AJ's Diner

Last updated: December 16, 2007

		Welcome!
		Ratings
		Recipes
		Tips
		Order Cookbooks
		Read or Sign the Menu

WELCOME!

Welcome to AJ's Diner. This page is designed for that busy single career person or college student who needs some easy-to-use recipes in an easy-to-use format.

You will note the minimal use of images, and basic black text on white background. This makes it easier for you to print the pages of your favorite recipes here at the diner so you can get cooking right away!

These recipes are field-tested by AJ herself (dat's me!), and come with an ease-of-use rating, cooking and recipe tips, history of the recipe, list of ingredients you will need before preparing the meal, and step-by-step instructions so that even a beginner's cook can serve up a delicious meal!

Back to Contents

RATINGS

Every recipe has a rating for its ease of preparation, the amount of time spent in the kitchen, and utensils necessary to create your meal. The rating for each recipe appears next to the name of the recipe both in the recipe listing as well as on the recipe page itself.

Here are the rating categories:

Easy to prepare, very little amount of time in kitchen, not a lot of ingredients.

A little extra time to prepare, you might need to go to the grocery store for more stuff.

Requires some extra time to prepare, might need some special ingredients or utensils.

Extra time necessary to prepare, requires special ingredients or utensils, you might need to feel more comfortable about cooking in general before tackling these.

Back to Contents

RECIPES

		Breads
		Cookies & Snacks
		Drinks
		Eggs
		Meats

Beef Recipes

Fowl Recipes

Pork Recipes

Other Recipes

		Soups
		Vegetables & Sides

Back to Contents

TIPS

		Ingredients
		Low-Fat Alternatives
		Measuring

Ingredients

It's always best to know before cooking that you have all the necessary ingredients in sufficient quantity. Get out all of the ingredients needed before you start cooking. Knowing what you will prepare for meals will also help you in creating grocery lists to prevent multiple trips to the store.

When cooking some recipes (notably bread and cookies), you will notice the difference between "moist" and "dry" ingredients.

"Moist" ingredients include obvious things like water, extracts and other liquids. Not-so-obvious moist ingredients include butter or shortening, eggs, peanut butter, or any other type of solid which has a liquid base. Many times in sweet recipes, you will find sugars are also included with these types of ingredients mainly because sugars dissolve in liquid.

"Dry" ingredients include just about everything else from flour to baking powder.

In bread- and cookie-type recipes, the moist and dry ingredients are measured separately.

Back to Tips
Back to Contents

Low-Fat Alternatives

Like everyone else in America, I found it was time to face the fact that I needed to cut some calories from my diet. At the same time, I found it difficult to give up all my favorite foods. I found out it was easy to have the both of best worlds with a couple of these low-fat alternatives!

Substitute low-fat items for the items you might normally use. Egg substitutes are made largely out of egg whites and easily replace whole eggs in most recipes. Instead of 2% milk, use 1% or skim milk. There is even cheese made out of 2% milk which can bring down the fat content by 40%. Use low-fat versions of cream soups. Unless you are deep-fat frying, you can generally substitute vegetable oil with no-fat cooking spray. Always use the leanest meats, or substitute the meat for a leaner version -- like turkey.

Beware: not all low-fat versions of the same product will be the same. Some products, like salad dressing, actually add sugar when they take out fat. Always check labels!

Stay away from deep-fried foods. And, of course, making your own food rather than eating out is the best low-fat alternative of all.

Back to Tips
Back to Contents

Measuring

Until you feel more comfortable with each recipe, you might want to measure out your ingredients before starting. This insures you have sufficient amount of ingredients.

In bread- and cookie-type recipes, "moist" and "dry" ingredients are measured separately. To conserve the amount of dishes for cleanup, measure out all dry ingredients first. This way you can re-use your utensils for the moist ingredients without much clean up.

Measuring your ingredients can be either an exact science or estimated. Once you feel more comfortable with a recipe, experimentation with the amount of ingredients as well as the type will help you in becoming a better cook.

Back to Tips
Back to Contents

SIGN OR READ THE MENU

Guestbook provided by

		Read the Menu
		Sign the Menu

Back to Contents

	Easy to prepare, very little amount of time in kitchen, not a lot of ingredients.
	A little extra time to prepare, you might need to go to the grocery store for more stuff.
	Requires some extra time to prepare, might need some special ingredients or utensils.
	Extra time necessary to prepare, requires special ingredients or utensils, you might need to feel more comfortable about cooking in general before tackling these.