Cooking with KP: May 2025

Jesse's Mega Meat Sauce/Glaze

My grandson has always been interested in cooking. He created this sauce/glaze that works well on both chicken and pork chops. It can easily be doubled if needed.

For 6 pieces of chicken/pork chops

2/3 cup barbecue sauce (We use Kraft Brown Sugar)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

2 heaping Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Jesse recommends using garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper on both sides of meat and then brushing the sauce over them before baking.

Mix well and generously brush on both sides of meat. Pour any remaining sauce over meat.

Chicken in cooked in Mega Meat Sauce

King Ranch Casserole

This recipe has been around for years. It is a traditional Tex-Mex dish. I found the principal/basic recipe on Southern Living.com and have made a few adjustments to meet our family likes.

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use leftovers at times)

1 (10.5-oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10.5-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 (10-oz.) can diced tomato and green chiles (such as Rotel)

2/3 cup of chicken stock/broth

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

12 corn tortillas, torn into 1-inch pieces

3 cups grated Fiesta blend or Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, add oil and saute bell peppers and onions until tender. Reduce temperature and add soups, broth, sour cream, chicken, Rotel, chili powder, garlic and pepper. Mix well and let get cook about 3 minutes.

Spray 9x13 casserole dish. Place 1/3 of the corn tortillas in the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 the chicken mixture and then 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times.

Bake uncovered to 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Cut into large squares. Optional top each potion with some sour cream, chopped green onions, and salsa.

Cajun Cabbage Jambalya

I am always reading recipes online and this was shared in a cooking group to which I belong. It is so tasty and makes a one pot dinner for under $15, plus given that most of us purchase sausage/meat in one pound potions, there is meat left for another dinner.

1/2 pound pork sausage
1/2 pound smoked sausage cut into rounds
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium green pepper cut up
2 celery stalked chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 to 3 cups chopped cabbage (a small head)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 cup long grain rice or rice of your choice

Brown pork sausage, smoked sausage, onion, green pepper, celery and garlic (this is great for using the prechopped seasonings in stores) in skillet until sausage is done.
Stir in diced tomatoes, chicken broth, cabbage. Add salt, black pepper and Cajun seasoning and bring to a quick boil. Add rice, stir and let simmer uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes until rice and cabbage is cooked. Makes about 8 servings.

Chicken Cobbler

In no way is this my recipe, but my family and I love it. It has been floating the internet for a couple of years and it is a super easy one pot casserole for dinner. You can use leftover chicken or get a rotisserie chicken. Your family will enjoy it.

1/2 cup butter
4 cups rotisserie chicken meat, shredded
1 (15 ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 (11.36 ounce) package Cheddar bay biscuit mix (such as Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix)
2 cups milk
1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place butter in a 9-by-13-inch pan and melt in the oven as it preheats.
Once melted add chicken and spread out into an even layer.
Pour the frozen vegetables over the top. Season any way you like. At this point, you can add shredded cheese if you want.
Mix together the milk and biscuit mix along with the seasoning packet that came with it. If preferred, add garlic and onion powder (or any other seasoning you like).
Pour the biscuit mix over the chicken and vegetables -- but do not mix!
Whisk together the stock and cream of chicken soup, and pour over the top. Again, do not mix!
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. It is going to look runny, but let it sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken to a gravy consistency.

Pickled Cucumbers and Red Onions

This is a quick and easy recipe for some pickled red onions and cucumbers. I like to use it when I have only used a half red onion for a recipe and one half left. You can make it spicy or mild. The recipe is the mild version with a note at the bottom to make them spicy.

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 large cucumber with skin, thinly sliced

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup water

1 tsp. salt

1 large or two small bay leaves

Two twists freshly ground pepper

Prepare your onions and cucumber. Layer then in a large jar with lid or plastic container with a tight lid.

Put all other ingredients in sauce pan and bring to simmer (small bubbles not boil).

Pour over vegetables, pushing down with fork to make sure the vegetables are covers. Let cool. Top with lid and place in fridge for up to 5 days.

To make the spicy, add red pepper flakes to liquid. Just a small pinch.

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.