A well-prepared rack of ribs is one of the best arguments for long, slow cooking methods. Whether braised in your slow cooker, slow-roasted in your oven or smoke-roasted over low coals in traditional barbecue fashion, ribs cook to a lush, tender richness.

Sauteing bell peppers and onions is a healthy method for cooking these aromatic and tasty vegetables. Saute with a small amount of oil in a pan over high heat to quickly brown and soften sliced or chopped bell peppers and onions.

The shape, temperature and design of your cooking appliance affects the quality of your food. A regular oven, also known as a conventional oven, and a roaster oven are two different appliances that both cook food using dry heat. Traditionally, only solid foods such as meat and potatoes are roasted.

Many high-end ovens offer both convection and conventional cooking. A convection oven has a fan in the back that blows hot air around, making for an even temperature throughout the whole oven, unlike conventional ovens that often have hot and cool spots because of their fixed heating element.

Pepper steak can easily get tough, especially when you use cuts like shank or chuck. These cuts come from the legs and shoulders of the cow, so the muscles are used a bit more than the sirloin and flank, for example. The more a muscle is used, the tougher the meat tends to be.

After finishing a mentally draining task such as a taking a test or finishing a big project you might feel as though you've run a marathon. Your brain is tired, which often makes your body feel tired. This type of activity contributes to a small calorie burn, but not enough to aid in weight loss.

Dehydrating meat prolongs its shelf life, allowing you to rehydrate it later or enjoy as a dried food. Cooked bacon works well in a dehydrator and makes a protein-packed snack, salad topping or soup ingredient. Dehydrated bacon is also a good item to pack for extended hikes or camping trips.

Brining a chicken imparts a rich, salty flavor to the meat that also helps to keep it moist and tender throughout the cooking process, no matter what your preferred cooking method is. You can brine a whole chicken or simply pieces of chicken -- the method is the same.

The name Delmonico originally applied to steaks served at New York City’s Delmonico’s Restaurant in the 1800s. Today, you’ll see the name used to label chuck, sirloin and rib cuts, depending on which part of the country you are in. There is no definitive agreement as to what constitutes a Delmonico steak.

An inside round, also called a top round, is an affordable cut of beef with plenty of juiciness and flavor. With just 153 calories and 4.2 grams of fat in a 3-ounce serving, this type of meat is among the leaner cuts, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of red meat without the excess.

Certain cuts of beef are tougher than others because of the muscle and connective tissue. High temperature and overcooking can cause any cut of beef to become tough because heat can cause the muscle fibers to contract. When the meat becomes too tough, you need to know how to tenderize cooked beef.

The brisket is one of the most challenging pieces of beef to cook well. A thick slab of muscle from the steer's chest, it's filled with dense muscle fibers and tough connective tissue. Cooked by most methods, it would be as tough as an old shoe.