Cooking with KP: November 2016

Southern Praline Snack Mix

A former student of mine shared this recipe with me and I have been making it ever since. It has become an annual Christmas gift to friends and family. I like this so much better than the chocolate coated or powdered sugar coated snack mixes. This is not my recipe. I took it directly from the Savannah Cinnamon Company bottle.

6 c corn, rice or wheat chex cereal (I use 2 cups of each)
2 c pecan halves
1/4 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c Savannah Cinnamon Company Praline Mix (This comes in a 25 fl. oz. bottle that can be purchased directly online from the savannah cinnamon & cookie co. or some boutiques and food warehouses sell it)
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal and nuts and use your hands to mix them. In a small saucepan, mix brown sugar, praline mix, and butter. Gently boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda until foamy. Pour over cereal/pecans and stir to coat well. Pour mixture on cookie sheet and spread out. Bake for 1 hour. (The recipe says to stir once during baking, but I have found to stir 2 or 3 times during baking process is best.)

Cranberry Cinnamon Nut Biscuits

I love this time of year because cranberries are every where and this is a perfect recipe to use that leftover whole cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving dinner.

2 cups self-rising flour

3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup leftover whole cranberry sauce
¼ cup orange juice
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. In separate bowl add oil and milk, don’t stir and then pour slowly in seasoned flour, kneading as your add liquid. Roll out and cut biscuits or shape with your floured hands. Place biscuits in cast-iron skillet and bake 10-12 minutes until tops are golden brown.

While biscuits are baking, on low temperature heat leftover cranberry sauce in a sauce pan with orange juice, stirring frequently.

Mix cream cheese and butter in a bowl with a mixer until well blended. Add flavoring and mix. Slowly add powdered sugar and milk one tablespoon at a time until you have the constancy you want for glaze.

After biscuits are cooked, cut open and top with cranberry sauce and the drizzle on cream cheese glaze.

Crockpot or Oven Baked Cranberry Pork Chops

This is a recipe that I made a few KP adjustments to and we loved it.

6 pork chops (not thin cut ones)
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Tablespoon horseradish
2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple or orange juice
1 medium onion,diced
pepper and garlic powder

Spray crockpot or use a liner for easy clean up. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder on both sides of chops. In a small bowl, mix all other ingredients. Pour half of mixture on the bottom of crock pot. Add chops and then pour the rest of mixture on top. Cook on low 5 hours. If you want a thick sauce to spoon over chops prior to serving, remove chops from crock and add 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch to liquid left in pot to thick sprinkling a little at a time and stirring
well to avoid lumps.

If you want to do these in the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil and lightly spray foil. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder on both sides of chops. Bake in oven uncovered for 15 minutes. In a small sauce pan, mix all other ingredients. Whisk until it comes to a boil. Boil 5 minutes and then simmer 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently. After chops have roasted for 15 minutes. Spoon half of the sauce over chops Bake another 10 minutes. Continue to cook sauce on stovetop while chops are finishing. Prior to serving top each chop with a little more sauce.

Kay's Easy Ham and Mushroom Tetrazzini

I had leftover ham and I wanted pasta, so I created this. It is simple and delightful. It is so easy that from stove to table takes only 30 minutes and dinner is served. This recipe makes 5-6 hearty servings.

2 cups diced ham

8
mushroom sliced or one small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
2 Tablespoons parsley flakes (fresh is the best)
1 bud/toe of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (It is also good substituting pepper jack cheese)
½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup fresh(not green can shaker kind) parmesan cheese, shredded
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
¾ cup milk
12 ounces spaghetti

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil and add spaghetti and cook 8 minutes. While water is coming to a boil and then while spaghetti is cooking, heat olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, minced garlic, and parsley and sauté about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté until veggiea are soft. Add soup, cheeses, garlic powder and pepper. Stir until cheeses start to melt. Add milk and continue to stir. Bring to a low boil and add diced ham. Simmer until spaghetti is done. Drain spaghetti and add spaghetti to sauce. If it is too thick, add a little more milk.

Potato Flake Cookies

I found a recipe similar

to this online and tweeked it a bit. They are quick, easy, and tasty. They are highly approved by my grandson Jesse!
They are not overly sweet and the potato flakes add a texture as if the cookies have coconut in them. You could also add some chopped nuts, coconut, or chocolate chips to the mix before you fold in the flakes. They need to come last.

½ cup butter
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon, coconut, or almond flavoring
1 ½ cup Bisquick mix
1 ¼ cup instant potato flakes
Sprinkles (jimmies) or colored sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large glass bowl that has been chilled for about an hour, cream butter, egg, and sugar until well blended. Add flavoring of your choice and mix well. Slowly, mix in Bisquick mix. Then with a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in potato flakes. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and place on cookie that has been little greased or lined with parchment paper. Lightly press down with fork to slightly flatten. Sprinkle with the jimmies or colored sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

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.