Cooking with KP

Super Moist and Super Easy Chocolate Cake

Years ago, my Aunt Mildred shared this recipe with my mother. The first time I made this was for my friend Mary. I made it for her 19th birthday. It was amazing then and now. Try it!

Cake
1 box Duncan Hines devil's food cake mix
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups water
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use light or fat free)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour pans. I prefer an oblong sheet pan for this cake, but I have made it in two rounds and in a bundt pan. It is your choice. In a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, eggs, water, and mayonnaise. Mix well by hand or on low with mixer. Stir in chocolate chips and pour into prepared pan. Bake 30 mintues or until top springs back. Once cooled, ice with vanilla frosting or dust with powder sugar.

Vanilla Frosting
1 stick of margarine
1 box of powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla flavoring
2 T milk

Mix all ingredients until the desired consistency to spread on cake on cooled cake.

Kay's Almost Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 cans (14 oz) low sodium chicken broth
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 stalks of celery, diced
2 T. parsley flakes
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 cans (10-count) buttermilk biscuits

In a large stock pot, pour in chicken broth, all seasonings, and chicken breasts. Bring to a boil. Boil about 4 minutes and reduce to simmer. Let simmer about 20 minutes with lid on pot. Remove and shred chicken. Return to pot. Add canned soups. Press biscuits down to thin circles and cut into 4 pieces. Return chicken mixture to a boil and drop in biscuit pieces, one at a time. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook 45 minutes. You can also add two diced carrots with seasonings if you like carrots in your dumplings. This is very good and very easy.

Kay's Macaroni and Cheese

When I first started making this baked mac and cheese, I used the long uncut macaroni pasta, but now I use shells or elbow. I loved it as the whole unbroken macaroni, but Mike and Mandy both prefer a smaller pasta. You use whichever pasta you prefer.

20 oz. macaroni, boiled and drained
5 T butter
3 T all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
8 oz. cubed Velveeta
8 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese
8 oz. shredded mild cheddar cheese
8 oz. shredded Colby and Monterrey Jack blend cheese
4 oz. shredded fresh grated Parmesan cheese (not the green can kind!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large saucepan, melt butter on medium-low heat. Add flour and stir for about 2 minutes. Add milk and whisk fully. Add pepper, mustard, paprika, and cubed Velveeta. Stir constantly until Velveeta is melted. Then add each additional cheese, stirring until fully melted. Remove from heat and mix in pasta. Pour into casserole. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Remove from oven and you can top with bread crumbs, Ritz cracker crumbs, or more cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. It is very cheesy and I like it without any additional topping.

Kay's Crockpot Red Beans

Almost all cooks around here have their special red beans and rice recipe. Here is one of mine for the crock pot.

1 pound of red beans, rinsed and sorted
1 1/2 - 2 32 oz. boxes beef broth
1 large onion, diced
1 medium green pepper,diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 T. parsley flakes
2 large bay leaves
1 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. black pepper ( I like pepper-feel free to reduce to your taste)
1/2 T. seasoned salt
1 pound of beef sausage, sliced into rounds
1 cup diced ham and/or a ham bone ( Sometimes I put 2 cups of diced ham because my husband loves ham)
6 slices of bacon cut into 1-inch pieces (do not fry)

Put all items in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add hot sauce if you like your beans to have a kick. Serve with white rice. The beef broth works magic in the area of flavor.

Note: The final broth will be a bit thin. If you like a thicker, creamier broth with your beans, reduce the beef broth to 1 1/2 boxes or in the final hour of cooking, remove 2 cups of the beans, mash and return to crockpot.

Mikey P.'s Pepper Steak

Here is a recipe my Mikey P. prepared for dinner tonight. It is slightly tweeked from one online. It is quick and easy and very yummy.

1.5 pounds of flank or chuck steak, cut into strips
2-3 bell peppers, cut into thin slices
1 large yellow onion, cut into thin slices
1 bud of garlic, diced
garlic powder
2 T. olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 package McCormick brown gravy mix
1/2 cup water

Heat olive oil in large skillet and saute vegetables until tender crisp and remove from skillet. Sprinkle garlic powder and pepper on steak to your taste ; cook in skillet for about 8 minutes. Mix soy sauce, honey, ginger, and vinegar in small bowl; pour over meat and cook on medium heat 10-12 minutes. Remove meat. Mix brown gravy package with water. Add to sauce in skillet. Return meat and vegetables to skillet. Continue to cook on low-medium heat 10 minutes. Serve on a bed of white rice. So very good.

Pepperidge Farm Swirl Bread Bread Pudding with Kay's Vanilla Sauce

I have recently become hooked on the Pepperidge Farm Swirl Breads and am now experimenting with bread puddings. Here is the one I am preparing today, using the Pumpkin Spice bread.

6 slices Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread torn into small pieces (I plan on trying the Strawberry Banana Bread and the Caramel Apple Bread as well)
6 T melted butter
3 beaten eggs
2 C whole milk
3/4 C sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon (do not put in strawberry/banana recipe)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (do not put in strawberry/ banana recipe)
1/2 C golden raisins (for the caramel apple bread, I plan on using chopped pecans instead of raisins and for the strawberry banana bread, I think I will use dried cranberries or chocolate chips)

Directions:
1. Place small bread pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan, which you have lightly coated with Pam.
2. Drizzle melted butter over bread.
3. Blend eggs, milk, sugar, spices, and vanilla.
4. Beat until well mixed and then stir in additions such as nuts, raisins, cranberries and/or chocolate chips.
5. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the mixture.
6. Bake about 45 minutes at 350 degrees until top springs at touch. Top with optional vanilla sauce below:
Whisk 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, 1 T. all-purpose flour, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 1/4 cups of whole milk,and a pinch of salt together in a heavy saucepan until smooth. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in 1 T. vanilla extract. Pour sauce over warm bread pudding, or serve on the side in a bowl.

Scalloped Potatoes with Onions

4 cups thinly sliced red potatoes with skins on

1 medium onion thinly sliced and separated into rings

3 T butter

3 T flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp. salt

1 dash pepper, cayenne if you like spicy foods

1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar or Monterrey Jack (my favorite) cheese

1/2 cup grated cheese to sprinkle on top

Paprika

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour. Let lightly cook so flour isn't raw tasting. Add milk and blend with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Cook sauce on low until smooth and lightly boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk (about 6 minutes). Reduce heat to simmer and stir in 1 1/2 cup of cheese. Place half of the sliced potatoes and onion rings in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish. Pour half of the cheese sauce over potatoes and onions. Repeat with second layer of potatoes and onions and cheese sauce. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of grated cheese on top. Dust lightly with some paprika for color. Bake uncovered for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
If you really like a spicy dish, try using cubes of pepper jack cheese with the grated cheese to equal 1 1/2 cup of cheese.

You can also add some diced ham or sausage for a complete meal in a hurry. YUMMY!

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.