Cooking with KP: January 2017

Creamy Chicken Stuffed Shells

This is not my original recipe; there are several on the internet much like it. I just made a few adjustments to the ones online to make it to our tastes.

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
32 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained thoroughly
1 package of cornbread stuffing mix (Stove Top). Prepare according to directions and use any flavor you like.
2 cans cream of chicken condensed soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (not the green can kind), divided into two 1/4 cup portions
pepper and garlic powder (to our taste)
1/2 cup milk, divided into two 1/4 cup portions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine cooked chicken and cooked stuffing mix with 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 can of soup. In another bowl, mix 1 can of soup, 1/4 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise or sour cream, garlic powder, and pepper to your taste. Spoon a little of this soup mixture into the bottom of a glass 9x13 baking pan. Stuff shells with stuffing mixture and place them stuffing side up in baking pan. Pour the remaining soup mixture on top of shells and then sprinkle on 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and return to oven for 10 more minutes or until lightly brown and bubbly.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't know where or when I found this recipe for peanut butter cookies, but I have been using it for many years. It is simple and the cookies turn out so great. You can add some chocolate chips, chopped peanuts or put a huge Hershey kiss on top of them. Or keep them just simple, which is the way I like them best.

1/2 cup butter (not margarine), softened at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment or lightly spray with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, mix the first six ingredients until well-blended. Put baking soda and salt in measuring cup with flour. Slowly add flour mixture to mixed ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended. Roll into balls about the size of walnuts. Dip a fork in some sugar and press each cookie in crossed pattern. Make sure that you dip the fork in the sugar for each cookie and leave a little sugar on the top of each criss-cross pattern. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool 10 minutes on cooking racks before eating. Delicious with a glass of milk or cup of coffee.

Big Momma's Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

I love bacon, ranch dressing, Parmesan cheese, and pasta salads, so this one was a joy to create, make and eat!

1 package of tri-color spirals, boiled
10 slices of bacon, fried, drained and chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons parsley, diced
1 rib of celery, diced
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix (1 packet)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 small can of sliced black olives, drained
4 ounces freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk (if needed)

Once you have prepared pasta and bacon, in a large mixing bowl, mix ranch powder, garlic powder, pepper, and mayonnaise until well blended. Add onions, bell pepper, celery, parsley and olives and mix thoroughly. Slow add in pasta, mixing with each additional portion to coat well. If the mixture seems to thick, add a little milk. Once pasta is coated, add cheese, mixing well. Let pasta sit for about 30 minutes for flavors to meld. Refrigerate leftovers. (Note: you might want to reserve a little chopped bacon and cheese to sprinkle on top of pasta once in serving bowl)

ADDENDUM: I always rinse my cooked pasta that I am using for a salad in a little cold water.

Kay's Perfectly Simple Shepherd's Pie

Although I haven't made lots of them, I finally combined several recipes that I found online to make my version of shepherd's pie.

1 1/2 lbs ground meat

1 package McCormick Brown gravy
¾ cup water or beef broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Heinz 57 steak sauce (this is a must)
1 toe of garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 to 10 red new potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons garlic powder
½ fresh Parmesan cheese (not the green can kind)
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese
1 can mixed vegetables, green beans, or niblet corn, drained. You can use frozen vegetables that have been cooked according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil potatoes (I don’t peel mine). While potatoes are boiling, in a skillet brown ground meat with onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Season with black pepper. Drain off grease. Mix brown gravy mix in bowl with ¾ cup water. Pour on top of meat mixture. Add tomato sauce and steak sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer while making mashed potatoes. Gravy and sauce should thicken. Drain water from potatoes. Using hand mixer, mix potatoes, butter, sour cream and milk until smooth. Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder and more pepper if you like. Mix thoroughly. In a casserole dish that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Layer meat, your choice of vegetables (I make two layers—meat, veggies, meat, veggies). Sprinkle on ½ cup of cheese, top with mashed potatoes and ½ cup cheese. (Sometimes I use more cheese). Bake for 25 minutes or until everything is heated thoroughly.

Kay's Cheesy Garlic Grits

I discovered a recipe similar to this online and made a few adjustments. It is a perfect side dish for when you are having breakfast for dinner. I am allergic to seafood, but I bet this would be awesome with some grilled shrimp. Enjoy!

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
2 cups grits (not quick or instant)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided into 1½ cups and ½ cup

3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring chicken broth and water to a boil in a saucepan. Add grits in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and gently simmer, stirring frequently to avoid sticking, until very thick, about 25 minutes

Add butter, pepper, garlic, and 1 ½ cup of cheese, stirring until butter and cheese are melted. Lightly beat eggs and milk in a small bowl, then slowly stir into grits until combined.

Pour into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish (2 inches deep) and bake until set and lightly browned, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake another 10 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Big Momma's Sweet Potato Muffins

Are you looking for something to do with leftover baked sweet potatoes? Here is a recipe that I adapted from one online. I don’t put the pecans in when I am making some for my two-year-old grandson because we are very cautious about giving him nuts at his age.

3 large eggs, beaten
⅓ cup sour cream
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup baked sweet potato mash (I used two medium baked sweet potatoes. If you don’t have leftover potatoes, used canned but not the sweetened ones.)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
½ cup of chopped pecans (optional)

For the Streusel Topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 12 muffin cups in muffin tin.

In a large bowl, with hand mixer, puree the sweet potatoes. Add eggs, sour cream, oil, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix well. Slowly, add in flour, mixing as you go until well mixed. Using a spoon, fold in the pecans. Spoon batter into muffin cups. In small bowl, mix all ingredients for topping. I use my fingers, but you can use a spoon if you prefer. Sprinkle a small amount on top of each muffin. Bake for 22-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out nearly clean, as these muffins will be very moist. Great with coffee.

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.