Evening's Cozy Cooking Special - Recipes & Recommendations

If you're looking for an essentially Christmas snack, look no further than Evening Photojournalist Diane Lewis-Torre's chocolate break-ups! She's made these for the staff several times and they are awesome and ADDICTIVE. Plus, you only need a few ingredients! 

Ingredients:

• Saltine Crackers; enough to line a 13x9 inch pan 
• ½ cup butter 
• ½ cup sugar 
• 12 ounce chocolate chips 
• Optional – sprinkles or crushed candy canes

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 
2. Grease 13x9 cake pan 
3. Line it with a single layer of saltine crackers 
4. In a medium saucepan bring the butter and sugar to a boil stirring constantly 
5. Pour melted butter and sugar over crackers and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned 
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 12 ounces of chocolate chips. Return to oven for a few minutes to soften chocolate chips 
7. Remove from oven and spread chocolate around evenly and add sprinkles or other desired toppings. Crushed candy canes are great for the holidays. 
8. Freeze for 3 hours 
9. Break up crackers and enjoy!

Do you ever just want to make homemade food but don't REALLY want to put in too much effort? KING 5 Director of Local Programming, Lindsay Sieverkropp's awesome semi-homemade pizza is the way to go! If you gave a slice to a friend, they'd probably think it's all you... but there's one dough kit available at most grocery stories that really comes in handy!

Ingredients:   

• DeLallo Italian Pizza Dough Kit (available at Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer, most grocery stores)  
• 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water  
• Olive Oil  
• DeLallo Pizzeria Style Pizza Sauce (or any brand you prefer; Classico is also tasty)  
• Pizza toppings of your choice (My family’s favorite combinations below)  

Directions:

Combine type 00 flour and yeast from dough kit in large bowl. Mix in 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water, stir until dough begins to form. Knead dough for three minutes. When dough is mostly smooth, add to smaller, lightly oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap (and kitchen towel if possible) and leave to rise somewhere warm for 45 minutes to rise.   

While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, preheat oven to 450 degrees and prep your pizza toppings.  

Pizza topping combinations:   

1. Pasteurized goat cheese + caramelized onions + pitted & halved Kalamata olives + balsamic glaze (or infused balsamic vinegar)  

2. Margherita pepperoni + fresh mozzarella + sliced black olives + shredded cheddar cheese + Parmigiano Reggiano  

3. Kid’s Choice: Fresh mozzarella + shredded cheddar cheese + Parmigiano Reggiano  

4. Summertime favorite: Fresh basil + thinly sliced tomatoes + fresh mozzarella   

After 45 minutes of rising, your dough should be about doubled in size. If not, give it 10 more minutes. Split the dough into two or three portions (four for mini-pizzas). On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into the shape of your choice using your hands (don’t worry about making a perfect circle, a rustic oblong look is more authentic!). If you have to use a rolling pin to get it flat, that’s ok, but your crust won’t have the desirable air pockets. If using a pizza stone, sprinkle it with olive oil and add your pizza dough, then sauce, then toppings. You can also use a well-greased or parchment-lined pan or baking sheet. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes at 450 and remove when crust is golden brown. Buon appetito!  

Evening Host/Reporter, Kim Holcomb's absolute favorite meal to cook for her family (and our staff) is mac and cheese -- but not from the box, it's from scratch! It's an adaptation of Nancy Reagan's recipe and it's super ooey-gooey. Cheese pulls for days!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 3 cups grated sharp cheddar (Tillamook suggested)
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Boil macaroni in water until tender and drain thoroughly. Return to pot and set on stove at low heat. 
2. Stir in butter until melted.  
3. Stir in milk, mustard and salt. 
4. Stir in beaten egg. 
5. Add cheese, one cup at a time, and stir until blended. 
6. Serve immediately!

The absolute perfect comfort food! 

