This is a main dish, that I learned to make from the same friend that taught me how to make Dish No. 1.
We (the family) were visiting her and her husband for a few days and their garden was growing lots of broccoli and it was ready to eat. So, naturally, we ate lots of broccoli that week. She is a really good cook, and every dish she made was super delicious. Even the one broccoli disliker in our family ate the dishes. Notice I said disliker not hater because Alan dislikes broccoli, but he doesn't hate it, and he will eat it.
What you need.
1 chicken whole or cut up
1 package rice-a-roni -- chicken flavored
1 small package frozen broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Boil the chicken to cook it. After it's cooked pull the meat from the bones and put in a bowl.
Cook the Rice-a-roni according to package directions. Set aside.
Cook the broccoli according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Remember to salt it.
After all the components are cooked you are ready to assemble.
Put together chicken pieces, rice, broccoli, sour cream and cheddar cheese. Stir to mix. Put this mixture into an oven dish -- I use a 9x12 baking dish. Sprinkle a little bit of cheddar on top of the casserole. Put in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degreees.
When it is bubbling, it's ready.
And it's really, really good. For all your broccoli haters out there, this dish disguises the broccoli so you can eat it and get all the good nutrients that broccoli provides.
ttfn
Monday, July 6, 2009
Broccoli lovers recipe No. 1
This is just a way to make broccoli more fancy that I learned from a friend of mine back when I was in my late 20s. I've been serving it to my husband, and my children, and even guests, every since. And, it's so simple. And, it tastes really good.
What you need:
I package of frozen broccoli -- whatever kind you want cut-up or whole pieces (Size of package depends on how many people you are serving, of course)
1/4 cup mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Hellmann's)
Cook the broccoli according to package directions. I usually nuke the package as is -- slitted so that it doesn't explode -- for 7 minutes
Put the cooked broccoli in a bowl, remember to add salt to taste. Then add the mustard and mayo and stir until all is mixed.
I tell you, this is really good. You can, of course, increase the amount of mayo if you want. Try it, you'll like it. I think even broccoli haters would like this one.
ttfn
What you need:
I package of frozen broccoli -- whatever kind you want cut-up or whole pieces (Size of package depends on how many people you are serving, of course)
1/4 cup mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Hellmann's)
Cook the broccoli according to package directions. I usually nuke the package as is -- slitted so that it doesn't explode -- for 7 minutes
Put the cooked broccoli in a bowl, remember to add salt to taste. Then add the mustard and mayo and stir until all is mixed.
I tell you, this is really good. You can, of course, increase the amount of mayo if you want. Try it, you'll like it. I think even broccoli haters would like this one.
ttfn
Friday, June 26, 2009
Summer's here, oh yeah!
I know that summer has arrived because I am now able to get great, wonderful, delicious tomatoes. You know, the kind that are grown in dirt, get dirt spattered on them when it rains, and ripen on the vine, causing the vines to droop, which makes the tomatoes suck up more dirt.
I am convinced that it's the dirt that makes summer tomatoes so delicious.
Today I was purchased 10 pounds of delicious tomatoes. Now, they weren't Jerseys, but Big Boys are almost as good. For those of you in the Midwest who have never heard of Jersey tomatoes, they were developed by Rutgers University's School of Agriculture way back on the 1950s and were the staple of homes back east in the summer. My mom preferred Jerseys to Big Boys, but she always had at least two or three Big Boy plants, along with her dozen or so plants of Jersey tomatoes.
Back to the tomatoes I purchased. These tomatoes were so good. So sweet. So non-mealy. So firm. So delicious! I made the usual tomato salad that I grew up with -- that is: cut up tomatoes -- for Alan and me I use three large ones; add to that a cut up onion in rings -- pull the rings apart; five or six leaves of basil, fresh; salt and pepper to taste. That all gets mixed together, and then a couple of sprinkles of EVOO is incorporated into that mess, and there you have it-- tomato salad the way my mom made it. The only thing missing is Italian bread to dip into the juice that accumulates in the bottom of the bowl -- the best part as far as I'm concerned.
