Cooking with KP: August 2016

Sorta Homemade Pizza Pockets

This is something different yet fun to make with kids and adults and, of course, yummy! Makes a perfect lunch, snack treat, or served with a salad a great dinner!

This recipe makes 4 large servings

2 cans of crescent rolls

½ cup of pizza sauce (I made my own with an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of Italian seasonings, ½ tablespoon of garlic, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. sugar, ½ tablespoon parsley flakes, 1 tablespoon green can/shaker Parmesan cheese mixed well)
Pepperoni slices (I put 6 large ones on each pocket--you put as many as you like)
1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
2 tablespoons of melted butter with ½ tablespoon of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open crescents and divide into 8 rectangles. Press seams between the triangles to make solid pieces of pastry. Four of the rectangles will serve as the bottoms of the pockets and four will be the tops. Spread sauce on top of four bottom rectangles. Top with cheese and pepperonis. Put on tops and press seams with forks. Brush tops with melted butter and garlic powder. Bake 17-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Feel free to add your own ingredients, such as, sliced red onions, sliced black olives, fully cooked Italian sausage or ground beef, bacon, pineapple and ham, bell peppers, roasted tomatoes, etc.

You could also use Alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce and use leftover chicken.

Italian Lemon Cookies

These delightful cookies are easy to make and very habit forming. This recipe will make 3 dozen cookies. You can also make this substituting pistachio pudding; it is equally as delightful.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup confectioners/powdered sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1teaspoon almond extract
½ cup finely chopped almonds (I used slices and chopped them more)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest (optional, but really does add a pop to the flavor
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
3.4oz package lemon instant pudding mix
½ teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl cream butter. Beat in ½ cup sugar until fluffy. Add in vanilla and almond extracts and lemon zest.
In a medium bowl combine flour, pudding mix and salt. Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients until combined. Stir in chopped almonds.
Divide dough in half and form into two balls. Wrap each separately in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove dough from plastic wrap and make teaspoon size balls. Place on baking sheets and press down on the balls slightly spacing them about 1inch apart.
Bake in preheated oven for 9-10 minutes. Don't overbake. Remove from oven and let them sit on baking sheet for about 3 minutes. While cookies are still warm toss them in remaining confectioners sugar and set on wire rack until cooled completely.
Store in airtight containers.

Southern Greens--Collards, Turnips, Mustards

Southern greens are some of my favorite things to eat. I love them fresh, frozen or canned. This recipe isn't mine; it is my mother's. This is for fresh greens.

3 bunches (pounds) of greens, washed--see directions below
4-5 strips of bacon, cut into one inch pieces
1 ham hock
2 medium onions, diced
4 toes/buds of garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes and/or a couple of dashes of hot sauce
3 cups chicken or beef broth (I prefer beef, but chicken is fine, too)
If making turnip greens, one turnip root, peeled and diced

Wash the greens thoroughly. (Fill clean kitchen sink with cold water and add greens, stir them around for about 5 minutes and then let sit for 5 minutes. Remove greens from water and if there is a lot of dirt in the sink, empty water and repeat the washing process. Remove the stems that run down the center by holding the leaf in your left hand and stripping the leaf down with your right hand. The tender young leaves in the heart of the greens don't need to be stripped. Stack 6 to 8 leaves on top of one another, roll up, and slice into 1/2 to 1-ince thick slices.
In large stock pot, fry bacon with onions and garlic for about 3 minutes. Bacon should not be done, but should be releasing fat/grease. Do not drain grease unless there is more than 4 tablespoons of grease. Add broth, salt, sugar, black pepper, diced turnip roots if making turnips, pepper flakes/hot sauce and ham hock. Bring to boil; let boil 5 minutes and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours until ham hock is tender. Add greens and return liquid to boil, pushing greens down into liquid. Simmer for 2 hours until greens are tender. NOTE: Many Southerners put a little apple cider vinegar in their greens. Use 1/4 cup of vinegar. Add when putting greens into broth.

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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.