Safe Meat Handling Tips To Always Keep In Mind
Bacteria, salmonella, etc. may be lurking in your meats whether you want them to or not. In order to cut down on sicknesses with your meat, always practice safe-handling practices. Never assume you are safe when it comes to raw meats. Here are some tips to adopt in your own meat-handling chores. Some of these practices start the minute you pick up your meat selections in the grocery store.
• Seperate meats from fruits and vegetables in the shopping cart and in your refrigerator.
• Never let meat leak onto other foods when stored in the refrigerator or cooler.
• Throughly wash before preparing food and immediately after handling raw meat.
• Always cook meat until the juices run absolutely clear, and use a meat thermometer to ensure the interior of the meat has reached its recommended temperature.
• Keep utensils and cutting boards separate from meats and vegetables. Carefully clean any surface that has come in contact with raw meat before any other item is placed on that surface.
• Buy fresh-looking fruits and vegetables, avoiding any that are bruised, shriveled, moldy, or slimy. Reject anything that smells bad or packaged vegetables that look old. Buy only what you need.
• Always wash fruits and vegetables throughly in clean drinking water before eating them.
• Handle fresh fruits and vegetables carefully. Put produce away promptly, and keep all cut fruits and vegetables covered in the refrigerator until just before serving.
• Wash all countertops and utensils throughly after handling food.
• Discard old produce. Throw way cut produce that has been out of the refrigerator for four hours or more.
• When eating outside, keep food refrigerated until just before serving.
**Over at Los Angeles, CA blog here at 451 Press, Megan Palmer talks about the two stunt men that were burned while working on the set of Adam Sandler’s new movie You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Which is due to be out in late June 2008. To read more about this, click here.**
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Earthly Eating Recipe:
Spiked Southern Comfort Style Sweet Potato Pie
Serves: Makes 1 pie
1 graham cracker pie crust (9″)
1 1/2 cups cooked and peeled sweet potatoes
1 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tbs. Southern Comfort Liquor
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all ingredients until well blended and pour into prepared pie crust. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to 350°F and cook for an additional 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pie on rack before refrigerating.
Happy Eating!
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