If only I had thought to go over to Panera's to get a loaf of bread, but I didn't, so I just drank the juice. Hey! It's tomato juice, just not as thick as what is in the can, but just as tasty.
What else did we have with the tomatoes? (I could have made a meal of just them.) Well, we had corn on the cob with butter, a small steak (1/2 each of a New York steak); and rice made with lemon pepper and butter. That was it. What a tasty meal. And the juice dribbles over to the steak which makes the steak taste even better!
Wish you all could have been here. And, I'm really looking forward to BLTs during the summer. That's really the only time we like them. And, stuffed tomatoes --stuffed with tuna salad or chicken salad. And fresh marinara sauce. And on and on and on.
ttfn
I am convinced that it's the dirt that makes summer tomatoes so delicious.
Today I was purchased 10 pounds of delicious tomatoes. Now, they weren't Jerseys, but Big Boys are almost as good. For those of you in the Midwest who have never heard of Jersey tomatoes, they were developed by Rutgers University's School of Agriculture way back on the 1950s and were the staple of homes back east in the summer. My mom preferred Jerseys to Big Boys, but she always had at least two or three Big Boy plants, along with her dozen or so plants of Jersey tomatoes.
Back to the tomatoes I purchased. These tomatoes were so good. So sweet. So non-mealy. So firm. So delicious! I made the usual tomato salad that I grew up with -- that is: cut up tomatoes -- for Alan and me I use three large ones; add to that a cut up onion in rings -- pull the rings apart; five or six leaves of basil, fresh; salt and pepper to taste. That all gets mixed together, and then a couple of sprinkles of EVOO is incorporated into that mess, and there you have it-- tomato salad the way my mom made it. The only thing missing is Italian bread to dip into the juice that accumulates in the bottom of the bowl -- the best part as far as I'm concerned.
If only I had thought to go over to Panera's to get a loaf of bread, but I didn't, so I just drank the juice. Hey! It's tomato juice, just not as thick as what is in the can, but just as tasty.
What else did we have with the tomatoes? (I could have made a meal of just them.) Well, we had corn on the cob with butter, a small steak (1/2 each of a New York steak); and rice made with lemon pepper and butter. That was it. What a tasty meal. And the juice dribbles over to the steak which makes the steak taste even better!
Wish you all could have been here. And, I'm really looking forward to BLTs during the summer. That's really the only time we like them. And, stuffed tomatoes --stuffed with tuna salad or chicken salad. And fresh marinara sauce. And on and on and on.
ttfn
Friday, June 19, 2009
Chicken again
Well, I've come around to chicken again to feed us tonight. I'm at a loss as to how to fix it. Actually, I would love to make some chicken salad and put it into a nice, juicy home-grown tomato, and call it a meal. However, I don't have any tomatoes. Maybe I'll make the chicken salad anyway.
Then, I'm thinking I should make chicken marsala. Now there's a recipe I know I've never posted. And, I'm not sure I make it correctly, but we like it, and I've served it to visiting friends, and they liked it as well. And...you can substitute veal for the chicken (or vice versa) as well.
The big plus is that it's very easy to make.
What you need:
1/2 boned chicken breast per person (I usually throw a couple more in the pot if I have guests)
EVOO
4 garlic cloves chopped
salt - 1 tspn
pepper - 1 tspn
flour - 1/2 cup
Marsala wine - 1/2 cup (more if you like)
Heavy cream - 1 cup (you can use half & half)
Mushrooms are optional, about 1/2 cup freshly sliced. Alan doesn't like them so I leave them out unless we're having guests.
Mix together in a plastic baggie the flour, salt, and pepper. Put the chicken breasts into the bag and shake to coat the chicken. Set aside.
Preheat the pan. You know it's hot when a drop of water sizzles when you drop it in the pan. Drizzle over the pan bottom to lightly coat it with some EVOO. Put into the EVOO the chopped garlic. Stir until it is just brown. Be sure not to burn it. I know I give this instruction a lot, but not burning the garlic is important.
