Cooking School subjects include:

• Tools & Tricks
• Techniques
• Conversions & Reductions
• Substitutions & Makeovers
  

Cook’s Tools and Tricks

Begin with the Right Tools

Having the right kitchen tools can make cooking easier and more fun! However, you don't need every tool in the store. Before you buy that next piece of kitchen equipment, check the following tips and suggestions.

30+ Time-Saving Kitchen Tools
Save time in the kitchen with these tools.

Prepare

Use “Mise en Place” to Make Meal Preparation Easier
Learn how practicing “mise en place”- prepping foods and measuring out first - can help you assemble meals more quickly and effortlessly.

9 Bites for Better-Tasting Fruits and Vegetables
Use these preparation and storage “bites” to enjoy the abundant summer produce at its peak of flavor, appearance and safety!

Add Flavor with Herbs, Spices

Healthy Cooking with Fresh Herbs
Whether you plant them or pick them up at the grocery store or farmers’ market, adding fresh herbs is a quick way to transform ordinary meals into extraordinary meals. Directions for substituting dried for fresh, how to store, wash, freeze, prepare fresh herbs, and how to grow an herb garden.

Flavor That Food Spice / Herb / Food Combinations
Make foods tasty without using salt or adding extra fat or sugar by adding these spices and herbs.

Add a Little Spice and Herbs to Your Life Handout
Recipes Handout using Herb and Spices
Guidelines for adding spices and herbs to foods.

Stay Organized

Find it Fast: Filing Food Appliance and Other Kitchen Gear Instruction Manuals
A product manual for kitchen items can be a cook's best friend. Here’s how to file them so you can find them.

How to Organize your Recipe Collection

Cooking Techniques

Using the Oven or Stovetop

• Baking (external link to Home Baking Association)
• Oven Roasting Guidelines for Beef
• Oven-Roasted Root Vegetables - YUM!
• Sauteing Tips for Foods (Includes Beef Stew with Vegetable "Gravy" recipe)

Freezing Make Ahead Foods

• Freezing Cooked Food for Future Meals: Freezer Bag Tips
• Make Ahead Frozen Beef Crumbles: Easy Ground Beef Recipes from Your Freezer
• "Tray Pack" Foods when Freezing, for Easy Pouring

Meat, Poultry and Eggs Basics

• Beef Basics (external link to Cattlemen's Beef Board)
• Pork Cooking Basics (external link to National Pork Board)
• Turkey Basics (external link to National Turkey Federation)
• Chicken (external link to National Chicken Council & U.S. Poultry and Egg Association)
• Eggs 101 -- How to's (external link to American Egg Board)
• Hard-Cooked Eggs (external link to American Egg Board)
• See also the Meat Products Preparation pages►

Techniques for Rice, Beans, Fruits & Vegetables

• Washing and Preparing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• Cooking with Onions without Crying
  
• Cooking with Dry Beans
• Cooking Dry Beans from Scratch CAN Be Quick
• Now You're Cooking, with Brown Rice!
  
• Grilling Fruits and Vegetables on a Double-sided Grill
• What to Do with Zucchini!

♦Helpful Thanksgiving Holiday Cooking Links - (includes cooking ahead) More Holiday Ideas in CIQ's Just For Fun!

Conversions and Reductions

Reducing the Size of Recipes
Directions for cutting recipes in half or thirds, plus equivalent measures.

Temperature Conversions for Fahrenheit to Celsius; Convert Metric and Standard Measurements

How to Interpret Can Sizes
Some favorite older recipes may call for can sizes such as a Number 2 or a Number 303 can. Here's a chart to help you determine how these correspond to current can measurements.

Standard Measurement Equivalent Chart
Need a pint instead of 2 Cups? Find equivalent measurements in this PDF chart.

Ingredient Substitutions

Often for lack of an ingredient, a recipe is ruined, an extra trip to the store is required, or you must buy a large container of an ingredient for just a teaspoon or two needed in a recipe.

Use these Tips to Substitute Another Ingredient

Nutrition Substitutions and Makeovers

Recipe substitutions and makeovers that help you enjoy delicious and nutritious food.

How to Bake Gluten-Free with Sorghum Flour

More Substitution Ideas from "Cook it Quick"

• How to Make a Casserole from What's on Hand
• Make a Meal from What's on Hand
• Take a Can of Tomato Sauce and... (Subbing various tomato products)