Cooking with KP

Throw It All In Dinner

Here is a great empty-out the fridge great chicken-in-the-crock pot dinner.

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 green pepper (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

6 green onions (chopped)
3 T. parsley flakes
1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

4 plum tomatoes (chopped)

6 ozs tomato paste

14 oz ham (cut into cubes)

8 ozs tomato sauce

2-5 dashes hot sauce to your taste

4 ozs green chilies (diced green chilies drained)

creole seasoning (Tony's) to your taste

3 cups rice (cooked)

12 oz. smoked or kielbasa sausage (sliced diagonally)

Put all ingredients but rice and sausage in the crockpot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours until chicken is done (160 degrees). Add rice and sausage and cook one more hour. If you have a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp, toss those in with the rice and sausage. Garnish with additional chopped green onions. Serve with a tossed salad and enjoy! There will leftovers for lunch the next day or dinner later in the week.

Crockpot Chicken Supreme

Fall is coming, slowly but surely. And, of course, for me, school has begun so there isn't a lot of time for cooking. It is time to pull out that crock pot and start using some of the many crock pot recipes I have. Mike loves chicken; he would eat it every night. Here is a recipe that can be changed in many ways to please your individual taste buds. I discovered it awhile back and I have place options in parentheses.

5 slices of bacon
4 chicken breasts (or 10 chicken tenders)
10 oz. can of cream of chicken soup (10 oz jar of Alfredo sauce)
4 oz. can or jar of sliced mushrooms or whole buttom mushrooms

6 oz. frozen pearl onions (one diced onion)
Black pepper and garlic powder to taste
8 oz. shredded Swiss or Havarti cheese (8 oz. shredded 4 cheese blend)

Cook bacon in skillet, drain, break into 1/2 inch pieces and place in container in fridge.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with pepper and garlic powder.
Brown chicken breasts in bacon grease (about 3-5 minutes). Do not cook through.
Place chicken in crock pot and cover with mushrooms and onions.
Pour soup in skillet, stirring to get all the chicken drippings from skillet. Heat about 1-2 minutes. Do not add water. If your chicken breasts are large, you might need 2 cans of soup. Pour slightly heated soup over chicken breasts. Cover crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours until breasts are done but not falling apart.
Sprinkle top with cheese and bacon pieces. Cover and cook on high 15 minutes to melt cheese.
Serve with rice, wild rice, or mashed potatoes. If you cook the Alfredo sauce recipe, it is better with pasta.

Sweet and Sour Sausage Bites

Here is a recipe that I slightly altered from one a former student shared with me. It makes enough to fill a crock pot. Great for parties!

2 pounds of smoked beef sausage, cut into 1/2 inch bites
2 medium onions, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 12 oz jars of apricot preserves
3 T. yellow mustard
2 T. butter

Melt butter in large skillet and saute onions on low to medium heat until beginning to caramelize. Remove onions and place in crockpot. Lightly brown sausage bites in skillet and add to crockpot. Put apricot preserves in skillet and stir on low until nearly melted. Add mustard and mix well. Pour sauce in crockpot. Keeps on low for 5-8 hours. You could also add cubes of bell peppers and a can of pineapple chunks to a more Hawaiian flavor.

Pina Colada Punch

I found this recipe on the internet and changed a few things. I made it for Amanda's engagement party and it is delicious. You can make it non-alcholic for everyone to enjoy.

1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream, softened
15 oz. coconut cream
20 oz. crushed pineapple with juice
46 oz. pineapple juice
2 liters of lemon-lime soda
2 cups Malibu coconut rum

Place crushed pineapple and coconut cream in food processor and blend so that pineapple is in smaller pieces and coconut cream is smooth. In a large container, mix softened ice cream, pineapple juice, crushed pineapple with coconut cream, and rum (if desired). Slowly pour in lemon-lime soda to avoid fizz overs. Place in freezer for 5 hours (only 4 if no rum). Place in punch bowl and top with fruit slices. Cool, refreshing, and tasty.

Corny Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

This is my version of one I found on pinterest. Next time I make it, I am going to add a can of diced green chilis. Yummy!

1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

1 15 oz. can cream style corn

1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk/cream

1.5 cups dry elbow macaroni, uncooked

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9x 13 casserole dish. Mix all ingredients, using only half of the Colby Jack cheese, in a bowl. Pour into casserole dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and top with 1/2 cup of Coby Jack cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Here is a recipe I found online. It is great with chicken, country-style pork ribs and beef tips.

1 cup root beer

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon mild-flavored (light) molasses

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients and place in saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes to reduce to half the amount. Add to crockpot of chicken, ribs, or beef tips one hour before removal. Or, brush on meat on the grill twenty minutes prior to removing. Or, pour on top of meat cooked in oven twenty minutes prior to removing.

Lemonade Cake

Here is a recipe I got in 2002 from Cooking Light. It is a wonderful summertime dessert. If you need a light, tasty, cooling cake for a party, try it.

Cake:

1 1/3 cup granulated sugar

6 T butter, softened

1 T grated lemon rind

3 t thawed lemonade concentrate

2 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 c fat-free buttermilk

Frosting:
2 T butter, softened
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 tsp. thawed lemonade concentrate
1/2 tsp. vanilla
8 ounces 1/3 less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.

Click to see To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.

Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Chill 1 hour.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

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.