Turn a boring meal into an exciting one. It’s easy to add spiciness to everyday meals with a few flakes of crushed red pepper.
1. Spaghetti Sauce: A teaspoon of crushed red pepper is all you need for mild spiciness. Add more for a stronger flavor. This will give your homemade sauce a bit of dash or doctor up a jarred or store bought sauce.
2. Salads: Crushed red pepper is excellent sprinkled on green salads. It can also be added directly into the salad dressing. Add it to mayonnaise based salads such as potato, coleslaw, or pasta salad for that extra zing.
3. Soups: Canned soups can sometimes be a bit boring. Crushed red pepper works especially well in tomato based soups or vegetable soup.
4. Casseroles: Add the red pepper before baking and the flavor will blend in nicely. Also very good in macaroni and cheese or baked pasta dishes.
5. Bread or Rolls: Crushed red pepper will not only add spice to your bread, but it will also give it touch of color and texture.
6. Pizza: Sprinkle on top or add the crushed red pepper to the pizza sauce.
7. Butter: Mix in a teaspoon of crushed red pepper to a half cup of softened butter or margarine. Spread on bread, vegetables or to flavor other dishes.
8. Vegetables: Nicely flavors green beans, stewed tomatoes and zucchini. Sprinkle on baked or mashed potatoes.
9. Marinades: A few sprinkles will spice up the marinade for any type of meat.
10. Hamburger: Mix into ground beef for hamburgers, meatballs or meatloaf.
Mary Crowther is a writer, webmaster and cook.
