Cooking with KP: July 2022

Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Potatoes

I found a recipe for these online at The Magical Slow Cooker.

I made a few adjustments and the results are awesome. This is a great side to put on in the morning and have ready when you come home from work or running errands. It, also, frees-up the stove top and oven when you have lots of other dishes to prepare.

3 lbs. red potatoes about 8 cups after being cut
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons minced garlic (can use fresh garlic or jarred)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Kraft shaker kind is fine)
2 Tablespoons margarine or butter
½ cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

Clean and cut your potatoes in wedges (four pieces per potato). Do not peel.
Spray slow cooker. Place potatoes in cooker.
Mix olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Pour over potatoes and mix to thoroughly coat all potatoes. Shake/sprinkle grated Parmesan on top of potatoes. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Don’t remove the lid the entire time. When ready to serve, add margarine/butter and fresh Parmesan cheese and lightly toss to coat.

NOTE: You may substitute Yukon gold potatoes or fingerlings but don’t use Russet potatoes; they will fall apart and be mushy.

Old World Chicken Cacciatore

This is an amazing recipe that I adapted for a few I saw online and in magazines. It makes a rich tomato-based sauce with the tender fall of the bone chicken that will make your dinner guests or family asking for it often. Plus, it is super easy to make.

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 bone-in skinless chicken thighs (you can use boneless or breasts, but the flavor will not be as rich)
Salt and pepper, to season
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic which is about 5 cloves/toes
1 small yellow bell pepper, diced in rather large pieces
1 small red bell pepper, diced in rather large pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
10 oz (300g) mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup pitted black olives
2 tablespoons each freshly chopped parsley and basil plus more to garnish
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 sprigs of thyme
150 ml red wine (if you don’t like to cook with wine, use 2/3 cup chicken broth with ½ tablespoon of red wine vinegar
1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 medium Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet that has a lid. Sear chicken over medium heat on both sides until golden, about 4-5 minutes each side. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the onion until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the peppers, carrot, mushrooms and herbs; cook for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
Pour in the wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until wine is reduced, about 2 minutes.
Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Roma tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Season with more salt and pepper to your tastes.
Allow tomato and vegetables to come to a light boil. Return chicken to skillet and cover with sauce. Continue to boil for about 3 minutes and then cover and reduce heat to simmer.
Cook 45 minutes to 3 hours—the longer the cook time; the richer the flavor.
Add black olives and cook 10 more minutes.
Serve over pasta, rice, potatoes or as is with sides of crusty bread.

Easy Sweet and Sour Pork in Slow Cooker

We love Chinese food; I especially like sweet and sour chicken or pork. Here is a recipe I have created for pork in the slow cooker.

4-5 thick-cut boneless pork chops (1-inch thick)
1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup ketchup

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

4 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon black pepper for sauce

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 16 ounce can pineapple chunks (canned and drained, not fresh)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to season meat

Green onions thinly sliced or sesame seeds(for garnish)

Line or spray your crockpot/slow cooker.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic, black pepper, ground ginger, and rice wine vinegar.

Cut pork chop into 1-inch pieces. Remove stem and seeds from bell pepper and then cut into 1-inch pieces.

Lightly, salt, pepper, and garlic powder pork pieces. Place pork chops, bell pepper, and pineapple in slow cooker. Pour sauce over the top and stir to coat everything.

Place lid on slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on LOW heat or 3 hours on HIGH heat. (The internal temperature of your pork should be 170 degrees F.)

Once at the done temperature, remove the meat and vegetables and place in a covered bowl.

Mix together cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Pour into slow cooker and stir into sauce. Return meat to slow cooker and cook on HIGH heat for 30 minutes to let the sauce thicken.

Serve warm with cooked rice and garnish with green onion or sesame seeds, if desired.

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR SAUCE RED AS IT IS IN CHINESE RESTAURANTS, ONCE MEAT IS THROUGHLY COOK REMOVE MEAT, PINEAPPLE, AND PEPPERS FROM CROCK POT, COVER WITH FOIL TO KEEP WARM. WHEN YOU MIX THE SLURRY, ADD 4-5 DROPS OF RED FOOD COLORING, POUR INTO LIQUID IN CROCKPOT. LET COOK FOR 20 MINUTES. RETURN MEAT, PEPPERS AND PINEAPPLE AND COOK 10 MORE MINUTES.

Chocolate Cobbler

This is in no way my original recipe. I watched several youtube videos and researched recipes and decided that this one from addapinch.com was the best of all worlds. It is a 3-D recipe--delicious, delightful, and decadent.

Batter:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Cobbler Topping:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups boiling water

vanilla ice cream for serving (optional, but recommended)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Place butter into a 9x13 baking dish and into the oven to melt. Then, remove from the oven and set aside.
Mix together the sugar, cocoa powder, flour, milk, and vanilla extract for the batter. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish on top of the melted butter. DO NOT STIR.
In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups sugar and ½ cup cocoa powder. Sprinkle this topping mixture on top of the batter. Pour the boiling water over topping. DO NOT STIR.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is set. The bottom of the cobbler will still be a little loose. Cool for 15 to 20 minutes.
Top with vanilla ice cream (optional) and serve.

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.