Practical Tips When Living Independently For the First Time

Moving to your first place is a sign of independence. Years of living with your parents may have left you somewhat unprepared for the responsibilities that come with living by yourself. Yet it is a necessary rite of passage for most of us to be independent. The initial thrill of living alone includes going home anytime of the day, having visitors and guests without having to worry about parental consent, and generally being able to do most anything you want. Yet there are bills to pay and chores to do as well. No one will clean your place, cook for you, wash your dishes, and do your laundry. You are on your own. Here are some tips that may help you acclimatized to living independently:

- Scavenge what you can from your parents. This is most true especially when it comes to kitchen ware and other products. The cheapest washing machine is the one that is given to you. If your folks give you their old one, be gracious enough to say thank you and accept it. If they offer to buy you one, which may also be the case, getting one that is not branded is a good option. There are new unbranded washing machines that act the same as the branded ones. If you are on your own, you can even get one that has loads of 5 kg so it is more inexpensive. Try to get an integrated washing machine as space may be a problem especially in your new place. Old microwave ovens and kitchen stoves that they don't want, accept them wholeheartedly. You don't necessarily have the money or budget for new things so getting hand me downs are alright.

- Learn simple recipes from mom to survive. Want to save money? Don't eat out every day when you are on your own. Basic staples of survival consist of bread, jam or peanut butter and jelly, milk, and lots of cereal. Aside from these comfort foods you know so well having had them as children, these are easy to make. Also learn how to cook eggs, fried or scrambled, from mom. If mom can teach you how to cook steak and pork, you will do fine. Small things like buying canola or olive oil, some seasoning like salt or pepper or the all purpose Kikkoman Japanese soy sauce is good. Start simple by grilling or cooking things with oil. These will help you through the weekend. If you already know how to cook, then cook and store. Have a lot of microwaveable storage that you can use. Cook during the weekend and eat these during the weekdays when you get home. If you really want to save up, cook meals which you can brownbag to work. If you do that, you can save at least another 15 to 20% of your expenses by doing your own meals for lunch and dinner.

The challenges of living alone are not easy, nor are they hard. They are just part of the things that need to be done, learned, and experienced in your new chapter in life.

Don't let household expenses ruin the fun of being independent! When it comes to choosing your appliances, choose those that are affordable yet durable. Cheap Washing Machines for example are easy to find if you know where to look! Learn how to get the most of your money with the cheapest washing machine today!

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How to Cook Salmon - 4 Delicious Methods and Recipes

For many people, seafood represents a love or hate relationship. If you're in the former, oceanic camp, then this article is for you, especially if you're not exactly Emeril in the kitchen.

For example, do you know how to cook salmon? It sounds easy enough, but I know I wasn't sure where to start, so if you aren't either, I'm here to help.

There are many ways one can prepare and cook salmon: baking, grilling, poaching or frying. Each chef has his own special preference in cooking salmon I took some time to review each of these methods. So let's look at recipes that involve all four of these methods.

How to Cook Salmon: 4 Delicious Methods

Salmon Steak (Baked)
(Ingredients: Salmon fillets (boned and skinned), Onion powder, Garlic powder, Dried dill, Mayonnaise, Paprika)
Instructions: Wash and dry the fillets and spread a thin coat of mayonnaise over. Sprinkle the seasoning over the salmon fillets and keep the paprika for the last. Bake the fillets in a preheated oven set at 375 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes and keep checking for the flakes. Salmon flakes when baked and the flaking is a sign of the fish being well done.

Poached Salmon
(Ingredients 1 to 1½ pounds salmon fillets, ½ cup dry white wine (a good Sauvignon Blanc), ½ cup water, A few thin slices of yellow onion and/or 1 shallot, peeled and sliced thin, Several sprigs of fresh dill or sprinkle of dried dill, A sprig of fresh parsley, Freshly ground black pepper)
Instructions: Put wine, water, dill, parsley and onions in a saute pan, and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Place salmon fillets, skin-side down on the pan. Cover. Cook 5 minutes or to desired done-ness. Do not overcook. Serve sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. Serves 2-4 people.

