Cooking with KP: December 2015

Kay's Plum-Glazed Chicken

I found several recipes online for plum-glazed chicken and I didn't have all the ingredients for any of them, and that is how this recipe was born. Mike enjoyed it very much.

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup plum preserves
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground ginger
black pepper
garlic powder
salt ( I used seasoned salt)
approximately 3 tablespoons of apple juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a metal baking pan (do not use glass as you will use broil later) with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. Generously, season both sides of thighs with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in baking pan. In a small bowl, mix plum preserves, minced garlic, paprika, and ginger with 2 tablespoons of apple juice. Whisk well so that most lumps are out of plum preserves. Add another tablespoon of juice if need. Sauce should be the consistency of barbecue sauce. Pour on top of thighs. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn thighs over, return cover and bake for 15 minutes. Check chicken temperature. It should be 160 degrees. Remove foil and broil on high for 8-12 minutes, watching carefully. You should see darkening as if grilled. This is delicious with a cool ranch pasta salad as shown in picture.

North Pole Soup

I found this recipe online while looking for something to do with leftover ham. It is a wonderfully rich soup that is great for cold, damp day. Serve with some crusty bread and cheese.

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled & sliced into 1/4" disks
2 stalks of celery, sliced into 1/4" pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tablespoon. dried parsley flakes
2 bay leaves
6-8 oz. ham, diced into 1/4" pieces
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 c. chicken broth
1 15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 oz. dried rotelli or shell pasta
Parmesan cheese, grated

In large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add in onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute' until carrots start to become tender. Add all other ingredients except pasta and cheese and bring to a boil. Boil 5-10 minutes. Add pasta and reduce temperature to simmer. Simmer 1-3 hours. Top each bowl with grated parmesan cheese when serving.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts

I combined three recipes I found online to make this. We tried it for Christmas dinner today and it was a mega hit. Let me know if you like it.

1 1/2 pounds of brussel sprouts, sliced
4 slices of thick bacon
1/2 a medium onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 T butter
2 T brown sugar
1 T creole (grainy) mustard
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Cut off ends of brussel sprouts and cut in half if medium to small in size. I recommend cutting large brussel sprouts into four slices. In a large skillet that has a lid, fry bacon and drain on paper towels. Leave bacon grease in skillet (no more than 2 T--if more, drain out some). Add butter to bacon grease and then onions. Sautee until onions are becoming clear. Add brussel sprouts and stir until all are coated in with buttery sauce. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and cover with lid, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, mustard and vinegar and whisk well. Chop bacon into small pieces. After brussel sprouts have cooked 10 minutes, add bacon bits, walnuts and sauce. Mix well. Cook 4 more minutes without cover, stirring frequently.

Christmas Cranberry Cookies

I found recipe online and made a few adjustments. This is a quick and easy cookie. It is not too sweet and great for gift giving and cookie exchanges.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup white chocolate chip
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Mix in egg and vanilla. Slowly add flour until thoroughly blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet. Should make 24 walnut size dough mounds. Bake 9 minutes. For best result, take cookies out while still a bit doughy. Let sit on sheets for one minute on cookie sheet and then fully cool on wire racks.

Kay's Hash Brown Potato and Ham Soup

There are many potato soup recipes online and this is one that I have adapted from those found online. It is good, hearty, and warming. Enjoy!

1 32 ounce bag of frozen hash browns or cubed potatoes if you like a chunkier soup
1 32 ounce box of chicken broth
2 cups of diced ham
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 large diced onion
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 bay leaf
3 T parsley flakes
2 cups shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack or sharp cheddar)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 stick of butter or margarine
pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 green onion diced for topping
bacon bits for topping if you like
Option: if you like a soup with a bit of kick and want to add some corn, you can add one can of Southwestern or Mexican corn, drained

Place all ingredients, except cheese, butter, and milk, in crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on how much you prefer the potatoes to cook down. Thirty minutes before serving add in 1.5 cups of cheese, butter, and milk and stir well. Use the rest of the cheese to top with green onions and bacon.

Kay's Taco Lasagna

This is my adaptation of a recipe I found online. It is wonderful for a potluck dinner.

2 pounds lean ground beef
2 packages of mild taco seasoning mix
1 cup of water
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 can of diced tomatoes, undrained or you could use a can with green chilis for a bit more kick!
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained

1 can refried beans, heated and stirred to be spreadable
9 large flour tortillas (for a Christmas casserole use the green spinach tortillas)
4 cups of Mexican blend shredded cheese
Sour cream and sliced black olives to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skilled brown beef with the onions and bell peppers. Drain any fat. Add taco seasoning mixes and water. Bring to boil and then simmer 5 minutes until water is absorbed. Add tomatoes and corn. Mix well. Simmer 5 more minutes. In a large long casserole dish that you have sprayed, lay three tortilla. Spread one half of the refried beans on top. Then sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese on top, and 1/3 of the meat. Lay 3 tortillas, spread remaining half of refried beans. top 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the meat. Lay 3 tortillas, remaining meat, and cheese. Bake 30 minutes. Top with sour cream and sprinkle with black olives slices. .

Philly Cheese Steak in Pastry Pillow

I found a similar recipe online that used crescent rolls to make a wreath, but I wanted a pastry pillow and I made some changes to the recipe. You could use my filling with 2 cans of crescent rolls to make a wreath/ring if you like.

1 green bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
1 red bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
1 large onion, sliced in thin strips
1 eight ounce package of cream cheese, cut in cubes
8-10 slices of Provolone cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound of thinly sliced deli roast beef, cut into 2 inch strips
1/3 cup beef broth
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 T garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
2 T butter
2 packs/rolls of Crescent Creation Seamless Dough

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, melt butter and saute bell peppers and onions for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add garlic powder and pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Add beef broth and cream cheese cubes. Stir until cream cheese is melted. Add roast beef and mix well. On a large baking sheet that is greased roll out one dough. Lay Provolone slices on top of dough. Spread meat filling on top of cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese. Lay other dough on top and seal. Bake for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

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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.