Cooking Time !!! Yellow Cupcake Recepie

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: Makes 12

Ingredients

• For the Cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • Sprinkles, for decorating

• For the Frosting

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; line the cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a liquid-measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Avoid Overmixing.
3. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (a 2-ounce or 1/4-cup ice-cream scoop is good for this).
4. Place tin on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.
5. Prepare frosting: In a medium size bowl, with an electric mixer, mix butter, confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar or a few more teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes.
6. Frost cupcakes; decorate with sprinkles before frosting dries to ensure that they stick. The frosted cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.

5 Tips To Stop Wasting Food And Start Saving Money

 I am guilty of letting some things “go” in my fridge. I don’t finish all my salad greens, so they wilt and I throw them out or I find blue fuzzy mold in the sour cream, so I toss it. A little waste here and there feels harmless, but I certainly wouldn’t ever throw dollar bills in the trash can and, in a roundabout way, that’s what I’m doing when I throw out rotten food.

I bet if I figured out how much food I wasted over the course of a year, I might be a little more aggressive about using it all up. The average American wastes more than 200 pounds of food a year -- that’s a lot of wasted dollars too! Here are a few tips that may help you and me stop wasting food and money:

1. Check expiration dates before you buy: This may seem like a no-brainer, but often you’ll find varying expiration dates on identical products. Stores use expiration dates to indicate freshness, moving the newer products to the back of the shelf with the older ones within grabbing distance. If you want the ultimate in freshness, check the products behind what’s directly in front of you -- you may find fresher ones hidden there.

Find Out: How Closely Do You Need toFollow Food Expiration Dates?

2. At the meat counter ask for the freshest cuts: The meat behind the counter may look good (and chances are it probably is), but you can’t tell by looking how long it has been on display. You could ask the butcher how long it’s been there or you could ask for a fresher cut from the back. Your eyes and nose never lie -- meat starts to color after it’s been cut, so if beef looks dark or pork looks a little gray, avoid it and get another piece. It may be hard to smell if your meat is packaged, but if it has a strong odor, avoid it.

3. Store your food properly: Proper storage is key when it comes to making food last. Store raw meat in the meat drawer away from cooked food to avoid contamination and to keep the temperature consistently cold. Dairy items should be kept in the back of the fridge -- not on the door. Even dry goods don’t last forever. Canned and boxed foods are best kept in a cool, dark pantry away from heat; store things like nuts and whole-wheat flour in the fridge or freezer.

Read More: 5 Vegetables You Shouldn’t Keepin Your Refrigerator

4. Inspect food before you buy it: Ever come home and wonder why you bought an apple with a bruise on it? Or bread or berries with fuzz growing on them? It’s because you were shopping on autopilot. Take some time to look at what you are buying. Giving it a once-over will help you avoid disappointment (and save you time rebuying or returning the item) when you find flaws after your purchase.

5. Make a date with your refrigerator: Once your food is home, keep tabs on it. Move your perishables in plain view so you know what you have. Check the fridge before you go to the grocery store so you don’t purchase something new that you already have. Pick a day of the week to go through your fridge and see what’s in there and try to plan your meals around the stuff that’s nearing its expiration date.

How Closely Do You Need to Follow Food Expiration Dates?

Some people have a fear of snakes. Others are afraid of heights. For me, it’s spoiled food. I’m not claiming that this fear of mine is at all rational, but do I really need to be concerned?

There comes a time when everyone has to face their fears. And that’s going to start with a little digging into expiration dates. Do I really need to throw food away by the date printed on the carton? If not, how long do I have before it really goes bad? And what does “going bad” really mean? Is it unsafe?

Don’t Miss: 10Rules for a Healthy, Safe Kitchen

Here’s what I found that may surprise you:

1) Expiration dates aren’t required
I assumed that there is a regulatory process involved with expiration dates—hard and fast rules. This is not the case. According to the USDA, there is “no uniform or universally accepted system used for food dating in the United States,” although some states do require it, and there are dating regulations when it comes to infant formula.

2) Different dates have different meanings
“Sell-by” “Best if used by” and “use-by” have similar, but slightly different meanings. “Sell-by” is geared more toward the retailer, indicating to them when they should rotate product off the shelves. “Best if used by” is an indicator of quality (the food will not be “bad” after that date) and “use-by” is the last day the manufacturer recommends using the product based on quality, not safety.

