Cooking with KP: December 2016

Christmas Chocolate Cherry Cake with Cheesecake Filling

There is a recipe very similar to this one on the internet, but the actual cake part is different. I think my version is much easier. Here is my decadent holiday cake.

Cake

1 box of DH Devil’s Food cake mix

1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
½ cup oil
½ cup water

1 cup mini semi-sweet morsels
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
16 large maraschino cherries

Cheesecake Filling

2 8-ounce cream cheeses, softened

½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1 can Cherry Pie Filling

1 can of white chocolate or vanilla icing

Cake instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan very well with cooking spray. Melt butter and pour into bottom of pan. Sprinkle in brown sugar and press down sugar to soak into the butter. Put 2 large cherries in each of the large sections of the bundt design.

In a large mix bowl, add cake mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and water. Mix with hand mixer until fully blended. (about 3 minutes). With spatula fold in morsels.

Pour ¾ of the batter on top of the cherries in butter and brown sugar.

Filling directions:

Mix all ingredients for the filling in a bowl with hand mixer until light and fluffy. Make a ring of filling on top of the cake batter—avoid touching the sides of the pan. Spoon half the can of cherry pie filling on top of the cream cheese filling.

Pour remaining cake batter on top. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick insert in the middle comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan and then turn on to plate and let cool 30 minutes.

Once cake is cooled. Spoon half the can of icing into a microwave bowl and microwave for 20 seconds to thin it out. Drizzle on top of cake allowing some to drip down the sides of the cake. Sprinkle the top with some mini-morsels.

Artichoke Balls

This is a perfect party nibble!

14 ounce-can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped finely

3 eggs, beaten
1 ¾ cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Juice from one lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
3 Tablespoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons of FRESH grated parmesan cheese
Dash of black pepper
¼ cup grated FRESH parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the first 8 ingredients in a bowl (use your hands for the best mix). Roll in 1-inch balls (walnut size). Roll each ball in the remaining parmesan cheese Place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes until set and lightly browned.

NOTE: DO NOT USE MARINATED ARTICHOKE HEARTS.

Pork Chops with Dumplings

Pork chops with dumplings? You may have lots of questions about this. I did myself. My mother cooked this a few times when I was in college. I believe she found the recipe in a Taste of Home Magazine. It is very tasty. And, it is simple to make.

5-6 bone-in pork chops about 1/2 thick
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 green bell pepper,chopped (a bit chunky)
1 red bell pepper, chopped ( a bit chunky)
2 buds of garlic, sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 Tablespoons of parsley flakes
garlic powder
pepper
3 packages of McCormick Pork Gravy
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 1/2 cups of water
2 cans of refrigerator biscuits (10 in each can)

In a large deep skillet that has a lid (chicken fryer) that will hold all these ingredients, heat oil. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with garlic powder and pepper. Brown them on both sides-about 2 minutes on each side. Cover chops with peppers, onions, parsley flakes, and garlic. Reduce temperature to medium and cover skillet with lid and let chops cook about 5 minutes, turn and cook 5 more minutes. In a mixing bowl, add the dry gravy mixes, can of mushroom soup, and 2 1/2 cups water. Add a bit more garlic powder and pepper. Mix well until gravy and soup have no lumps. Pour on top of chops. Bring to a quick boil for about 2 minutes. Reduce to simmer, cover with lid and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Make sure to turn chops a few times. Flatten each biscuit with heal of hand and cut into 4 pieces. Remove lid from chops and bring back to boil, drop biscuit pieces into boiling gravy. Once all pieces are in and covered with gravy, reduce heat to medium low and cook 15-20 more minutes or until dumplings are done. You can serve this over rice, mashed potatoes, or baked biscuits or cornbread. Sprinkle a little more parsley on top before eating.

Oven-Roasted Pineapple Barbecue Chicken Thighs

I am sure you could use the recipe with any pieces of chicken, but I like it with bone-in, skin-on thighs.

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 bottle of Honey Barbecue sauce (I used Kraft)
1/2 cup pineapple preserves
2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
1/4 tsp. pepper
garlic powder, pepper, and seasoned salt for meat

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse chicken thighs and cut off excessive fat. Pat dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with garlic powder, pepper and seasoned salt.
Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and spray it completely with cooking spray or rub some olive oil all over foil.
Combine the barbecue sauce, pineapple preserves, garlic and pepper in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until nice and hot, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Place the chicken thighs skin-side down on baking pan. Roast for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush some sauce all over the thighs, then use a spatula to flip them over, being careful not to tear the skin. Brush the tops with more sauce and return to the oven for 7 minutes more. Remove from the oven, brush on more sauce, and return to the oven for another 7 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush on more sauce, and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.Continue roasting the chicken thighs until the sauce is starting to brown around the edges and the thighs are totally cooked through about
5 to 7 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite side of potatoes or pasta! Delicious!

Old Fashioned Pound Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Nothing is more comforting than the smell of your grandmother's/mother's pound cake baking in the oven or some dark chocolate. So why not have them together? Also, you make this for a holiday celebration and be the hit of the dessert table!

1 cup butter, softened (Do not substitute margarine)
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.

Add flour to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in extracts. Pour into a lightly greased and floured bundt or tube pan.

Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack; cool completely (about 1 hour).

Chocolate Glaze

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Place chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in 2-cup microwavable measuring cup. Microwave uncovered on Medium (50%) 1 to 2 minutes or until chocolate can be stirred smooth.

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.