Lower the heat to medium. Take the chicken and put it into the pan. Shake the excess flour mixture off each piece of chicken before putting it in the pan. and brown the chicken, each side cooking for about 5 minutes. After the chicken is browned, cover the pan and cook for 15 more minutes. This should give you a good starter for the marsala gravy.
After the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the pot. Now is the time to add the mushrooms if you're going to use them, the heavy cream and the marsala wine. Mix them together to blend them (use a wisk) and put the chicken back into the pot. Lower the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. If you think you need more gravy, add more cream, not more wine.
Serve.
Now, I am really hungry, but I'm sticking to chicken salad because it's so warm and it's a good "salad" night.
ttfn
Then, I'm thinking I should make chicken marsala. Now there's a recipe I know I've never posted. And, I'm not sure I make it correctly, but we like it, and I've served it to visiting friends, and they liked it as well. And...you can substitute veal for the chicken (or vice versa) as well.
The big plus is that it's very easy to make.
What you need:
1/2 boned chicken breast per person (I usually throw a couple more in the pot if I have guests)
EVOO
4 garlic cloves chopped
salt - 1 tspn
pepper - 1 tspn
flour - 1/2 cup
Marsala wine - 1/2 cup (more if you like)
Heavy cream - 1 cup (you can use half & half)
Mushrooms are optional, about 1/2 cup freshly sliced. Alan doesn't like them so I leave them out unless we're having guests.
Mix together in a plastic baggie the flour, salt, and pepper. Put the chicken breasts into the bag and shake to coat the chicken. Set aside.
Preheat the pan. You know it's hot when a drop of water sizzles when you drop it in the pan. Drizzle over the pan bottom to lightly coat it with some EVOO. Put into the EVOO the chopped garlic. Stir until it is just brown. Be sure not to burn it. I know I give this instruction a lot, but not burning the garlic is important.
Lower the heat to medium. Take the chicken and put it into the pan. Shake the excess flour mixture off each piece of chicken before putting it in the pan. and brown the chicken, each side cooking for about 5 minutes. After the chicken is browned, cover the pan and cook for 15 more minutes. This should give you a good starter for the marsala gravy.
After the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the pot. Now is the time to add the mushrooms if you're going to use them, the heavy cream and the marsala wine. Mix them together to blend them (use a wisk) and put the chicken back into the pot. Lower the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. If you think you need more gravy, add more cream, not more wine.
Serve.
Now, I am really hungry, but I'm sticking to chicken salad because it's so warm and it's a good "salad" night.
ttfn
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Grilled chicken
I love grilled chicken. It just tastes so different from either fried or roasted chicken.
I marinate the chicken for a couple of hours in my own special dressing, and then I have a grill pan (with the ridges) and that's what I used to "grill" my chicken.
My special dressing is something that has evolved (a proper use for that word, having nothing to do with any changes in my body which has devolved over the past 66 years) over several years. I have gone from wine vinegar to raspberry vinegar and now I'm using balsamic vinegar for the base.
Here goes:
In a bowl mix:
1/2 cup olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed, NOT the stuff that comes from a bottle)
1 Tablespoon garlic salt
1 Tablespoon Lowry's seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Emeril's Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salad seasoning
This will be thick. I take two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (halves) and put this dressing and the chicken into a plastic bag and put it in the fridge for about two hours.
You don't need to use any oil in the pan because there is enough oil covering the chicken from the marinade so that the chicken won't stick.
Turn the heat on high under the pan. When the pan is hot (put a drop of water in it and it sizzles) pull the breasts from the bag, do not wipe off any of the marinade that sticks to the breast, and place in the grill pan (a regular pan will work, but you won't get the same "effect" as you get with a grill pan) and cook the first side for 3 minutes, turn down the heat to low, and cook the other side for 5 minutes. If you have a gas range, do not turn down the heat. The electric stove retains enough heat for this to work well -- the turning down of the heat for side two.