3) How long will my food last if it goes past the expiration date?
That depends on what it is and how it was handled. The USDA recommends using products that display the “use-by date” by that time. For sell-by dates that go past at home, you can continue to store the food for a short amount of time depending on what it is. Some common products are: ground meat and poultry (1-2 days past the date), beef (3-5 days past the date), eggs (3-5 weeks past the date).

Related: WhichMilk Is the Best to Buy?

4) Could food lose its nutritional value before it’s expired?
That depends on the food. Take orange juice, for example. One cup of OJ can offer a full day’s dose of vitamin C. But after it’s been open for a week, it loses all antioxidant benefits from exposure to air and light. (And that could happen even before it reaches its expiration date.) 

 5) Is food safe after it expires?
Expiration dates refer to quality, not safety. For example, if a refrigerated product was kept below 40 degrees and was well packaged and handled, it may look and smell a little funny, but would not necessarily be considered unsafe. If it was left out on a warm counter for hours or contaminated by something else, it may harbor harmful bacteria that could cause food-borne illness. (Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than 2 hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40° and 140°F, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.) For this same reason, you should never eat meat, poultry, eggs or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than 2 hours (1 hour in temperatures hotter than 90°F). But this could happen to any food and is not related to expiration dates.

5 Vegetables You Shouldn’t Keep in Your Refrigerator

1. Tomatoes

 

OK, a tomato is technically a fruit, but taste-wise, it’s closer to a vegetable. If you’ve ever grown tomatoes, then you know that they love the heat and hate the cold. Turns out even after they’re plucked from the vine, they still hold their aversion to cold. The fridge is not the ideal place to store tomatoes. Store them there and your perfect tomatoes turn into a mealy disappointment. They’ll still be good for cooking, but not the best for eating fresh. Instead store them on your counter (not in direct sunlight) and enjoy them when they’re ripe.

2. Basil                                    

Tomatoes and basil go well together on your plate and it turns out they have similar needs in the storage department too. Like tomatoes, basil loves the heat, so extended periods of time in a cold environment like a refrigerator causes it to wilt prematurely. Basil will do best if it’s stored on your counter and treated as you would fresh cut-flowers. A fresh bunch of basil can be stored for in a cup of water (change it every day or two) away from direct sunlight. Covering it loosely with a plastic bag will help keep it moist (but make sure the bag has an opening to allow for some fresh air to seep in).

3. Potatoes  

Potatoes like cool, not cold temperatures. They do best at around 45 degrees F, which is about 10 degrees warmer than the average refrigerator. Most of us don’t have a root cellar (a cool, dark place to store root vegetables like potatoes), so keeping them in a paper bag in a coolish spot (like a pantry) is best. Why paper? It’s more breathable then plastic so potatoes won’t succumb to rot as easily. And why not the fridge? Storing potatoes at cold temperatures converts their starch to sugar more quickly, which can affect the flavor, texture and the way they cook

4. Onions  

Onions don’t come out of the ground with that protective papery skin. To develop and keep that dry outer layer, they need to be “cured” and kept in a dry environment like a pantry, which is not as damp as the refrigerator. Also, lack of air circulation will cause onions to spoil, as will storing them near potatoes, which give off moisture and gas that can cause onions to spoil quickly. Store onions in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated place. (Light can cause the onions to become bitter.) Scallions and chives, however, have a higher water content, bruise more easily and have a shorter shelf life, so store these alliums in the fridge.

5. Avocados  

Avocados don’t start to ripen until after they’re picked from the tree. If you’re buying a rock-hard avocado, don’t store it in your refrigerator, as it slows the ripening process. On the other hand, if you have a perfectly ripe avocado that you’re not ready to use, storing it in the refrigerator may work to your advantage by prolonging your window of opportunity to use it before it becomes overripe. So the bottom line on storing avocados is store hard, unripe avocados on your counter and store ripe avocados in your refrigerator if you’re not going to eat them right away.

10 Rules for a Healthy, Safe Kitchen

1. Use a “refrigerator thermometer” to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40°F).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40°F or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of foodborne illness. You can buy a “refrigerator/freezer thermometer” at appliance stores, home centers (e.g., Home Depot) and kitchen stores—including online ones, such as cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave or in cold water, never on the counter.

