Blog Posts by YumSugar

YumSugarSource: 10 Meatless Soups to Start Your Week

While we are certainly meat lovers over here, we're also big proponents of Meatless Mondays. Not only does it help out with our carbon footprint, but sometimes it's just nice to switch things up a little bit, especially at the start of a week. We've shared our favorite meat-free recipes in the past, but with the arrival of National Soup Month, hot soup is definitely on my mind. Here are 10 delicious meat-free soups that are sure to fill you up and not let you down!

1. Vegetarian Chili: A bowl of vegetarian chili is a super-filling and comforting Fall meal. When I make a big pot of this recipe, nothing goes to waste!
2. Butternut Squash: Make the most of butternut squash season with this recipe for a smooth, delightful butternut squash soup. Use vegetable broth as a base and top it off with homemade apple cider cream.
3. Roasted Vegetable: Roasted vegetable soup is so versatile and a great way to use up all of your extra produce sitting

YumSugarSource: How to Prep Chicken Wings For Appetizers

I'm starting to get psyched for the big game, so last weekend I scheduled a buffalo wing practice run. This time around, I skipped the grocery aisle in favor of some quality time with my local butcher. Rather than waiting for him to break down the wings, I asked the butcher to show me how to cut up the chicken wings myself. As it turns out, breaking down whole chicken wings isn't all that challenging! Learn how to prep them when you keep reading.

• When you buy chicken wings from a meat counter, they will consist of three segments: the drum, the flat, double-boned "wing" part, and the tip.
• A full chicken wing will have two distinct joints.
• Begin by removing the smallest of the three segments, the wing tip. Look for the knuckle; ideally, that's the best spot to disengage the tip from the rest of the wing. Save the small, meatless tips for another use. They're great for adding flavor to homemade chicken stock.
• Next, remove the

YumSugarSource: 10 Must Make Nacho Recipes

The crunchy chips, the melted cheese, the gooey toppings - I love everything about nachos. I'm so crazy about nachos that back in 2008, I created an original series that chronicled my love affair with them. Since I came up with this idea while eating nachos on Super Bowl Sunday, I thought I'd round up my favorite nacho recipes just in time for this year's big game. Be warned: these are not your regular nachos!

• Crab Nachos: Blue corn chips topped with lumps of crab meat, a spicy pepper Jack cheese sauce, and fresh homemade salsa? Sign me up! These nachos are decadent and delicious.
• Classic Nachos: There's nothing boring about these traditional nachos. Deep frying the tortillas to make your own chips takes them to a whole new level.
• Nachos Frescos: Who says nachos have to be unhealthy? This fresh take on nachos combines baked tortilla chips with a black bean corn salsa, shredded lettuce, and cotija cheese.
• Buffalo

YumSugarSource: 10 Tantalizing Bites For the Super Bowl

With the NFL play-offs already halfway over, it's time to start thinking ahead if you're planning a gathering for this year's Super Bowl. If you're not sure what dishes will get the crowd cheering, score big points on food by adding these little pieces of culinary excitement to your party lineup. We've got plenty of new twists on old favorites, from gyro jalapeño poppers to chorizo-and-cheese chips. If you're looking for some inspiration for your game-day dishes, look no further than these 10 tasty recipes.

1. Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp: Everyone loves bacon! Grill up something a little different with these bacon-wrapped BBQ shrimp.
2. Classic Buffalo Wings: Nothing screams football more than a classic recipe for fiery buffalo wings.
3. Carbonara Potato Skins: Think nothing beats a good pasta carbonara? Then just wait until carbonara potato skins enter the picture.
4. Chorizo Nachos: Chorizo nachos, made creamy with a

Source: The Essential Habits of a Healthy Home Cook

Unless you know what you're doing, cooking at home can be as detrimental to your health as eating out. As far as your body is concerned, cooking with processed ingredients high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium might as well be like eating McDonald's. But becoming a healthy cook isn't as hard as you think. Here are some essential habits for healthy home cooks, starting from the moment you set foot in the grocery store to the second you put dinner on the table.

Shop the Right Way Healthy cooking starts with strategic grocery shopping. Create a meal plan for the week and stock your cart with whole, fresh, and organic foods, lean proteins, and unrefined grains: an easy way to do this is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store. When you do have to buy prepared foods, choose products with the fewest and simplest ingredients. Healthy grocery options can be expensive, but here are six ways to save money when shopping organic.

Fill

YumSugarSource: 5 Easy Breakfast Swaps For Healthier Eating

There's nothing wrong with a decadent egg-bacon-pancake platter every once in a while, but even better is a breakfast that tastes indulgent even though it's not. Keep calorie counts and fat grams down during breakfast with a few of these healthy swaps. Whether you need a better breakfast option when you're on the go or just want to be able to eat French toast again, read on for five easy, healthier breakfast ideas.

• Swap Your Breakfast Meat: New research has found that regularly eating processed meats can increase your risk of pancreatic cancer. So skip the bacon strips and greasy sausage patties and make YumSugar's recipe for salmon patties instead. Then whip up some whole wheat English muffins for a breakfast sandwich you can feel good about.
• Skip the Pastry Display: Coffee-shop muffins and croissants may not be the healthiest, but they are a tempting option when you need your breakfast to be grab-and-go.

YumSugarSource: 5 Winter Meals to Make This Week

Embrace the cold weather this week and whip up these comforting, wintry weeknight meals. From chicken casseroles to Irish beef and stout stew, these five meals will make you nice and cozy. We recommend enjoying them with a glass of great red wine and someone you care about.

• King Ranch Chicken Casserole: Try a hearty, comforting chicken casserole on a cold Winter night. The best part of this casserole is that you can make it ahead of time, freeze it, and then heat it up when you're ready to enjoy it.
• Irish Beef Stew: Try a hearty, comforting beef and stout stew takes a good deal of cooking time, but it's worth the wait. Plan to make this dinner on an evening where you can get started cooking early.
• Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup: If hot soup doesn't warm you up, then the spices in this chicken tortilla soup sure will. Top off this hearty soup with avocado and tortilla chips.
• Roast Chicken With Sage Stuffing: Roast

YumSugarSource: Rudimentary Recipes Every Home Cook Should Know

January is a time of many resolutions, many among them culinary. Regardless of your skill level at the stove, it never hurts to go back to basics and focus on rudimentary recipes that are the building blocks for so many other dishes. These aren't too complicated or expensive, and once you master them, we reassure you that you'll use them over and over again. Here are 10 fundamental dishes that every home chef should know how to make.

• Simple Syrup: Your cocktail options are extremely limited if you don't have a little bar ingredient known as simple syrup on hand. The sugar-water mixture plays an essential role in classic drinks such as the old-fashioned, pisco sour, and caipirinha, and can also be used to soak sweets such as sponge and pound cakes.
• Roasted Garlic: If you have garlic, oil, and seasonings - and surely you do - then you're already set to make roasted garlic. Add it to an antipasti plate for a special homemade