I do wish I had a gas stove. I used to have a gas stove. I had one for 30 years and then had to learn to cook all over again, almost. But I have to say that a flat top stove is wonderful for keeping clean and shiny. I always hated taking apart the gas stove to clean it above and underneath. And I'd no sooner get the stove all clean and shiny and then something would boil over, just waiting for the next cleaning date.
To my niece who hates broccoli -- it's a good side with this cooking of the chicken, and I learned today that broccoli is great for burning off fat from your body. I'm not sure that's true, but maybe I'm not eating enough broccoli for it to work as a fat burner for my body type -- which is fat!
ttfn
I marinate the chicken for a couple of hours in my own special dressing, and then I have a grill pan (with the ridges) and that's what I used to "grill" my chicken.
My special dressing is something that has evolved (a proper use for that word, having nothing to do with any changes in my body which has devolved over the past 66 years) over several years. I have gone from wine vinegar to raspberry vinegar and now I'm using balsamic vinegar for the base.
Here goes:
In a bowl mix:
1/2 cup olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed, NOT the stuff that comes from a bottle)
1 Tablespoon garlic salt
1 Tablespoon Lowry's seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Emeril's Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salad seasoning
This will be thick. I take two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (halves) and put this dressing and the chicken into a plastic bag and put it in the fridge for about two hours.
You don't need to use any oil in the pan because there is enough oil covering the chicken from the marinade so that the chicken won't stick.
Turn the heat on high under the pan. When the pan is hot (put a drop of water in it and it sizzles) pull the breasts from the bag, do not wipe off any of the marinade that sticks to the breast, and place in the grill pan (a regular pan will work, but you won't get the same "effect" as you get with a grill pan) and cook the first side for 3 minutes, turn down the heat to low, and cook the other side for 5 minutes. If you have a gas range, do not turn down the heat. The electric stove retains enough heat for this to work well -- the turning down of the heat for side two.
I do wish I had a gas stove. I used to have a gas stove. I had one for 30 years and then had to learn to cook all over again, almost. But I have to say that a flat top stove is wonderful for keeping clean and shiny. I always hated taking apart the gas stove to clean it above and underneath. And I'd no sooner get the stove all clean and shiny and then something would boil over, just waiting for the next cleaning date.
To my niece who hates broccoli -- it's a good side with this cooking of the chicken, and I learned today that broccoli is great for burning off fat from your body. I'm not sure that's true, but maybe I'm not eating enough broccoli for it to work as a fat burner for my body type -- which is fat!
ttfn
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Ewww!
Well, because of my back problems, Alan's been doing the "cooking" for four days now. Actually, he's been eating, I haven't. Tonight, I decided to open a jar of marinara sauce, the brand of which tasted really good last time I used it. After a two-year break from this particular brand (which is local) the taste was completely different and really awful, or I just got a jar from a bad batch.
So, tonight we had spaghetti with jarred spaghetti sauce topped with parmsan cheese and a salad. I should just not have eaten again. it was really, really bad. Poor Alan.
Lesson learned -- make your own sauce and freeze it.
My sauce:
1 large can tomato puree (I used an Italian brand)
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small onion - diced
1/2 carrot - diced
six large leaves basil, chopped
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley.
In large pan saute in olive (EVOO) the garlic, onion, and carrot. When the garlic is lightly browned, add the tomato puree, stir. Add the basil and the parsley, cover and cook for two or more hours.
This is my favorite meatless sauce. And it freezes well.
ttfn
So, tonight we had spaghetti with jarred spaghetti sauce topped with parmsan cheese and a salad. I should just not have eaten again. it was really, really bad. Poor Alan.
Lesson learned -- make your own sauce and freeze it.
My sauce:
1 large can tomato puree (I used an Italian brand)
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small onion - diced
1/2 carrot - diced
six large leaves basil, chopped
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley.
