Cooking with KP: May 2023

Kay's Hello Dolly Mini Bites

Seven Layer Cookies/Magic Cookie Bars/ Hello Dolly Bars--They are all same wonderful goodness, but here is twist to the basic recipe. I found this online and then make an additional change to the recipe. You will need two mini muffin pans. This will make 48 cookies.

48 Mini Vanilla Wafer cookies

24 Werther's Soft Caramel Chews, cut in half

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate morsels

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1/2 can of Sweetened Condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush melted butter into each muffin well. Place a mini vanilla wafer in the bottom of each well. Put half a soft chew on top of cookie. Sprinkle chocolate morsels, chopped pecans, and coconut on top, making layers. Then top each muffin well with a teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until morsels and caramel chew are melted and bubbly.

Kay's Crispy Crowns Enchilada Casserole

A few weeks ago, I was watching Facebook Reels and this woman cooked something very similar to this, so this is a copycat recipe. No matter, it is so tasty; we love it!

1 pound of lean ground beef

1 package of Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns

2 Tablespoon olive oil

1 package of taco seasoning mix

1 small can chopped green chilis

1 small can sliced black olives

1 small can red enchilada sauce

1 cup salsa

1 cup of frozen corn

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 medium green bell pepper, diced

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups of shredded Fiesta blend cheese

Shredded lettuce

Diced tomatoes

Sliced green onion

Sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While oven is heating, in a large skillet heat olive oil and add onions and bell pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften. Add ground beef and cook until meat is browned. Drain any excess grease. Sprinkle to taco seasoning.Stir in enchilada sauce, green chilis, corn, and salsa. Cook 5-10 minutes on medium heat until bubbly.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Place one layer of crispy crown on the bottom of the dish. Pour meat mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Add another layer of crispy crowns. Bake for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are golden. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese and bake for 10 more minutes so that cheese is fully melted and bubbly.

Let casserole sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

We like to place a layer shredded lettuce on our plates or bowls. Top with the casserole and then sprinkle with diced tomatoes, black olives, and green onion. We also put a dollop of sour cream in the middle. We have also added guacamole on the top.

Montana Glazed Ham Steaks

I found this recipe online and once we tried it, we were hooked.

It is great not only on ham

steaks, but on pork chops and hamburger steaks.

2 large slices of ham/ham steaks

2 Tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon smoky paprika

In a large cast iron skillet, melt the butter and add ham steaks. Cook 3-5 minutes each side until starting to brown.

Remove ham from skillet and set aside.

Pour all other ingredients in skillet and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil. Let boil 3-5 minutes until reducing.

Add ham steaks back to skillet cook 5 more minutes each side. ENJOY!

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.