Cooking with KP: October 2016

Fall Fluff

There is a recipe online called Pumpkin Fluff that is all the rage, but my family doesn't care for pumpkin that much so I decided to use sweet potatoes instead, but I certainly can't call this recipe an original of mine. The Pumpkin Fluff recipe is where I got the idea for this.

1 29-ounce can cut sweet potatoes in syrup, drained well
1 8 ounce container of Cool Whip, almost completely thawed
1 package of instant vanilla pudding
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 ginger snap cookies, crumbled

In a large bowl with electric mixer, blend sweet potatoes until very smooth. Add dry pudding mix (do not mix with milk) and spices and continue to mix well. Then fold in Cool Whip until thoroughly mixed. Place in a container for serving and cover. Refrigerate one hour and then top with ginger snap cookie crumbs and serve with ginger snaps for dipping.

If you want to use pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes, just substitute one 15 ounce can of solid pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.

Chicken-Bacon-Ranch Casserole

There are thousands of versions of this casserole online. This is my version and it is heavenly. Try it and enjoy!

8 slices of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 packet dry Ranch dressing mix
16 oz. pasta (I used penne)
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan, shredded
1 cup sour cream
Pepper and garlic powder
1 jar Alfredo sauce (14.5 oz.)
½ cup Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese blend, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray some cooking spray in a 9 x 11 baking dish.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon until brown and crispy, about 7 minutes.
Place bacon on a paper towel to absorb the grease.
Drain most of grease in skillet. I left about 1 tablespoon
Add olive oil to bacon grease.
Add chicken to skillet, sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper and cook until no longer pink.
Sprinkle most of ranch dressing mix on top of chicken and cook 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.
In a pot of boiling water, cook pasta until al dente.
In a large mixing bowl, add pasta, the rest of the ranch dressing mix, parmesan cheese, sour cream and Alfredo sauce. Mix well.
Toss in chicken and bacon and mix.
Pour into casserole dish.
Bake 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese.
Bake 5 more minutes.

Zucchini and Beef Skillet Dinner

I love stuffed zucchini, but sometimes I just don't want to heat up the oven. So, here is a sort of skillet version of stuffed zucchini.

1 pound ground beef (ground pork might be very good as well)

2 cups of sliced zucchini (I cut them in half and then sliced each half
in ¼ inch slices)
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 buds/toes of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend
1 (14.5 ounce) can of tomato sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt or seasoned salt
1 ½ cup instant/minute rice
1-1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or Italian blend cheese
½ cup shredded fresh parmesan cheese
Sliced black olives to garnish top.
Optional: Add 1 cup of corn when you but in zucchini.

In a large skillet, brown meat with onions, bell pepper, and minced garlic until meat is nearly done (just a little pink left). Drain any grease from meat. Add zucchini and continue to cook at medium high heat stirring until zucchini begins to get tender. Add all other ingredients except rice and cheese. Bring to a boil. Add rice and stir well. Put lid on skillet and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir to make sure everything is done and continue cooking if necessary. Once rice and zucchini are tender, top with cheese. Let sit for 5 minutes for cheese to melt. Top with black olives. Serve and enjoy. This is great with garlic bread.

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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.