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than 2 hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40° and 140°F, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave—or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half hour (so it stays cold) and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and produce/cooked foods.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and produce/cooked foods.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows: beef, veal and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish, 145°F; pork and ground beef, 160°F; poultry, 165°F. In the EatingWell Test Kitchen we often recommend cooking meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. However, we recommend that those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness—pregnant women and their unborn babies and newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses—follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized (“raw”) milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria—which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria—can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Raw-milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are OK, since the salt and acidity of the cheesemaking process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat “runny” eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160°F (use an instant-read food thermometer to check). In the EatingWell Test Kitchen, we don’t always recommend cooking eggs fully. However, we recommend that those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness—pregnant women and their unborn babies and newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses—follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs—or sampling cookie batter—use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry and fish or eggs, as bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly—for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165ºF.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165°F in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than 2 hours (1 hour in temperatures hotter than 90°F).

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than 2 hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40° and 140°F, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a foodborne illness. But according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60 percent of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination.

Which Milk Is Best to Buy?

As surprising as it may seem, considering I’m a dietitian and nutrition editor of EatingWell Magazine, my preferred variety of milk is the chocolate kind, especially after a workout. It delivers the mix of protein and carbohydrate our bodies need to recover energy supplies after an intense workout.

But at the grocery store, my choices don’t just stop at plain versus chocolate milk. There’s also fat content to consider and milk labeled organic, RBST-free and lactose-free. And beyond the grocery store, there’s the raw milk versus pasteurized milk debate. With so many choices, how do you know which one you should buy? This guide will help you cut through the confusion.

      Whole milk, reduced-fat milk, low-fat milk or nonfat milk?

Consider whole milk—which delivers 150 calories and 8 grams fat (5 grams saturated) per cup—a once-in-a-while treat. Nutrition experts recommend drinking low-fat (1%) milk (100 calories, 2.5 grams fat) or nonfat milk (80 calories, 0.5 gram fat) to limit intake of the saturated fats that boost risk of heart disease. Infants under age 2, however, who need extra fat to support a developing brain, should drink whole milk.

And don’t be fooled: reduced-fat (2%) milk is not a low-fat food. One cup has 5 grams fat, 3 of them the saturated kind. You won’t miss out on milk’s nutritional boons when you opt for low-fat or nonfat milk (sometimes called “skim”): per cup, all varieties deliver about one-third of the recommended daily value for calcium and at least 20 percent of the daily value for riboflavin, phosphorus and vitamin D.

Organic or not?

Polls suggest people associate organic milk with superior nutrition, better treatment of animals and a healthier planet. But there’s no evidence that organic milk is more nutritious. While preliminary research has suggested that grass-fed cows produce milk with more vitamin E and heart-healthy omega-3 fats than cows fed grains, organic standards don't require that cows be solely grass-fed. (Farmers must use organic fertilizers and pesticides and may not give cows preventive antibiotics or supplemental growth hormones; animals must have access to the outdoors year-round and at least 120 days per year of grazing.)

rBST-free or not?

The claim “rBST-free” indicates milk produced without using the artificial growth hormone recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST. Giving this hormone to a cow boosts its milk production by about five quarts per day. Some consumers believe that treating cows with the supplemental hormone is inhumane, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains that treating cows with rBST does not harm the animals—or significantly affect the hormone content of milk. In fact, all milks—even from cows not treated with rBST—contain naturally-occurring hormones. Note: All organic milks are rBST-free, but not all rBST-free milks are organic (i.e., farmers may use pesticides, fertilizers, etc.).

Lactose-free?

This type of milk is basically regular cow’s milk minus lactose, the natural sugar in milk. It provides all the same healthful nutrients (e.g., protein and calcium), just not the sugar that stokes digestive problems for up to 50 million Americans.

Raw vs. pasteurized?

During pasteurization, milk is heated to high temperatures (>161°F) then rapidly cooled to kill harmful bacteria, including salmonella, E.coli 0157:H7 and listeria. While raw-milk enthusiasts claim heating milk destroys its natural enzymes and beneficial bacteria, studies show that the nutritional differences between pasteurized and raw milk are slight. What’s more, public health experts warn that drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that raw milk accounted for 1,007 illnesses and two deaths between 1998 and 2005. And when USDA scientists collected raw milk samples from 861 farms in 21 states, nearly a quarter of them contained bacteria linked to human illness, including 5 percent that tested positive for Listeria—a bacterium that results in a foodborne illness, listeriosis, and has a 30 percent mortality rate.