Pan-fried Salmon
(Ingredients: 1 salmon, 1 tsp coriander leaves, chopped 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 avocado, 1/3 red onion, a dash of Tabasco sauce, 1 corn, Spinach leaves, 1/2 tomato)
Instructions: Rub coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, salt & pepper on salmon. Panfry skin-side down for a few minutes until crisp, then flip. Mash avocado with red onion and Tabasco sauce, add pepper to taste. Microwave corn with husk (silks removed) for 5 minutes on high. Stand 3 minutes. Place everything on plate and serve with spinach & sliced tomato.

Barbecued Salmon with Mango Sauce
(Ingredients: 6 salmon fillets (6 ounces each), 1 tablespoon paprika, Salt and pepper, 1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cumin)
(Mango Sauce Ingredients: 2 mangoes (skinned and diced), 1 lime (juiced), a good handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), 1 red Chile pepper (chopped))
NOTE: The Chile pepper is optional, but this mango salmon recipe tastes best with the hot & sweet combination. If you don't like hot peppers, please substitute paprika or a milder pepper. It really does taste better with the Chile pepper.
Instructions: Mix the spices, brown sugar and salt and pepper in a bowl and rub into the salmon steaks. Use all the mixture. Prepare the mango sauce by grinding the mangoes, lime juice, Chile pepper, and cilantro in a food processor until they are smooth. Cook the salmon steaks for 4-5 minutes on both sides until seared on the outside and almost translucent on the inside. Serve with the mango sauce.

So there you go... simple and easy recipes to enjoy a spread of salmon whether in the baked, poached, fried or grilled form.

Now that you're an expert on how to cook salmon, swim your way over for more free health and nutrition tips at:
http://www.fitbuff.com

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Steps and Tips For Grilling a Rib Eye Steak

Grilling a rib eye steak is actually one of the easiest types of steak to prepare. But no matter how easy it may be to prepare such food, let's nonetheless take a look at the steps on how to grill a rib eye steak.

Just like how we prepare any kind of steak, we must ensure that the meat we are to use is thawed properly. For sure, the meat that we buy from the market is frozen, not to mention the fact that it is vacuum-packed, which means that we really need to allot time for thawing. The meat may be thawed for approximately an hour. This may be done by soaking the meat in a container filled with tap water. The meat may also be thawed for twenty four hours inside the refrigerator.

To start with the steps we must first preheat the grill. This time may also be used to clean the grill racks if this was not done the last time the grill was used. A spatula and a brass brush may be used to scrape the dirt. This is important as we do not want our food to have a weird taste after grilling.

Speaking of taste, when using a charcoal grill, a best tip is to use of volcanic type coal igniter instead of a lighter fluid since it is proven to ruin the taste of steaks.

The grill has to be preheated until it reaches medium temperature. Approximately, it takes three minutes for the grill to reach medium temperature. Once this temperature is achieved, the rib eye may be put on the grill. When using a charcoal grill, one must be ready with squirt bottle filled with water. This is important just in case a flare up occurs. This, of course, is not necessary when one is using a gas griller since the temperature may be adjusted anytime.

Steak lovers know that one of the best tips is to never put any seasoning on it. Although it is allowable to brush over any type of seasoning on the steak, but then, nothing beats the original flavor of rib eye steak. The rib eye steak actually has enough flavor that it can actually go without any seasoning. A little pepper and salt are alright.

Another tip is by making sure that all steaks on the grill get exposed to similar amount of heat. If not, make sure that the steaks differ in their thickness and that they are all getting enough heat.

It is expected for the steaks to sizzle while on the grill rack, otherwise, it means that the grill is cold. One of the important tips on is to be patient in being watchful to master the art of grilling.

Another tip is to use a spatula or tongs to turn or flip over the steak. Never use a fork since this will ruin the quality of your grilled rib eye steak. Poking the steak with a fork will definitely minimize the juice of the steak and its flavor will definitely be affected.

Another important tip on is the difference in turning over a thick rib eye steak and a thin rib eye steak. When turning over a thin rib eye steak, the frequency does not have to be high. Flipping a thin slice of steak may be done only once. But it must be remembered that the number of times that a thick rib eye steak must be flipped over actually depends on how thick the steak is.

Please click these links if you want to know more about rib eye steak or charcoal grill in general.

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