Fire Safety: Staying Safe at Home

Starting from the installation of our appliances, we make decisions that can have an impact on the lifespan and safety of our kitchens. Here are our top tips on how to stay safe in the kitchen with advice on everything from hobs to washing machines and all the daily chores in between…

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Cheat Beets: Pickle Your Home Grown Veg in No Time

If you’ve never pickled vegetables but you’d like to give it a go, there’s a few things you’ll need to consider. Here’s our rundown of quick tips that will have you pickling like a pro in no time!

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Make at Home: The Secret Ingredients in Your Favourite Fast Food REVEALED!

Fast food secret ingredients

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How much money do you spend on fast food; are you a ‘once in a blue moon’ kind of person, or a ‘I just can’t help myself’ fast-food-aholic? Wouldn’t it be great if you could treat yourself to a healthier, cheaper, homemade alternative? Well, now you can…tuck in!

 

Big Mac Sauce

To make ¾ of a cup:

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons French dressing
  • 4 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced onion
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine all of the ingredients, stir well and refrigerate for several house. Stir a few times during chilling.

 

McDonalds Fries

  • 2 high-starch potatoes (1 per person)
  • ¼ cup corn syrup
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 6 cups peanut oil
  • ¼ cup beef lard
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Mix water with corn syrup, then add your finely chopped fries and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat peanut oil in a deep fryer until it reaches 190c/375f.

Remove fries from their water and pat them dry, before carefully adding them to the oil to part-fry them for 1 and a half minutes. Remove them from the fryer and return to the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Add the beef fat to the peanut oil, and turn the heat up to 200c/400f.

Add the fries back into the oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes or until they are golden brown. Drain, sprinkle with salt and serve.

 

KFC Chicken

  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon sage
  • 1 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 2 cups flour

Mix all of the ingredients together. Dip chicken drumsticks and wings into egg, then roll in the mix, repeat this step again, then fry. 

 

KFC Gravy

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 4 ½ tablespoons flour
  • 1 can chicken stock
  • 1 can water
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine 1 ½ tablespoons of flour with the vegetable oil in a saucepan over a low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until it is dark brown. Remove the heat, add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Turn the heat on – a medium heat this time – and bring to the boil. This recipe works best when you can add leftover KFC chicken ingredients that have already been cooked to the mixture.

 

TGI Fridays Jack Daniels Sauce

  • 2 teaspoons roasted garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 2/3 cup water
  • ¼ cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons minced white onion
  • 1 tablespoon Jack Daniels/bourbon whiskey
  • 1 tablespoon crushed pineapple
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Stir roasted garlic with brown sugar, pineapple juice, water, teriyaki sauce and soy sauce, bring to the boil in a saucepan and then simmer.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on the hob until the liquid reduces by half and is thick and syrupy. This process should take 40-50 minutes.

  

Burger King Whopper 

  • 1 burger bun
  • 1 hamburger
  • Pickles
  • Ketchup
  • Onion rings
  • Tomatoes
  • Lettuce
  • Mayonnaise

The Burger King secret method involves the way it’s cooked, not the ingredients that are cooked. Flame grill, rather than oven cook, your burger for maximum BK-ness!

 

Nandos Peri Peri Sauce

  • 1 red pepper, chopped, without seeds
  • 120ml olive oil
  • 70ml distilled white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 3 red chilli peppers, chopped
  • 3 finger chilli peppers, chopped
  • 3 large cloves of garlic, slightly crushed
  • 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs

Heat the oil and vinegar in a saucepan. Add all of the other ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool before blending into a fine sauce. This can be bottled and preserved for longer-term use.

 

Taco Bell Tacos

  • 1kg beef mince
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons masa harina
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon powder
  • 1 1/3 pounds lean ground beef chuck
  • ¾ cup water

Mix all of the ingredients together except for the meat and water. Cook the beef mince until brown. Drain the water, before returning the beef to the saucepan along with the spice mix and ¾ cup of water. Simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes, until most of the moisture has cooked away.

 

Dominos Garlic & Herb Dip

  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 clove crushed garlic
  • 1 ½ teaspoons parsley
  • ½ teaspoon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Milk

Mix all of the above together, slowly adding the milk as the final step until you have a consistency that you’re happy with.

 

5 Guys Cajun Fries

  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it hotter)

Simply mix the spices together before adding to 5 chopped potatoes worth of fries before cooking for 15-20 minutes.

