Cooking with KP: July 2019

Pepperoni Chicken and Pasta Bake

There are lots of recipes online and in cook books that combine the wonderful flavors of marinara sauce, pepperoni,and cheese with meats, such as ground beef and Italian sausage, . Here is my version, using chicken. It is very good.
This is a great dinner and kids enjoy it!

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 10 chicken tenders, cubed

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 Tablespoon prepared minced garlic

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning blend

1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce ( I use Emeril’s or Newman’s Own)

½ Tablespoon sugar

garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper

2 cups penne pasta, boiled and drained

1 (6 ounce) package of sliced pepperoni--cut all but 24 slices into four parts

1 ½ cup shredded Italian blend cheese (a mix of Mozzarella, Romano, and Provolone cheeses) Kraft makes a great product

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (not the shaker can kind)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken chunks with garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add chicken. Cook chicken pieces for about 2-3 minutes, turning often. Add diced bell pepper and onion. Continue to cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add marinara sauce, minced garlic, sugar, Italian seasoning and a dash of pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover. While sauce is simmering, boil pasta in a large pot of water (I cook mine for 9-10 minutes) and drain. Add drained pasta and pepperoni slices that have been quartered to sauce and chicken mixture. Mix well. Add 1 cup of cheese blend. Spray a 9 x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour pasta mixture in dish. Top with ½ cup of Italian cheese and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese. Layer the reserved 24 slices of pepperoni on top of cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top cheese begins to melt and lightly bubble.

Momma's Pickled Beets

Beets--you either love them or you hate them. love them. My mother often made side dishes with beets. One of my favorites is this one. It is great as a barbecue side dish and my husband and I love them with white beans. Here is my mother's pickled beets dish.

2 (16 ounce) cans sliced beets

1 large Vidalia or red onion, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 Tablespoon parsley flasks (fresh or dried) (optional)

Dash pepper

½ cup sugar

½ Tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ cup apple cider or white vinegar

1/2 cup beet juice from cans

Drain beets, reserving ½ cup liquid/juice. Place beets in large bowl with lid. Add onions, pepper, and parsley flakes, and toss.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, mustard and reserved 1/2 cup beet liquid until dissolved. Add vinegar and bring to boil; remove from heat and allow to cool.

Pour over the beet slices and onions, toss and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Remove from refrigerator and serve at room temperature.

Crispy Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

This is a super simple recipe (it takes about 15 minutes to prep) that tastes heavenly. It is great for
Sunday dinners, company dinners, or just because you want a delicious dinner.

1 whole chicken (about 4 - 4.5 lbs.), rinsed and patted dry; giblets removed

Seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder

1 lemon, quartered

1 stalk celery, quartered

1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, peeled but not chopped

2 T butter, melted

2 T Italian seasoning blend (I use McCormick)

1 teaspoon paprika

10-12 red potatoes, halved or quartered depending on size

1 ½ cups baby carrots, rinsed or large carrots, peeled and chunked

1 Vidalia onion, quartered

2 T olive oil

Kitchen twine for tying legs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season chicken cavity with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Stuff chicken cavity with 3 of lemon quarters, celery, bay leaf, and garlic cloves.

Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wings underneath the bird. Place chicken (breast-side up) in a large roasting pan.

Drizzle or brush melted butter over the outside of the chicken. Season liberally all over with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and 1 Tablespoons of Italian seasoning.

Place potatoes, carrots and onion in a large Ziploc bag. Add olive oil, juice of 1 lemon quarter, seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning, and toss to coat.

Place the vegetables in the roasting pan around the chicken.

Roast the chicken and vegetables in the oven for about 95-100 minutes, or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. It your chicken is getting too brown before it is done, tent it with foil.

Please feel free to add other raw vegetables, such as squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli to your veggies. All are great!

Zucchini Boats

The internet and cook books have thousands of recipes for stuffed zucchini boats.
Here is one my husband and I made together. We enjoy them very much. I hope you do as well.

4 medium zucchini

½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

FILLING:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed or ground turkey/pork/ beef

(or a mixture of meats)

½ cup onion finely diced

½ cup bell pepper, finely diced

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon parsley flakes

5-6 white mushrooms, diced

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon pepper

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups marinara sauce

½ Tablespoon sugar

¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Chopped parsley for garnishing

cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large rectangular baking with cooking spray.

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then trim off the stem ends. Use a spoon to carefully scoop the flesh out of the zucchinis.

Arrange the zucchini in the baking dish.

Lightly brush the insides of the zucchinis with olive oil. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper over the zucchini shells.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage(meat) and cook for 4-5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula.

Add the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and parsley flakes and cook for an additional 4 minutes or until onion is softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the marinara sauce, sugar, pepper, Italian seasonings and Worcestershire sauce into the pan and bring to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes.

Spoon the meat mixture evenly into the zucchini shells, then top with the shredded cheeses.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until zucchini is tender and cheese is melted and golden brown.

Garnish with parsley, then serve.

Bread Pudding with Streusel Topping

After the 4th of July, we had a few leftover hot dog and hamburger buns, so we decided to use themfor a bread pudding. This recipe is the result. My husband changed around one from Paula Deen to make this delicious dessert. We didn't add the sauce that Deen included because we enjoyed the crunching topping so much. We topped ours with whipped cream, but you may want to make a vanilla sauce for yours.

4 cups cubed bread—(we used leftover hot dog and hamburger buns)

2 cups granulated white sugar

5 large beaten eggs

2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, softened to room temperature

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¾ cup finely chopped pecans, optional (Deen added these to hers, but we didn't)

Cube bread and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Allow bread to sit out for several hours to overnight so that it hardens slightly. Soft bread does not absorb the ingredients as well as stale bread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly butter or spray with cooking spray the sides and bottom of a 9 x13 baking dish. Place cubed bread in baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, white sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

Pour mixture over bread cubes. Lightly press down any bread that floats to the top. Let sit for 10-15 minutes so that bread starts to soak of liquid.

In a small bowl, mix together softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

You may want to add ¾ cup finely chopped pecans to the mix. It should make a crumble.

Sprinkle crumble on top of bread mixture.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until set (tooth pick in the center should come out mostly clean.) Let bread pudding rest for about 20 minutes prior to serving.

Easy and Delicious Macaroni Salad

My mother loved making all kinds of salads. She often made pasta salad. This is her basic recipe, but please note at the bottom I have listed some possible add-ins. Make it your way and enjoy!

2 cups macaroni, boiled in lightly salted water, and thoroughly drained

2 hard-boiled eggs, diced

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small onion (yellow or red), diced

3 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish

2 Tablespoon chopped parsley

1 cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 ½ Tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook and drain macaroni. Let macaroni cool for about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, add macaroni, diced eggs, onions, celery, and parsley. In a smaller bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, mustard and pickle relish. Pour on top of other ingredients and toss until well-blended.

Some great add-ins: bacon bits, olives (we like black, but green are good too), shredded cheese, diced ham, pepperoni slices, diced tomatoes, and/or handful of peas.

Skillet Pork Chops with Apple Jelly and Mustard Glaze

Are you looking for an uncomplicated but delicious way to cook pork chops? I was. I made a few changes to one I found online. It is easy to prepare and oh, so tasty!

4 pork chops, about 3/4 to 1 inch thick

salt, pepper and garlic powder to sprinkle on both sides of chops

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

1/2 cup apple jelly

dash ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons creole mustard

1 tablespoon of minced garlic (I used ready prepared)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chops with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. When the oil is hot, add onion slices and sauté for about until soft. Remove from skillet and add chops. Cook on each side for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Cover with sautéed onions and reduce temp to medium. Cook for another 8 minutes, turning chops and stirring onions frequently

In a bowl, combine the apple jelly with the cinnamon, minced garlic, mustard, and vinegar.

Spoon the jelly mixture over the chops, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the chops are cooked through and tender.
If the sauce gets too thin from being covered with a lid, remove lid and put chops on a platter and cover with foil. Increase temp on sauce to bring to a quick boil, stirring constantly and reduce to your desired thickness.

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.