Cooking with KP: April 2012

Mexican Fiesta Chicken

I made this recipe this week and we had enough for 2 dinners. I even took it for lunch for me and Amanda one day. It is amazingly easy and amazingly tasty. Try it; you will see.
8 boneless chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 jar of salsa
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Sour cream to taste

Lightly spray a large baking dish with Pam. Put half of the seasoning mix in a large zip lock bag. Add 4 chicken breasts and shake until breasts are lightly coated. Place chicken breasts in baking dish. Put remaining seasoning mix in zip lock and the other 4 chicken breasts and shake until breasts are lightly coated. Place chicken in baking dish. Pour salsa on top of breasts. Cover dish with aluminium foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and cover each breasts with cheese. Return to over and bake 15 minutes uncovered. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. Wonderfully moist and delicious.

Crockpot Sausage and Peppers

Mike loves Italian Sausage, so this is what we are having for dinner tonight. Let me know if you like this.

2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage (You can leave sausage whole or cut into bite size pieces)

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 green bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces

2 bay leaves

4 cloves garlic, minced

14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 oz. can tomato paste

1/2 cup dry red wine or chicken broth

1 Tbsp. dried parsley leaves

1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 T brown sugar

1/8 tsp. pepper

Preparation:

Cook sausage in heavy skillet over medium heat until browned, turning occasionally. Layer half of the onions on bottom of 3-4 quart crockpot, then add half of the peppers. Add all of the browned Italian sausage, then the rest of the onions and peppers. Add bay leaves and garlic.

Combine diced undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, and red wine/chicken broth and all seasonings in small bowl and mix well to blend. Pour over mixture in crockpot. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve on a bed of white rice or pasta.

Kay's Baked Beans

This is my baked beans recipe that I have made for years. Amanda hates any kind of bean, but she actually enjoys these. This recipe is easy to make and wonderful to take to a covered dish event. Sometimes I add one diced small green bell pepper and saute it with the onion. If you like a spicy baked bean, try adding a diced jalepeno pepper or hot green chilis. I have also just made this on the stove top in my cast iron skillet.

4 cans pork and beans
1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar

In a skillet, cook bacon for about 2 minutes to release bacon grease. Add onions and reduce temperature to medium-low. Sauté onions in the bacon grease. Combine molasses, pepper, dry mustard, garlic powder, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Add to skillet and mix well. Bring to a boil and then add pork and beans. Pour into a large baking pan or casserole dish. A Dutch oven also works well. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 1-2 hours in the 350 degree oven until thick and bubbly.

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.