Byline: Chick Jacobs
Sep. 19--Kasey Bass picked up her first cooking pot at age 5.
She hasn't put it down since.
Now 13 and a student at Coats-Erwin Middle School, Bass ranks cooking as one of her favorite pastimes.
'Actually, probably my favorite,' she said.
And certainly the most lucrative. Her recipe for Turkey Veggie Supreme earned her $250 at the recent North Carolina Turkey Festival competition.
'It's fun to do things like this,' Kasey said, brushing away an occasional gnat that wanted to check her culinary skills. 'It's creative, and you get to enjoy what you've created with other people.'
In fairness, it should be noted that Kasey comes by her cooking skills naturally. She comes from a long line of cooks in central North Carolina. Her aunt, Donna Barefoot, was a previous competitor in the turkey contest and a regular at North Carolina State Fair competitions.
'She's the one who got me started in cooking,' Kasey said. 'We'd watch her in the kitchen when we were little, and she'd have us start helping.'
Although she prefers baking -- 'I love making desserts, cookies and things' -- Kasey's entry in the cookoff was a careful consideration of flavor and nutrition.
'I wanted to try something that was easy to make, but nutritious,' she said. 'It's easy to make something quickly, and nobody really has the time to sit and watch things cook all day. But can you make it work without taking all day?
'So it took some time to get the right ingredients. I think it came out pretty good.'
When she's not in the kitchen, you can look for Kasey outdoors. She loves sports, especially softball and basketball.
'I can be competitive,' she said. 'I guess that can be in the kitchen, too.'
1 pound ground turkey
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (1-pound) bag of frozen vegetables, thawed
3 cups hot mashed potatoes, combined with Velveeta prepared cheese to taste, or
3 cups Velveeta instant potatoes
In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the turkey until brown, stirring to separate the meat. Drain off the fat.
In a 2-quart shallow baking dish, mix turkey, half the soup, Worcestershire sauce and veggies.
Stir remaining soup into mashed potatoes. Spoon potato mixture over meat mixture.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot.
If you know a cook you'd like to see in Cook's Corner, contact Chick Jacobs at jacobsc@fayobserver.com or 486-3515.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
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