Cooking with KP

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

So many recipes today simply have the tortilla chips/strips as garnish on top of thin chicken broth soup. This recipe is true to most Mexican tortilla soups in that it has pieces of corn tortilla cooked into the broth.

2 cups of cooked shredded chicken

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, diced

2 toes of garlic, minced finely

4 -6 cups of low sodium chicken broth. Start with 4 cups and adjust to your desired thickness

6 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into thin strips

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-ounce can corn, drained

1 4-ounce can green chilis (you decide the heat)

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup thick salsa (you decide the heat)

2 Tablespoons of taco seasoning blend or 2 tsp. chili powder and 1 tsp cumin

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro or large leaf parsley

Several lime wedges

3 tortillas, cut into thin strips and baked until crispy

Toppings:

Fiesta blend shredded cheese

Sour Cream

Avocado cubes

Jalapeno rings

Cut tortilla into strips. Place on baking sheet in heated oven at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. Heat olive oil in bottom of a large soup pot. Saute onions and bell pepper in olive oil for 4-5 minutes until starting to soften. Add garlic and saute 2-3 more minutes. Add in 4 cups of broth, corn, beans, parsley, salsa, tomatoes, green chilis and taco seasoning. Mix well. Bring to a boil and add chicken. Stir well. If soup looks too thick, add more broth. Let simmer with lid on top at least 30 minutes. Add tortilla slices that were baked. Return lid. Simmer 40 minutes to 2 hours. While soup is simmer cut 3 more tortilla strips and bake them until very crispy. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls. Squeeze a lime wedge to the bowl and add toppings of choice.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I found this recipe online at dinneratthezoo.com. This site has some great recipes. These cupcakes are moist and tasty. We enjoyed them.

2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips divided use
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, or you can use paper liners.
Place the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil in a bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl. Stir until just combined.
Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the tops of the muffins.
Bake for 17-22 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool

Grandma's Apple Pie Bread

This is not my recipe. I found it on Facebook. I made one change to the recipe, which I have added to the bottom. I highly recommend that you add it as well since it helped to make the bread moistier. It is quick, easy, and delicious. It makes two loaves--one for you and one for a friend!

1 can apple pie filling, mashed

1 yellow cake mix

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup self rising flour

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1 medium chopped apple

* 1/2 cup of applesauce

Whisk all dry ingredients , add wet ingredients. Fold in apples. Pour in 2 loaf pans, greased. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake in 325 oven for 35 to 45 minutes.

Peanut Butter Party Fluff

My grandson and I adapted this recipe for one we found online. It is wonderful with sliced apples, graham crackers, and pretzels.

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 container of Cool Whip

1 Tablespoon cinnamon sugar blend (We used Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnadust Seasoning Blend)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Make sure your cool whip is thawed and stir it for smoothness. Place peanut butter in a large mixing, stirring until very smooth. Add cinnamon sugar and vanilla and stir well. Fold in cool whip by spoonsful. Enjoy.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Hot Dish

This is a quick, easy, and delicious side dish or entree. It is a great dish for potlucks as well.

1 16 ounces frozen cauliflower florets, thawed.

1 16 ounces frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1 small onion, diced finely

1 can of cream of mushroom soup,

1/2 cup mayonnaise or sour cream

4 sliced of fried bacon, crumbled

1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar ]

1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs.

1/4 stick of butter, cup into small cubes/slices

Make sure the broccoli and cauliflower are fully thawed and drained of any water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Use a bit of butter to coat casserole dish

In a large bowl, mix soup, cheeses, mayo/sour cream, onion, bacon, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss in cauliflower and broccoli and fully coat with mixture.

Pour into casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs. Dot with butter cubes/slices,

Bake 30-35 minutes

Simple Cordon Bleu Chicken Breasts

When you enjoy the taste of cordon bleu chicken, but don't want the hassle, try this
simple and delicious recipe.

4 thin cut boneless skinless chicken breast

4 slices of smoked or black forest ham

4 slices of Swiss cheese

3-4 Tablespoons of grainy mustard

Garlic powder

Pepper

Parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season both sides of chicken breasts with garlic powder and pepper. You may want to add seasoned salt. I didn't because both the ham and cheese provide a salty flavor.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Placed seasoned breast in pan. Brush mustard on the breasts--covering all off it. Place ham on top of mustard. Top with cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is done. Garnish with parsley and enjoy.

Kay's Corn Chip Salad

I am sure if you are on social media, you have seen several TikTok videos of people sharing their versions of Corn Chip Salad. Well, they all looked so inviting that I combined 3 of them to make my version. We loved it!

