Cooking with KP: October 2011

Quick and Easy but So Yummy Sweet Potato Bread

Here is a quick and easy but delicious recipe for sweet potato bread:

1 cup canned yams/sweet potatoes, drained (reserve 1/3 cup of the juice) and mashed
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup juice from canned yams/sweet potatoes

In a large mixing bowl, mash or use handmixer to puree sweet potatoes until most lumps are out. Add all other ingredients except nuts and mix until blended well. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into loaf pan that has been buttered and floured. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees. This is very good served with honey butter or Philadelphia Cream Cheese Softspread Plain or Pineapple flavored.

Unstuffed Pepper Casserole

Here is an quick, easy, and delicious casserole for a perfect in a hurry meal. I got the basic recipe from Taste of Home magazine and spiced it up a bit. It is very tasty. Serve with a salad and garlic bread and you have a wonderful meal. This is also good to take for pot luck suppers.

1 cup uncooked instant rice

1 pound ground beef

2 medium green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces ( I often use the red/yellow/orange peppers because they are so pretty)

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 jar (26 ounces) marinara sauce

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (or 1/2 cup of each: cheddar, fresh Parmesan, and Mozzarella)

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

3 T grated Parmesan cheese

2 T olive oil

Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, green peppers, minced garlic, parsley and onion over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; drain any fat/grease. Reduce temperature to low and let cook about 8-10 more minutes to continue to soften bell pepper chucks. Stir in the cooked rice, marinara sauce and seasonings. Stir in Italian cheese blend.

Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Toss bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and oil; sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and topping is golden brown. Yield: 6 servings.

Beefy Mac Casserole

Here is an awesome and easy casserole for a great meal. I like it with a simple side salad and some green chili cornbread. Great for dinner in these early fall evenings.
8 ounces elbow macaroni or small shells, cooked, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 short ribs celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) tomatoes, undrained, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, celery, green and red pepper, and garlic. Continue to sauté the vegetables, stirring frequently, until the chopped onion is tender. Add ground beef and continue cooking, stirring, until beef is browned. Add the Cajun seasoning, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir to blend well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked and drained macaroni and 2 cups of the shredded cheese, along with salt and pepper, as desired. Transfer to a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Cover with foil. At this point, the casserole may be refrigerated for a few hours or overnight.
Bake the covered casserole in a 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly (if it is cold from the refrigerator, it may take longer). Top with the remaining cup of cheese and cook, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes longer.
Serves 6 to 8.

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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.