"Welcome to In the Kitchen With Nancy"

"In the Kitchen With Nancy" is a 4-week cooking school during April, 2006 hosted by Mrs. Nancy Dickerson, a local Amarillo educator and amateur chef. The school is being held at the First Baptist Church in Amarillo, Texas. Mrs. Dickerson is combining her love for cooking with her love for Jesus Christ. It is her desire to stress the importance of meals and hospitality to strengthen the family which is at the center of God's creation. Mrs. Dickerson is being assisted in coordinating the school by Mr. Jeff Frazer.
Ten students registered for the course and are enjoying learning many new recipes and techniques as well as meeting some new friends. All would agree that this cooking school is a lot of fun.


Below is a schedule for the school:

1. April 1st---- Southern Comfort Food- including Swiss Steak, Potato Supreme, Buttermilk Pie, and Egg Custard Pie (both with homemade pie crust).
2. April 8th---- Cooking for a Crowd- Pork Loin wrapped in Rock Salt, Asparagus and English Pea Casserole, and Chocolate Pecan Pie.
3. April 22nd---- Fun with Bread Dough- Bierocks, Homemade Pizza, and Cinnamon Rolls
4. April 29th---- Mexican Fiesta- Posole Con Puerco, Guacamole, and Spanish Cream Candy (Pralines).

Mrs. Dickerson and Mr. Frazer would like to give special thanks to: Dr. Robby Barrett, Mrs. Kristie Hale, and Mrs. Kathy Porter for making this cooking school possible. We hope that you enjoy our blog that shows the fun we are having at "In the Kitchen With Nancy."

Mrs. Nancy Dickerson-- Our Teacher!!!

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Week #1 Recipes

Swiss Steak

Ingredients:

3 lbs. tenderized Round Steak
½ cup flour
2 6 oz. cans Tomato Sauce
1 13 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
2 Onions
2 Bell Peppers

Cooking Instructions:

Cut steak into serving pieces. Salt, pepper, and flour the steak pieces. Place in hot oil in frying pan and brown quickly.

Layer in a Slow Cooker:
· Starting with Tomato Sauce
· Meat
· Tomato Sauce
· Meat
· Diced Tomatoes

Cook for 2 hours in the slow cooker. Last 15 minutes cover with sliced onions and bell peppers.

Potatoes Supreme

Ingredients:

8 medium Potatoes ½ lb Peppered Bacon – (fried
¼ cup Butter crisp and crumbled)
1 tsp salt 2 cups grated Cheddar Cheese ¼ tsp Pepper ½ cup Green Onions
Instant Mashed Potatoes 1 ½ cups Sour Cream
Milk

Cooking Instructions:

Boil cubed potatoes until tender. Add instant mashed potatoes until thick. Stir in milk and butter to desired thickness. Add salt, pepper, and sour cream. Place in a greased baking dish. Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven and top with bacon crumbs and chopped green onions.


Pie Crust


Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Flour
½ tsp Salt
½ cup Shortening
4-5 Tbs Cold Water


Cooking Instructions:

Sift flour and salt. Cut in shortening until pieces size of “peas” are formed. Sprinkle water over the mixture. Toss with a spoon.
Form into a ball. Flatten on a floured surface.
Roll 1/8 inch thick.

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:

5 large Eggs
2 cups Sugar
2/3 cup Buttermilk
½ cup melted Butter
2 Tbs. all-purpose Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 9-inch Pie Shells


Cooking Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients (except for pie shells) evenly and well.
2. Pour mixture into the two 9-inch pie shells.


Cooking Time:

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Start checking pies at 30 minutes to prevent burning. Cool on a wire rack.
*** Best served chilled with whipped cream!!!


Egg Custard Pie

Ingredients:

3 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
Nutmeg

Cooking Instructions:
Using a whisk, beat eggs. Add sugar and continue to whip until mixed well. Add milk and vanilla. Pour mixture into a pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Week #2 Recipes

Pork Tenderloin Roasted in Rock Salt

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound package) Rock Salt
5 (1 ½ pound) Pork Tenderloins
1/3 cup chopped fresh Rosemary
1 Tbs freshly ground Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cooking Instructions:

Place a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on a large jellyroll pan. Spread rock salt over the aluminum foil; sprinkle extra virgin olive oil over rock salt until moistened. Sprinkle tenderloins with rosemary and pepper. Roll tenderloins in rock salt, pressing firmly, until rock salt adheres to the tenderloins. Bring sides of foil up and around the sides of the tenderloins, partially sealing foil.

Bake at 500 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloins registers 160 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove and discard the rock salt. Slice tenderloins and place on a serving platter.

