spreading the word to consumers. Educating people on the positive effects of responsible salmon farming and its availability is important for its continued success. The financial support of consumer investment is the best way to ensure that sustainable farming becomes widespread, replacing any existing environmentally harmful farms. Though the changes are gradual and they will take time to bolster salmon numbers, remaining conscious of the relationship between the environment and salmon farming and working to fix existing problems are steps in the right direction.