The 'How to Cook' Blog

When you buy marinating steaks, take their advice… …Marinate them! They tell you this for a reason. The reason? Well, these cuts of meat are typically much tougher and need some extra help to tenderize and break down some of the connective tissues. They are usually more inexpensive to purchase, and are great buys, as long as you know how to treat them. If you don’t marinate them, they’ll turn  [ Read More ]

One of my favorite “soul food” recipe is Shepherd’s Pie… …What’s not to love with this traditional, tasty combination? Mashed Potatoes and Ground Beef with tasty home-style spices. This recipe may be just how your grandmother made Shepherd’s Pie, but she may have even called it “Cottage Pie” from the more “English” translation.  If it isn’t the same as grandma’s, it’s a great alternative. This is an Old English recipe  [ Read More ]

Unless you are a vegetarian or vegan, you likely enjoy eating hamburgers. Hamburgers are definitely a North American staple, and this may be an understatement. Each family usually has their “own way” of making burgers, with different mixtures of ingredients, secret sauces and hidden spices. This is a basic hamburger recipe that’s solid each and every time. They stay moist with the “secret” ingredient, and are marvelous not only on  [ Read More ]

Tonight, I have decided to BBQ some sirloin tip steaks that looked beautiful from my grocer. It is a marinating steak, meaning you must marinate it to flavor and tenderize the meat prior to cooking. Then, you may BBQ it just the same as you would any other steak. Check out how I marinated my sirloin tip steaks tonight in this video below: The base of my marinade tonight is  [ Read More ]

Just about every culture has some sort of meatball recipes. This is a basic meatball recipe that can be used for just about anything, including burgers, just shape them differently. However, once you’ve mastered this recipe, try adding other spices, using different types of crumbs, etc. to make something entirely uniquely your own, or to adapt it for other ethnic recipes. You may want to prepare these in advance without  [ Read More ]

Whether it’s a hot summer or in the dead of winter, we all crave that BBQ flavor of the grill. Sometimes, burgers are all you need to fill that void. It’s fun to play around with burger flavors, and what is more “summertime” than the southwest flavors of the USA? Play around with different crumbs to change flavor and add small ingredients to create the flavors you desire. Check out  [ Read More ]

It’s summer time in North America, and that means we are barbecuing out butts off! Well, at least I am, every chance I get. In fact, I feel guilty when I don’t get out there and grill knowing the Canadian winter is so long. Everyone’s favorite has to be the perfect steak. I’ll bet you can smell that steak on the grill when your neighbors are using their BBQs, don’t  [ Read More ]

This is one of the meals we created during our One Month Grocery Shopping Strike! We had everything in the house already, except onions, which is fresh produce we are allowed to use in this challenge. It was delicious, nutritious and helped us clean out our pantry cupboards! Try it – it’s easy to cook too. Type: Pasta Recipe Serve with: Garlic Bread, if desired and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese  [ Read More ]

Learning how to cook Mennonite Style Borscht is something we don’t take lightly in our family. We make this cabbage soup often, especially in the colder months of the year. One side of my family has Mennonite roots. We are German, but hailing from Russia, on my mother’s side. My other side is Ukrainian and they are well known for eating borscht too! “I love Borscht! I’m giving you our  [ Read More ]

Ever wonder how to store meatballs? How to store cookie dough? When you go to all the trouble to make something very delicious and spend good time preparing it, it’s a great idea to make more than you will use… …The excess is great to store away in the freezer to use at a later date and save you time and energy. This week in particular, I happened to make  [ Read More ]

It’s a great idea to learn how to cook meatball soup because it’s rather quick to create and is full of protein for those who love more “stuff” in their soup, but has lots of broth for us soup lovers out there! A favorite comfort food in our household is meatball soup like my mom used to make! It’s not Italian in nature, as you may think. In fact, I  [ Read More ]

There’s just nothing like stew when it’s cold outside and you’re hungry! This extra tasty classic will leave you wanting another bowl and is sure to please even picky eaters with it’s flavor, fragrance and hearty nature. The perfect, traditional dish to learn how to make that you can build on and substitute with other meats in the future. ~ Kimberly Edwards Type: Soup Recipe Serve With: Fresh, crusty bread  [ Read More ]

My mother has always made stuffed peppers since I was little, and they’re one of my favorites – a type of soul food of mine, if you will… …This recipe is embellished or “snazzed” up from our traditional recipe, but every bit as delicious! ~ Kimberly Edwards Type: Main Dish Recipe Serve With: Sour cream or plain yogurt Prep Time: 12 min Cook Time: 1 hr Yield: Serves 4 Ingredients:  [ Read More ]

I’ve never had a Chipotle restaurant meal that I didn’t love. Their burritos are huge like FreeBirds, their salad bowls are my favorite, burrito bowls look amazing, etc. They have chicken, steak, ground beef, barbacoa and I believe one other type of meat to choose from. I always grab a salad bowl…they’re so filling even though it’s salad. They come with their signature Chipotle-Honey vinaigrette that’s superb. * Tip: Don’t  [ Read More ]

Now, as you all know, I love BBQ and I love burgers! What you may not know is that we play sand volleyball every weekend and sometimes during the week when it’s nice weather here in Dallas – either at Lone Star Volleyball Club or at Yucatan Beach Club in Coppell, Texas – they’re right across the street from each other. Well, when we play at Lone Star, as long  [ Read More ]

Okay…Delicious, Superb, Tasty, Wow… …All of these words can describe the Philly Cheesesteak my hubby picked up for me this afternoon in Dallas, Texas from Philly Connection. Apparently, they’re a franchised chain, so there are a number of locations, but the one we went to was: Philly Connection 6334 Gaston Ave., Dallas, Texas, 75214 Phone: (214) 828-9070 We had a Philly Cheesesteak with grilled onions and mushrooms. It was marvelous  [ Read More ]

This is hearty, fabulously delicious, easy to make, and very impressive! It’s well worth the wait… You’ll crave this stew over and over again! Type: Soup Serve With: Fresh, crusty bread or rice and topped with freshly chopped parsley Prep Time: 17 min Cook Time: 2 – 3.5 hrs total Yield: 1 large stock pot full, serves 4-6 people Ingredients:

Exclusively for Cooking With Kimberly, this is an amazing tailgating recipe for Kenney’s Superbowl Nacho Dip. Great for any sporing event! It’s easy and you’ll love it… Check out this fun video: Instead of making nachos, we

This is my husband’s Southern Meatloaf recipe that barely lasts for leftovers…So, we try to make as much as we can handle…LOL…Meatloaf sandwiches are one of my favorite things for a leftover meal! Yum! ~ Kimberly Edwards Type: Main Serve With: My Kickin’ Sweet Southern Cornbread and Collard Greens Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: ~ 30 min Yield: 5 servings, plus leftovers for the next day! *** Ingredients:

This dish includes traditionally German ingredients for a full meal in a baking dish. It’s lovely for a family dinner or for a smorgasbord buffet. ~ Kimberly Edwards Type: Main Serve With: Nothing…It’s perfect all by itself! Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 1 hr, 40 min Yield: 9 x 13′ casserole dish Ingredients: