Cooking with KP: July 2021

Easy Blueberry Muffins

This is one of the easiest muffin recipes I have ever found. I found it online and made 2 adjustments to my family's tastes. It makes 8 large head muffins or 12 regular. The perfect batch for breakfast. Whip up some today!

1 3/4 cup of self-rising flour

3/4 cup sugar, plus some for sprinkling the tops

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring or orange flavoring (we like the orange sometimes) If you don't have orange flavoring you can use 3 teaspoons of fresh orange juice.

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place muffin cups/liners in baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat egg, add flour, sugar, oil, flavoring, and milk. With a spoon, stir together until all is mixed. It will be a thick batter. If you feel the batter is too thick, add a little more milk--but not too much. You want to spoon the mixture not pour it. Fold in blueberries. Divide the mixture into the liners. Go all the way to the top if making 8. If making 12, lower the level a bit. Sprinkle the top with sugar. If you have dusting sugar or coarse sugar, this is great. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of muffin comes out clean and the the tops are lightly golden.

I like to spread orange butter on mine when I get them. Simple mix a little orange juice with soft butter/margarine.

Kay's Chicken Pasta Primavera

Many people believe the pasta primavera is an Italian dish, but it isn’t. Primavera is an American dish that consists of pasta and fresh vegetables, invented in the 1970s in a cooking contest in Canada. This is my version of several on the internet. I have added the prepared mustard because of the rich flavor it adds.

2 cups uncooked penne or spiral pasta
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed and lightly seasoned with garlic powder, pepper, and seasoned salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons minced garlic from store)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 package (16 ounces) frozen carrots-broccoli-cauliflower blend, thawed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh—not the green shaker jar)
1 tablespoon spicy prepared mustard
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute chicken that has been seasoned with garlic powder, pepper and seasoned salt in 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil until chicken is no longer pink. Push to side of skillet. Add the other tablespoon of butter and the red bell peppers and garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Mix with chicken. Add the vegetables and reduce to low. Cook for 4-5 minutes. And cream and prepared mustard; cook until vegetables done but still a bit crisp.

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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.