Yields: 24 servings


Asparagus and English Pea Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can Asparagus, drained 1 stick Butter
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup 4 slices of Bread
1 can English Peas, drained 1 cup Cheese, grated
1 can Water Chestnuts, drained and sliced


Cooking Instructions:

Place asparagus in an oblong baking dish. Mix peas, water chestnuts, and soup. Pour over asparagus. Sprinkle cheese on top of this. Trim crusts from bread and cut each slice into four strips. Place bread strips in melted butter, turning until all of the butter is soaked into the bread. Arrange bread strips over cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Chocolate Pecan Pie


Ingredients:

3 Eggs, slightly beaten 1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Karo Syrup 1 ½ cups Pecan halves
1 4- oz. pkg. Semi-Sweet Chocolate
Chips, melted and cooled
½ cup Sugar
2 Tbs. Margarine, melted
1 9- inch unbaked Pie Shell


Cooking Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine eggs, syrup, chocolate, sugar, margarine, and vanilla. Mix Well. Stir in pecans. Pour mixture into pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until it tests done.
Can be frozen.

Week # 3 Recipes

Hot Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pkg. dry Yeast 1 cup Crisco
2 tsp. Salt 3 cups warm Water
½ cup Sugar 9 cups Flour


Cooking Instructions:

Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup warm water and set aside. In large bowl, mix salt, sugar, Crisco, and water. Add in yeast and stir. Add 4 cups of the flour stirring with a spoon; continue adding 2 cups at a time until mixed well. (You will need to use your hands.) Grease top with oil and let rise for 2 hours in a warm (85 degrees) place until it doubles in size. At this stage, you may refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days. Knead lightly.
Make dough into rolls, bread or cinnamon rolls. Let rise 2 more hours in a warm place.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes for rolls and 1 hour for a loaf of bread.


Bierocks (German Meat Turnovers)

Ingredients:

2 (1 lb.) Bread Dough, loaves
1 lb. Ground Beef, thawed
1 Onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
1 ½ tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp. Lemon Pepper
1 small head Cabbage, chopped
2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Caraway Seeds (optional)
½ cup melted Butter

Cooking Instructions:

1. Sauté beef, onion, garlic, lemon pepper, and salt in a large skillet over medium high heat, until beef is browned. Add cabbage, Worcestershire Sauce, and caraway seeds. Cook until cabbage is limp; drain liquid from mixture.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. On a lightly floured board, roll each loaf of dough into a 12 inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Spoon cabbage/ beef filling onto the center of each dough piece, dividing equally. Pull three points of each wedge up to the center and pinch to seal. Place bierocks on a lightly greased cookie sheet. If desired, brush dough with melted butter or egg wash (1 egg white with 2 Tbs. water).
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot, or wrap and freeze for heating later.

Yields: 12 servings


Cinnamon Rolls

Filling:
2/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Cinnamon
1/3 cup softened butter
½ cup chopped Pecans

Cream Cheese Icing
3 Tbs. softened Butter
2 ounces Cream Cheese
1 cup Powered Sugar
½ Tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 Tsp. Salt

Cooking Instructions:

· Roll dough out into 8” by 10” long rectangle with a dough thickness of about ¼ inch.
· Filling: Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until well mixed. Spread softened butter over the surface of the dough and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the dough. Then, sprinkle with pecans.
· Roll dough “jelly-roll” fashion along the 8” wide side of the rectangle. Cut dough roll into 8 slices.
· Place rolls into an 8” round cake pan that has 3 Tbs. of melted butter in the bottom. Let rise 1 hour if using the rapid rise yeast or 2 hours if using regular yeast.
· Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until light brown on top. Allow to cool.
· Cream Cheese Icing: Combine in a mixing bowl until well blended. Frost cinnamon rolls with icing while rolls are still in the baking pan.
TURN SHEET OVER FOR ALTERNATE RECIPE!!!!


For Sticky Buns:

In the bottom of an 8” round cake pan, place ¼ cup melted butter and ½ cup brown sugar. Sprinkle ½ cup chopped pecans over the brown sugar. Follow the above instructions for making the rolls. When baked, turn the pan upside down on a plate and allow to set for 5 minutes before removing the pan from the rolls.

Omit the Cream Cheese Icing.

Week #4 Recipes

Posole Con Puerco

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:
2-3 pound pork loin roast Dash onion salt2 Tbs chile powder 1 slice white bread
1 8 –ounce can tomato sauce 1 29-ounce can hominy,
Dash garlic salt drained


Boil roast in salted water until tender enough to fall apart. Cool meat and cut into bite-sized pieces. Skim fat from cooled broth. Ice cubes pick it up easily. Mix chile powder with enough cold water to make a paste; put into broth. Add tomato sauce, garlic and onion salts. Soak bread in water and mash with a fork; add to broth. Add hominy and meat.

Simmer 30 minutes.


Guacamole


Ingredients:

6 ripe Avocados
1 large Tomato, chopped
1 medium Onion
2 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Salt (or more)

Preparation Instructions:

Peel avocados and remove seeds. Chop coarsely and add remaining ingredients. Chill. Serve on lettuce. Garnish with tomato wedges, or serve as a dip with corn chips.


Spanish Cream Candy

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Sugar Pinch of Salt
½ cup Karo Syrup 1 ½ cups Pecans
½ cup Water 1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbs. Butter
½ cup Whipping Cream


Cooking Instructions:

Cook sugar, syrup, and water to a “hard ball” stage and add butter. Add whipping cream, salt and continue to cook to the “soft ball” stage. Add pecans and vanilla. Beat until stiff enough to take up by spoonfuls on wax paper. These need to set overnight to become firm!