Cooking with KP: 03/20/18

Cornbread Confetti Salad

This versatile salad recipe can be mixed all together or layered. The first time I tasted this wonderful dish was at a potluck dinner. Two people had brought this confetti salad and they both had used the same recipe, but one mixed it all together and the other layered it, so this is not truly my recipe. The only thing I added was the lime juice, which I truly think gives it an extra kick.

SALAD:

1 package (8-1/2 ounces) corn bread/muffin mix (Jiffy is the best for this)

1 can (15.5 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans or light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained (Please note: My husband hates black beans, so when I make it for us--no black beans)

3-4 Roma/plum tomatoes, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 large purple onion, chopped
1 can (2.5 ounces) sliced black olives, drained

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 lime, juiced (about 2 Tablespoons)

10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

DRESSING:

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

MIXED ALL TOGETHER:

Prepare corn bread according to package directions. While cornbread is baking, mix dressing in a small bowl. so that the flavors can meld togethers. Remove cornbread from oven. Cool completely; crumble. In a large bowl, combine the corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Toss them in the lime juice. Then add bacon, cheese and crumbled corn bread. d. Just before serving pour over salad and toss.

LAYERED:

Prepare cornbread according to package directions. While cornbread is baking, mix together dressing. Remove cornbread from oven. Cool completely and crumble. In a small bowl, mix together pinto and black beans. Toss in lime juice. In a large bowl, preferably a glass trifle bowl, begin layering the ingredients. Put 1/3 of the cornbread in the bottom, then top with 1/3 of each of the other ingredients in this order—corn, beans, tomatoes, green pepper, black olives, red pepper, purple onion, green onion, bacon, dressing, cheese. Repeat until you reach the top. I like to add a bit more bacon, black olives, and green onions at the top with the last cheese layer.

Cool Whip Cookies

Spring always makes me think of pastel colors and quick and easy cooking! Cool Whip cookies combine those two things for me. You can use any flavor cake mix you like, but I prefer lemon, strawberry, orange, and white.

Here is the standard recipe when using lemon, strawberry or orange cake mix.

1 (18.25 ounce) pkg. cake mix in lemon, strawberry or orange flavor
1 (8 ounce) container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar, shifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine whipped topping and the beaten eggs. Slowly sprinkle in cake mix, mixing well. Batter will be sticky. Drop by teaspoonfuls into confectioner's sugar and roll lightly to coat. Place on ungreased baking sheet or on parchment paper on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Changes if using white cake mix.
With the white cake mix, you can use any color food coloring you want--Use pink or light blue for a baby shower. I like to use light purple and light blue for Easter.
Follow the same recipe steps, but add 1.5 teaspoons of almond extract when mixing the whipped topping and eggs. After mixing in the dry cake mix, add a few drops of food coloring until you get the shade you like.
You can also opt out of using food coloring and leave them white. Also, instead of rolling the cookies in confectioner's sugar, you can roll them in coconut or rainbow sprinkles

At Christmas, you can use red and green food coloring and add peppermint extract instead of almond.

Note: This is not my recipe creation, it has been around a long time.

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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.