If you're an avid watcher of KING 5's Evening, chances are you've seen one of our segments with Chef Makini Howell of Plum Bistro restaurants. She has a recurring series on our show called "Makini's Kitchen" where she tells us how to make delish plant-based meals that our whole household will love! She shares her secrets for a warm bowl of her vegan gumbo.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 1/4 cup canola oil +2 Tablespoons
• 1/2 lbs plant-based sausage, like Field Roast or Beyond Meat spicy Italian, cut into 1/4 inch slices.
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup onions diced
• 1/2 cup green bell peppers diced
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 2 tsp garlic minced
• 3 cups veggie stock
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp lemon juice or 2 tablespoons vermouth
• 2 small bay leaves or 1 large
• 1 cups frozen okra
• 1 Tbsp green onions green parts only, sliced thinly
  Chopped parsley to garnish

Directions:

1. Heat ¼ cup oil in a soup pot until just before smoking, add sausage and cook until browned, about 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Once the sausage is cooked remove from pot and put on a plate using a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. To make the roux, put the pot back on the heat and add remaining oil and all-purpose flour to the pot.
4. Cook oil and flour until the mixture resembles peanut butter, stirring frequently, and being careful not to burn. This can take about 6 to 10 minutes.
5. Add onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Stir until vegetables are slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Be very careful not to burn here. If you are using vermouth add it here to deglaze the pot.
6. Stir in broth, tomatoes, white, black and cayenne peppers, thyme, salt, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, (if using lemon juice in place of vermouth add here), bay leaves, and frozen okra.
7. Stir in reserved sausage.
8. Using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the inner pot to make sure there are no burnt bits stuck to the bottom.
9. Put a lid on the pot and let your gumbo stew, for about 15-20 minutes.
10. Once gumbo is done and veggies are nice and tender sprinkle the gumbo with parsley and green onions.
11. Stir and serve gumbo over Jasmine Rice.

COOK WITH MAKINI: Warm your stomach and your soul with Makini's meatless gumbo - Makini's Kitchen

If you're tired of American comfort food classics, our former intern and current Associate Producer Gloria Angelin has got you covered! She loves this recipe because it's pretty simple to make and reminds her of her home country, Indonesia. Now's the time where we REALLY wish screens had smell-o-vision, because this smells amazing!

Ingredients

• 3 medium-size bitter melon OR 2 large size bitter melon 
• 1 garlic bulb 
• 2 jalapeno / serrano 
• ½ inch of galangal root 
• 1 lemongrass 
• 1 tbsp fish sauce 
• White/black pepper (white peppercorn is hotter than the black one) 
• 2 orange leaves (can substitute with lime juice)
• Shrimp
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Remove seeds from the bitter melon (use spoon to scrape them out) 
2. Cut bitter melon into medium-thin slices 
3. On medium heat fry minced garlic, galangal root, lemongrass, and jalapeno altogether with 1tbsp of vegetable oil until the garlic gets brown  
4. On medium heat add the bitter melon ad water until the bitter melon changes color and becomes soft 
5. Add 1 tbsp of fish sauce, salt, and white or black pepper 
6. When it’s about ready add shrimp
   

NOTE: Some of the ingredients may be hard to find -- but Gloria gave us some tips!

Galangal: Asian store or Central Market Shoreline. You can preserve galangal by having them in small slices and storing in the freezer 

Lemongrass: Asian store & some QFC stores 

Orange leaves: Some Asian stores – You cannot buy only a couple of orange leaves, they sell it per tray. And it cannot be stored like galangal. 

Fish sauce: Asian store, Safeway, QFC 

This sweet bread isn't only delicious, it brings back a lot of happy memories for Evening Multiplatform Producer, Ellen Meny! She used to make it with her great aunt in her kitchen when she was a kid. It has a small number of ingredients, it's super easy to make, and the product is simply *chefs kiss*!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 
• 2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
• 3 cups granulated sugar 
• 1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin
• 4 large eggs 
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup orange juice or water 
• 1 cup sweetened dried, fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. 

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans. 

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Recipe makes two loaves. 

People usually stray away from making homemade donuts because the process is time-consuming -- but Evening Executive Producer, Meghan Stewart found a hack that takes minutes and really hits the spot! You only need a few ingredients -- most of which you probably already have in your house. Seriously, you've got to try this.

Ingredients:

• Canned Biscuits 
• Canola Oil 
• ½ cup sugar 
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions: 

1. Cut hole in each biscuit. Can use a clean soda cap bottle, small cookie cutter or knife 
2. Mix cinnamon and sugar in bowl 
3. Heat pot of oil to 350 degrees and add the doughnuts to the oil. Fry until golden. 1-2 minutes per side. 
4. Toss doughnuts in cinnamon and sugar

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