2 cans (15.4 ounces each) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can (15.4 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can sliced black olives

2 cups shredded Mexican/Fiesta cheese blend

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Juice of one lime

1 package (9.25 ounces) chili cheese-flavored corn chips

In a large mixing bowl, add black beans and cover them with the lime juice. Then add all other ingredients except chips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 20-30 minutes prior to serving remove from refrigerator and fold in chips. You can leave the chips whole or crush them. I prefer whole.

Cheaper Cuts of Beef Don't Have To Be Tough

Most people avoid the cheaper cuts of beef because they tend to be tough. With 8 children and three adults in our home, my mother had to find ways to tenderize the cheaper cuts of beef. One way to cook "down", as my mother used to say, a tough cut of beef steak is to season both sides of the steak with garlic powder, seasoned salt and pepper. Lightly brown the steak in a large skillet and on top add a diced green bell pepper, medium onion, a bay leaf, parsley flakes, a few dashes of Worchestershire sauce, and a can of diced tomatoes. Cover with lid. Let the steak simmer for 30-50 minutes. Remove lid and thicken juices by cooking 5-10 more minutes. You can also do the same with a cheap beef roast in a crock pot. Add all the ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. The flavor is simple, amazing and great with mashed potatoes.

Fall Vegetables for a Healthy You

As the fall approaches, we will all start to stay indoors more hours. This will lessen our vitamins, such as vitamin A, D, and K, which are enhanced by sunlight. Below are a few vegetables you might want to increase in your diet as the fall and later winter days approach. Besides, they are very tasty. In fact, in the next few weeks, I will be posting recipes that incorporate many of these delicious veggies.

Sweet potatoes and yams are very rich in carotenoids, vitamins A, B6, C, potassium, iron and fiber and are delicious when baked and eaten plain (without butter) or used in soups, casseroles or stir-fries.

Bell peppers are great sources of potassium, manganese, fiber and vitamins A, B, C and K. These sweet peppers are flavorful additions to salads and healthy stir-fries. You can choose from a rainbow of colors, including: green peppers,yellow peppers, orange peppers,and red peppers.

Summer and winter squash are rich in carotenoids, vitamins A and C, potassium, magnesium and fiber and can be served alone or added to many dishes.

Just a few tips for you...

Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato- based sauces. No more stains!

Use lifesavers candy to hold candles in place on your next birthday cake! Kids love them.

Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugarcone to prevent ice cream drips!

Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins slip right off!

If your celery begins to wilt in the fridge, fill a large cup half full of water and place celery in the cup. Put back in the fridge for two hours--it will be crisp. (Learned this from my mother).

Cooking Myth Busted

A Potato Can Save a Salty Soup or Stew. True or False? False. "This is an attractive idea, but it doesn't work because potatoes are not particularly absorbent," says Wolke, who conducted his own soup-and-potato experiment for his Cooking Myth Busters book. "There is no reason they would attract salt." If you remove the raw potato from the soup, the potato will taste salty, but so would a sponge — it has simply soaked up some of the salty liquid. Still, there is hope for salty stews: Adding a bit of vinegar or sugar can "cancel out" the saltiness by giving your taste buds competing flavors.

Super Moist Turkey

If you are looking for a way to get a moist turkey, you might try one of these family hints:

1--bake the turkey upside down--breast down for the first half of the cooking time. It will help the darker meat cook more thoroughly and the fatty juices of the darker meat will drip down to the breast and add moistness. Use a deep roasting pan for this.

2--bake the turkey with the breast up, but rub it with butter, garlic powder and pepper only. Do not salt the skin. Instead, mix salt in a cup of warm water and pour that cup of salted warm-not hot-water inside the cavity of the turkey. The salt water will steam up into the turkey, making it very moist.

3. bake the turkey with the breast up and slice two lemons and one orange in halves. Place the halves inside the seasoned turkey and the juices will steam into the meat, adding moisture and flavor.

Hint of the Week

Here is something I learned from my wonderful Mother, the greatest cook I have ever known. When you have just a small serving of cooked vegetables leftover from dinner, don't throw them away. Keep a large plastic container in the freezer and put the vegetables in the container. Mix them--carrots, corn, green beans, broccoli, etc. When the container is full make a pot of soup or stew. Also, if a recipe calls for 1/2 a chopped onion, chop the whole onion and add the half to the freezer container. My mother made the best vegetable soups from this idea.

Hint for the Week

With Fourth of July quickly approaching, you might be thinking of making Deviled Eggs. If you want perfectly boiled eggs, place eggs in a large pot and completely cover with cold water. Do not layer eggs on top of one another. Bring water to a rapid boil for 2 minutes, reduce to simmer and let eggs simmer 8 minutes, return to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and empty hot water and fill pot with cold water. Let sit for 5 minutes. To peel easily, slightly crush shell in your fist and roll on counter with a firm grip. Of course, you don't want to push through the egg, but by making the shell crack in many small pieces, it is easier to peel. My father saw this on a cooking show years ago and taught me this. It truly works.