Cooking with KP

Super Easy Stuffed Shells

If you need a quick but impressive dinner or one to cook with your children, you should try these stuffed shells. Pair them with a vegetable and/or salad, and you have a wonderful dinner.

16 jumbo pasta shells (boil 2-4 extra shells because some break while cooking)
1 lb. ground chuck or ground pork or ground Italian sausage
1 large onion, diced
½ medium bell pepper, diced
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
28 oz marinara sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
fine sea salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Boil shells. Cook 3 minutes less than directed on the package so that they stay firm. They will continue to cook in the oven. When pasta is ready, drain and cover in ice water bath to stop cooking process.
While pasta is boiling, brown meat in skillet, adding onions, bell pepper, black pepper, and salt. When meat is almost done, add Italian seasoning. Once meat is cooked, drain any fat. Keep meat in skillet.
Add ½ cup of marinara sauce, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and mix well. Allow to simmer 2-3 minutes.
Spread half of the remaining marinara sauce in the bottom of 9x13 baking pan.
Using a spoon, carefully stuff each shell with meat filling. Place on top of marinara sauce.
Once all shells are filled, pour remaining sauce on top, making sure to cover each shell.
Sprinkle shredded Italian blend cheese on top.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bubbly.

Barbecue Beef Roast in Crockpot

I found a recipe online that inspired me to make a few changes to create this delicious beef roast. You can serve it sliced or shredded for sandwiches.

3 pound chunk roast

1 small white onion, finely chopped

1 16 ounce bottle of honey barbecue sauce

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup pineapple preserves

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Either spray or place liner in crockpot. Put diced onions in the bottom of crockpot. Place roast on top onions. In a mixing bowl, mix all remaining ingredients. Pour on top of roast and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Remove roast from crockpot. You can either slice it and spoon gravy/sauce on top of slices or you can shred roast and return to crockpot and mix with sauce.

Sweet, Spicy, and Crunchy Chicken Tenders

I found a recipe on Betty Crocker that I adapted to this. It is very tasty and by using Panko to coat the chicken, they come out very crispy and crunchy. I like to dip mine in honey mustard, but any dipping sauce would work. They are great without sauce. Kids love them.

10-12 chicken tenders

1/3 cup brown sugar (I used dark)

1/3 cup honey

1/2 Tablespoon smokey paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1.5 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Coarse ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil. Top pan with a baking rack that you spray with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine Panko crumbs, garlic powder, and fresh ground, coarse black pepper.

In a small bowl combine brown sugar, honey, cayenne, and paprika. It will be very thick. Microwave for 30-40 seconds to thin but not cook sauce.

Dip chicken tenders in the sauce and then into the seasoned Panko crumbs. Place on rack.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

I love tomatoes. Sliced, diced, stewed, smothered...I will eat them any way you cook them. Here is one way we enjoy them.

2 cups of heirloom cherry tomatoes (the more colors the better)
1/2 red onion, diced or sliced
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
Dash of pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. You may want to line your baking sheet/pan with foil, but it really isn't necessary. In a large bowl, place tomatoes, onions, and dash of pepper. Pour Italian dressing on top and toss to make sure all vegetables are fully covered. Spread out on baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Stir after 10 minutes.

Simple Brown Sugar Glaze for Pork or Chicken

I am always looking for great sauces and glazes for meats, especially chicken and pork. I happened on this recipe several years ago. It is quick and simple, but more importantly delicious. It is easy to double if you have more meat. This recipe is for 4 chops or 4 chicken breasts.

1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Parsley flakes to top before serving

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your meat in baking dish--no need to season as you will get lots of flavor from this glaze.

Mix first 7 ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour over your meat. Bake 30-35 minutes until your meat is done (165 degrees for pork and 180 for chicken) Sprinkle tops with parsley flakes. Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken and Pasta (Easy)

I created this recipe because I had some leftover fried chicken. I removed the crust and pulled the chicken off the bone. We love it. It is a great way to use leftover chicken.

2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into 1-2 inch chunks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large bell peppers, cubed into 1 inch pieces ( I used 1 green and one orange)
1 large yellow onion, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 stalk of celery, sliced
2 toes of garlic, minced
¼ cup diced fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 (15 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
1 can of Rotel tomatoes—I used regular because we wanted some kick
1 small can of green chilis
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ¾ cup of dry macaroni pasta

In a large pot with lid, heat olive oil. Add bell peppers, onion, celery, garlic, and parsley. Saute until vegetable begin to soften. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, green chilis, sugar, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Add chicken and stir well. Reduce to low heat. Cover and let cook 25 minutes. Return to boil and pour in pasta. Cover, reduce to low again. Pasta should be cooked in about 15-20 minutes. Stir a few times and served.

Bacon and Broccoli Salad

It found this recipe on Taste of Home. It makes a large bowl and is perfect for a pot luck. It is crisp and tasty--a great side for any menu.

3 bunches broccoli, cut into florets (about 10 cups)
1 pound bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup dried blueberries
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

DRESSING:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Pour over broccoli mixture; toss to coat. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

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.