Red White and Blue Ice Cream cake? Yes, please!

Everyone is trying to get on All Recipes, at allrecipes.com, all at once. That’s great for business for All Recipes, but not so great for people who need, you know, recipes.

So here are some other really big recipe databases you can go to instead. Just as you can get military payday loans from lots of different sources through Personal Money Store, you can get great recipes from lots of different web sites. To possibly save you a trip, I’ve included some great Fourth of July recipes right here as well.

Recipe Zaar

Recipe Zaar, at www.recipezaar.com is up and running smoothly and has some Fourth of July recipes highlighted right at the top, including pork chops and honey grilled chicken.

Here’s a simple recipe for steak lovers out there:

Peppered Steak with 5 Star Gourmet Steak Sauce

Epicurious

Epicurious, at www.epicurious.com, has some really great Fourth of July recipes, especially if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary. Making a flag cake is very popular Fourth of July dessert solution. But doesn’t Red, White and Blue Ice Cream cake sound a bit more delicious?

This recipe from Epicurious says to make  your own sorbet, but I am recommending you ignore that part and just buy some blueberry and strawberry sorbet and lemon ice cream. Of course, if you want to make your own frozen treats, the recipes are on Epicurious.

Red White and Blue Ice Cream Cake

• Simply Strawberry Sorbet
• 3/4 cup cookie crumbs (process 7 Newman’s Own Organic O’s — creamy fillings and all — in the food processor until finely ground) or finely chopped candied ginger
• One recipe Lemon Ice Cream with Candied Lemon Peel
• One recipe Simply Blueberry Sorbet
• Freshly whipped cream, fresh berries, and sprigs of mint, for serving

Preparation

Place a 9-inch springform pan in the freezer until very cold, at least 1 hour.

Make the strawberry sorbet (or beat premade, frozen sorbet until smooth in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Remove the springform pan from the freezer and immediately scoop in the sorbet. Working quickly, use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to smooth the sorbet into an even layer, approximately 1 inch high. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup cookie crumbs or candied ginger, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Repeat the process with the lemon ice cream and another 1/4 cup of crumbs or candied ginger, freezing 1 hour. Finish with the blueberry sorbet, topping with the last 1/4 cup of crumbs or candied ginger. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until set, at least two hours or overnight.

Chill a serving plate or cake stand in the freezer.

Just before serving, unmold the cake: Warm the blade of an offset spatula or knife in hot tap water, then wipe it dry. Run the blade around the inside edge of the pan, then unlock and remove the sides. Place the chilled plate or cake stand upside-down on top of the cake pan and flip everything over so the cake is resting on the plate. Rewarm the knife and gently edge it between the bottom of the pan and the cake to remove the bottom of the pan. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.

All Recipes not created equal

Doesn’t that cake just sound way too good? If you want more alternatives to All Recipes, here are a few more:

• $5 Dinners
• Betty Crocker
• Martha Stewart
• Rachael Ray
• Tyler’s Ultimate

Cowboy-cut means "a cut of steak with the bone in, for true cowboys to use as a handle."

You might just be looking for TodayShow.com recipes because they sound delicious, but TodayShow.com recipes could end up saving you money, too. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since moving out of our dear old mum and dad’s, it’s that walking around the grocery store tossing everything that strikes my fancy into the cart can end up being very expensive.

Planning meals out in advance is a great way to save money because that way you only buy what you need. You don’t end up needing an emergency payday loan because you spent more  than you planned at the grocery store.

Seeking inspiration

The one thing that’s tough about planning all of your meals in advance is that sometimes it’s tough to find inspiration. No one wants to eat the same meals over and over again, not even your picky kids. OK, maybe them. I think I survived on nothing but tacos and spaghetti when I was in elementary school.

Still, it’s good to have as many recipe resources as possible, and TodayShow.com now has a recipes section for you to utilize. However, you must know what you are looking for before you get there.

Using TodayShow.com recipes section

The TodayShow.com Food & Wine section features the recipe for the dish that was prepared on the show that day. For instance, today the recipe for “Cowboy Cut” ribeye is displayed.

However, if you want a different recipe that has been on the show before, you have to type in a search term. There’s no comprehensive list of recipes that have been featured on the Today Show. Here’s where I think the site could make an improvement and help out viewers and cooks.

As it is now, the best way to seek inspiration is to type in a generic term such as “chicken,” “pasta” or “vegetarian.” Broad terms will return a big list of recipes.

More resources

The great news is, there are thousands (millions?) of web sites out there that do have lengthy lists of recipes. If you are seeking inexpensive recipes, check out 5dollardinners.com.

If you’re looking for low-calorie recipes, go to Hungry-Girl.com. That site can be a bit confusing. If  you click on “Chew the Right Thing,” you’ll find tons of low-calorie recipes.

VegWeb.com has plenty of vegan recipes, and VegCooking.com has both vegan and vegetarian meals. Recipe Zaar has more than 6,000 Kosher recipes, and a total of 359,000 recipes overall. That should keep you fed for a while.

Check out the TodayShow.com recipe for Cowoboy-Cut Ribeye.