Cooking with KP

A Tale of Two Cities Crockpot Hot Chocolate

The first time I made this hot cocoa/chocolate was for a senior English class that I was teaching. We had just finished reading A Tale of Two Cities. A character in the book always drank chocolate for breakfast, so I decided to treat my students to steaming hot chocolate. I found this recipe in a cookbook. I can't remember the title, but I will never forget this decadent and delicious hot chocolate

6 cups whole milk (do not use any other type of milk. It won't be the same)
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels. (Use the minis to melt quicker)
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

In a large crockpot, combine all ingredients. Turn on low, stir frequently for the first hour to totally incorporate the morsels as they melt. Stir every 15-20 minutes for the next 2 hours. Serve with marshmallows or whipped topping and sprinkles.

Mary Ellen's Party Crookpot Meatballs

I don't know where she got this recipe, but my oldest sister Mary Ellen made the best party/shower/covered dish meatballs around. I stumbled over her recipe card and thought I would share it with you. We enjoy them so much.

2 pounds of frozen home style (not Italian) meatballs (DO NOT THAW)
1 small jar of Welch's grape jelly
2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1 cup Heinz chili sauce
1 bottle of Sweet Ray's Honey Barbecue sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Place meatballs in bottom of crockpot. In a mixing bowl, mix all other ingredients. Pour over meatballs and stir to make sure all are covered. Cook on low 4-5 hours.

Crockpot Chicken and Gravy

This recipe is in no way mine. In fact, it has been around probably as long as I have. And, the reason for that is it is super delicious and super easy! It is a great mix it up before heading to work and enjoy when you get home dinner. Put it on top of some rice, mashed potatoes, or stuffing like Stove Top. Add a veggie and dinner is ready!

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-2 pounds)

2 packages of dry chicken gravy mix

1 1/2 cup of water

1 can of cream of chicken soup

seasoned salt (to taste)

garlic powder(to taste)

pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot. In a mix bowl, mix gravy packets, water, and cream of chicken soup. Add seasoned salt, garlic powder (I use a lot) and pepper to your families tastes. Once mixture is blended well, pour on top of chicken breasts and cook on low 6-8 hours or 4 hours on high. Once chicken is down, remove from crockpot and shredded. Return to crockpot and stir in sour cream. Serve.

NOTE: .

The chicken gravy and cream of chicken soup already have salt in them so don't go overboard on seasoning with salt (about a teaspoon should work).

Sour cream adds a great creaminess to this so I definitely recommend adding it in! Plain Greek yogurt can be substituted for the sour cream.

Great add-ins:

1 thinly sliced onion

Sliced mushrooms

Parsley flakes

Waiting for Pay Day Potato Casserole

This recipe was developed when my daughter and I were a week from pay day and the cupboards were looking thin. It is delicious and filling and makes a great side dish. I have also included some ingredients below the recipe that can be added to kick it up or when the cupboards aren't bare. This is a great covered dish to bring to family and friends gatherings.

4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 onion, diced small or in thin rings
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 Tablespoons butter/margarine
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/2-1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar or your favorite cheese
Additions:
5 slices bacon, fried and crumbled (Layer with potatoes)
1 cup diced ham (layer with potatoes)
1/2 cup sour cream (add to soup and milk)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. I like to use an oval or square one. Place one layer of potatoes in the bottom of dish, lightly season with pepper and salt, sprinkle part of the diced onions on top. Dot with butter. Add next layer of potatoes, season with salt and pepper and top with onions. Dot with butter. Repeat in this order until potatoes and onions are used. In a small bowl, mix soup, milk, garlic power and parsley flakes and pour on top. Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove foil and top with cheese; bake 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Guacamole Ole

It is not a party without dips. One of my favorite dips is guacamole. Here is a recipe that I enjoy making.

3 avocados, ripe
½ cup onion, finely diced (I prefer yellow onion to red for this dip)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced and seeded
3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 lime, juiced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon cold water (reserved)

½ Tablespoon lime juice (reserved)

Halve avocados and remove pits and skin. Mash with a fork until only small pieces remain. Add onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper and lime juice. Blend well.

Place in serving bowl. The guacamole will brown if allowed to sit in air for a while. To avoid this, mix the reserved cold water and lime juice. Flatten the top of your dip in the bowl and make a thin layer of the water and lime juice on the top of the guacamole. Cover with food wrap or with an air tight lid until ready to serve. Then, prior to serving, mix water/lime juice into the dip and smooth.

Note: A friend of mine likes to add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to her guacamole. It provides a milder and creamier dip.

Kay's Mexican Cornbread

I have always loved cornbread, and Mexican cornbread is wonderful with a southwestern meal, chili, red beans and rice, or just because you want some. Here is my semi-homemade recipe.

2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix

3 eggs, beaten

1 can cream style corn

1 small can green chilies

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 cups Mexican or Fiesta blend cheese

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced (optional)

1/3 cup canola oil

1 Tablespoon canola oil or butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tablespoon of oil or butter in cask iron skillet and place in oven while it is preheating. Combine all remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend until moistened. Remove skillet from oven and pour in batter. Return to oven and bake 50-55 minutes until golden brown and pulling away from sides.

Note: Because of the cream style corn and cheese, this cornbread will be moist rather than dry.

Fiesta Crockpot Chicken

There are lots of recipes that use many of these ingredients to make a wonderful crockpot meal. Here is my version. You can serve it as is or on a bed of rice--Spanish, white, or yellow. You can also add 4 cups of chicken broth to make Fiesta Chicken Soup!

1.5-2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts (you could use chicken thighs as well)

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green bell pepper, diced

2 Tablespoons parsley, diced

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of Rotel tomatoes (mild or spicy--your choice)

Juice of one lime

1 package of taco seasoning, dry

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken and shredded, return to crock pot and cook for 1 more hour.

Serve with your favorite shredded cheese on top.

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.