 

Subway Meatball Marinara

The Meatballs

  •  olive oil spray
  •  1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
  •  1 tablespoon fat-free milk
  •  2½ ounces 96 percent lean ground beef
  •  1 tablespoon egg substitute
  •  ½ teaspoon dried parsley leaves
  •  ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  •  ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  •  ¼ teaspoon salt
  •  ½ cup Subway Marinara Sauce (see below)
  •  1 submarine sandwich roll
  •  1 slice (½-ounce) 2 percent milk white American cheese, halved diagonally

The Marinara

  •  olive oil spray
  •  ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
  •  2 teaspoons minced garlic
  •  1 1/3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
  •  ¼ cup water
  •  2 teaspoons sugar
  •  2 teaspoons dried oregano
  •  1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Soak breadcrumbs in milk for a short while, then add beef, egg substitute, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Use your hands to mix well. Divide into four portions and roll into balls. Bake these for 12-15 minutes.

For the marinara sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for four minutes. Add the meatballs and then serve in a roll, top with cheese.

 

In-N-Out Burger Animal Fries

  • 1 cup cooked french fries
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 2 slices American cheese

The Sauce

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons dill pickles, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Cook French fries and top directly with slices of cheese. Caramelise onions over a medium-high heat in oil, then add on top of the cheese and fries. Mix the sauce ingredients together and squeeze on top of your fries. Done! This not-so-secret menu item just got even less secret.

 

Chipotle Burrito

Burrito Mix

  • Sour cream
  • Monterey jack cheese
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Tortilla
  • Chicken
  • Bacon
  • Pinto beans
  • Roasted pepper corn salsa
  • Spicy salsa Guacamole

Cilantro Lime Rice

  • Cilantro
  • 1 ½ limes 
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 2 cups water
  • Salt

Making a Chipotle style burrito is more about bringing the right components together than cooking with a range of ingredients. For the rice, boil and simmer the basmati rice with salt for 15-20 minutes, before removing from the heat and mixing in cilantro and lime juice. Top your steamed tortilla with all of the ingredients on the list for that instantly recognisable Chipotle taste.

 

And for dessert…

Wendys Frosty (Chocolate)

  • ½ 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ gallon chocolate milk
  • 1 8-ounce tub Cool Whip

This is an easy one, as long as you have an ice cream maker. Simply stir all of the ingredients before adding it to the machine and letting the magic happen.

 

 

Sources

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/

http://www.metro.co.uk

http://www.popsugar.com/

http://allrecipes.com/

https://www.pinterest.com

http://abcnews.go.com/

http://www.copykat.com/

http://modernmommyskitchen.wordpress.com

http://brothersgreen.com/

Can Alcohol Be Healthy?

Everyone loves a drink…but who wouldn’t like to be a little bit healthier, given the chance? 

In this in-depth infographic, we look at what you should be opting for when given the choice; beer, cider, wine, spirits, cocktails?

So, what’ll it be…

Can alcohol be healthy? This infographic takes a look.

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From our research, Carling, great straight out of the fridge, came out on top as the healthiest mainstream, non-‘light’ beer; with just 8g carbs and 188 calories per pint. Whilst there was a general trend of ‘the stronger the alcohol, the more calories there are’ throughout our research, beers and lagers seemed to buck the trend somewhat. That is, until we got to craft beers. 

For example, Carlsberg – at 5.0% ABV – has less calories than Carling (182) but 18.1g carbs. Corona Extra, at a weaker 4.5%, has 254 calories and 23.9g of carbs; significantly worse for you. 

However, craft beers do appear to be significantly harsher on the waistline than regular beers, with calories per pint typically ranging between the 250-300 mark, although they can reach the 400 calorie mark in the strongest of ales. 

Ciders are, in general, worse for you in terms of calories and carbs than beers are. With anywhere between 225-300 calories per pint, and even more for fruit variants (other than apple), cider can be significantly worse on the gut than beer. One pint of cider contains as many calories as a sugared donut! 

Wine is also quite bad on your waistline, especially if you aren’t drinking in moderation (which we’d always recommend). There are as many calories in a large glass of wine as there are in a Cornetto ice cream! The rule of thumb with wine is simple: try to go for dry, low-strength wine. The sweeter and stronger the wine is, the more calories there are. Remember, you can keep your wine perfectly chilled in one of our beautiful wine coolers

Pure spirits such as vodka, rum, whisky and gin don’t contain any carbs; result! They also only contain between 64-80 calories per 25ml / 1oz serving. However, at 1 unit per shot, you shouldn’t drink too many of these. 

The undeniably tastiest option on the list is actually the worst for you; cocktails. Packed full of taste – but also full of sugar and calories- cocktails are one of the worst investments you can make (in terms of your gut) whilst on a night out. A vodka Red Bull contains 206 calories – that’s more than a pint of Guinness!