In large pan saute in olive (EVOO) the garlic, onion, and carrot. When the garlic is lightly browned, add the tomato puree, stir. Add the basil and the parsley, cover and cook for two or more hours.
This is my favorite meatless sauce. And it freezes well.
ttfn
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Catsup/Ketchup
I hate the stuff. I think it tastes awful. I used to "can" ketchup each summer and that mixture I loved. The thickened tomato soup that comes in a jar now doesn't taste anything like the recipe which was in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, 1966 edition.
The reason for this talk about catsup/ketchup (CK from now on) is that I'm currently out of CK in my pantry and refrigerator. That's because I made one of Alan's favorite dishes the other night. It was a staple of his mom's when they lived in Kenya because she could get the main ingredient easily. The main ingredient is SPAM. Yes, that's right, SPAM, that stuff that comes in a blue can.
Anyway, last night I was going to just make hamburgers for dinner, but then I realized I was out of CK and Alan would never eat a hamburger without CK, whereas, I would never eat a hamburger with CK (unless it's made by McD's).
So, I had to have pork chops instead, which meant making a full dinner with the trusted three sides -- a starch (lima beans), a green veggie (green beans) and a salad (always a salad), a lot more work than I wanted to do.
Back to CK. I posted this recipe for SPAM which has to be served with rice. I can't stand the taste of it, but Alan loves it, so three or four times a year I make it for him. I eat the rice and maybe a spoonful of the SPAM dish. And, I'm probably repeating the entire previous post. But I have an excuse. I'm getting old and forgetful. I do remember my name today, though. A good sign.
Apparently children love the taste of this dish. I don't know why, but they do. And if you go back and read the recipe I posted a few weeks ago, you know why I'm out of CK. It takes quite a bit of that nasty tomato condiment to finish off the SPAM dish properly.
I'll be out of CK for the next couple of weeks. My shopper went to the store for me yesterday and she doesn't go again for a couple of weeks. Am I sad to be missing CK in my fridge or pantry? Not at all, but now I will have to wrack my brain to think of some other way to make a hamburger so that Alan will eat it. Maybe I will douse it with bar-b-q sauce. That might work.
PS: I don't particularly like BBQ sauce either. I guess I'm hard to please.
The reason for this talk about catsup/ketchup (CK from now on) is that I'm currently out of CK in my pantry and refrigerator. That's because I made one of Alan's favorite dishes the other night. It was a staple of his mom's when they lived in Kenya because she could get the main ingredient easily. The main ingredient is SPAM. Yes, that's right, SPAM, that stuff that comes in a blue can.
Anyway, last night I was going to just make hamburgers for dinner, but then I realized I was out of CK and Alan would never eat a hamburger without CK, whereas, I would never eat a hamburger with CK (unless it's made by McD's).
So, I had to have pork chops instead, which meant making a full dinner with the trusted three sides -- a starch (lima beans), a green veggie (green beans) and a salad (always a salad), a lot more work than I wanted to do.
Back to CK. I posted this recipe for SPAM which has to be served with rice. I can't stand the taste of it, but Alan loves it, so three or four times a year I make it for him. I eat the rice and maybe a spoonful of the SPAM dish. And, I'm probably repeating the entire previous post. But I have an excuse. I'm getting old and forgetful. I do remember my name today, though. A good sign.
Apparently children love the taste of this dish. I don't know why, but they do. And if you go back and read the recipe I posted a few weeks ago, you know why I'm out of CK. It takes quite a bit of that nasty tomato condiment to finish off the SPAM dish properly.
I'll be out of CK for the next couple of weeks. My shopper went to the store for me yesterday and she doesn't go again for a couple of weeks. Am I sad to be missing CK in my fridge or pantry? Not at all, but now I will have to wrack my brain to think of some other way to make a hamburger so that Alan will eat it. Maybe I will douse it with bar-b-q sauce. That might work.
PS: I don't particularly like BBQ sauce either. I guess I'm hard to please.
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