Cooking with KP: March 2019

Chicken or Turkey Salad

As the weather gets warmer, no one wants to stand in front of a stove cooking for hours. Also, after the holidays, we are all looking for easy ways to use leftover turkey. Lots of cooks have their version of chicken or turkey salads. Here is mine. You can use a store bought rotisserie chicken or just use leftover chicken and/or turkey. Makes great sandwiches or spread on top of crackers. It also tastes
great on a bed of lettuce or just as it is! Enjoy!

4 cups cooked, chopped chicken or turkey

1 cup chopped celery

¾ cup diced onion

1 cup seedless grapes, halved (You can use red or green grapes—your choice)

¾ cup dried cranberries or golden raisins

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced (don't peel)

1 cup roasted pecans, chopped (See recipe below)

1-1.5 cups mayonnaise

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

To make salad, place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to incorporate everything. Feel free to add more mayo if you want it moister. Cover and keep refrigerated.

To roast pecans, preheat oven to 300 degree. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour 1 pound of pecan halves in a single layer on top of parchment. Cut 3 Tablespoons of butter into small pieces and scatter butter pieces on top of pecans. Bake for 10 minutes; stir and bake for 5 more minutes. Watch carefully so that they don’t burn. Let cool for 20 minutes. Keep in airtight container for up to 2 weeks—great snack!

Kay's Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

With their vivid colors and delightful taste, heirloom tomatoes make a perfect side dish or salad. I love to marinate them and serve them on a bed of lettuce and sprinkle a little feta or goat cheese on top. Here is my favorite way to marinate them.

2 cups of small/cherry/grape size heirloom tomatoes, rinsed and sliced

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning blend (I use McCormick)

1 Tablespoon parsley, diced

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon grainy brown mustard

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Slice tomatoes and put in bowl with a tightly fitting lid. Sprinkle salt on tomatoes. In a blender, blender together all other ingredients and pour on top of tomatoes. Put on lid and give a shake. Refrigerate for 2-6 hours or overnight. Serve on lettuce and top with cheese if you like.

Note: I sometimes add 1/4 cup of diced red onions to this . I put onions in with tomatoes and then add the marinate.

Cheesy Garlic Mushroom and Bacon Linguine

A friend of mine suggested the recipe that gave me the basis of this dish. It is on Café Delight.
I made a few adjustments, and this is so very divine.

1 pound thick cut bacon, cut into 1-inch strips

3 tablespoons butter

2 pounds fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup dry white wine (or chicken broth/stock)

8 cloves garlic finely chopped

2 cups heavy cream

1 Tablespoon parsley flakes

½ Tablespoon Italian seasoning blend

Salt and pepper to season

¾ cup fresh shredded mozzarella

½ cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese

12 ounces linguine

I boil linguine for 9 minutes instead of the box 11-12 minutes because I like it al dente. Cook yours as you like it but make sure to cook the pasta as you are cooking the sauce because you want it freshly drained and still hot at the end.

In a large skillet, fry bacon until crispy. Remove from skillet and drain bacon on paper towel covered plate. Remove all grease from skillet except 1 tablespoon. Leave all the dark pieces from the bacon in the bottom. It will add flavor. Over medium high heat, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in the skillet. Add mushrooms and sprinkle olive oil over the top of mushrooms. Stir fry them for 3=4 minutes. Push mushrooms over in skillet to give a small area to add garlic. Let garlic cook in that spot for 1-2 minutes, stirring it well, and then mix with mushrooms. Stir and cook for 2 more minutes. Add wine or broth and bring to a boil. Let liquid reduce (about 2 minutes), stirring frequently. Add cream, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning blend, salt and pepper. Bring to a quick boil, stirring constantly. Reduce to simmer and let cook for 5-6 minutes or until cream is thickening. Add drained bacon and cheese, stirring well. Let cook 2 more minutes. Drain linguine and then add drained pasta to skillet, mixing with sauce. Cook 2-3 more minutes. DIVE IN!

Sweet and Sour Ham Stir-Fry

I love pineapple and ham together. I also love sauted bell peppers and onions. These ideas crossed my mind when I had a leftover ham steak in the fridge. I decided to go for a sweet and sour take and I promise it is tasty.

1 large ham steak/ slice (about 12 ounces) cut into thin strips

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

3 large bell peppers sliced into thin strips (I like to mix the colors)

1 large yellow onion sliced into thin strips

2 large cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

1 20 ounce can pineapple chunks/tidbits packed in juice not syrup, drained with juice reserved

½ cup chicken broth

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons light soy sauce

2 Tablespoons honey

A dash-1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce depending on heat preference

In a small bowl, mix chicken broth, pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, and sriracha sauce. Put aside. In a large skillet on medium high heat, heat olive oil and butter until butter is melted. Add onions, bell peppers and garlic. Sauté until vegetables start to soften. Add ham. Continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes. Pour in sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over steamed rice.

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.