Faux Cracker barrel casserole

Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole via  Cincy Shopper
1 bag (about 30 oz) Frozen Hash Browns, thawed
1 stick Butter, melted
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 small Onion, chopped
8 oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 cup Sour Cream

Grease 9x11" baking dish. Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl mix onion, soup, pepper and all but 1c cheese. Add sour cream and mix well.Add hash browns and melted butter. Mix well. Transfer to prepared dish. Bake 45-55 min til bubbly.

Cauliflower "breadsticks"

Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks via jo cooks
4 cups cauliflower riced, about 1 large head of cauliflower
4 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese I used a Tex Mex blend
3 tsp oregano
4 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup mozzarella cheese or more, for topping

Preheat oven to 425 F . Prepare large baking sheet w parchment. Cauli chopped in florets. Add florets to food processor. pulse til resembles rice. Place cauliflower in micro container. cover w lid. Nuke 10 min. Let cauliflower cool til no more steam. Place cauliflower in large bowl and add eggs, 2 c mozzarella, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix everything together. Separate mix in 2 and place each 1/2 on prepared sheets. Bake crust (no topping yet) 25 min til golden.  crust is not soggy. Once golden, sprinkle w remaining mozzarella and bake 5 min til cheese melted. Slice and serve.

Cauliflower corn and cucumber salad

I made this for a gathering that we wound up not going to because Teenblock got influenza that turned into pneumonia.  Teenblock said that shirts should be given out that say I survived the flu of 2017-2018.  anyhow, this recipe was ok. I had an issue with the red peppers triggering my heartburn, so maybe I'd have to think about what to add instead if i make it again. It really needs something red for color. Fresh corn off the cob would make this dish even better.  I'm also thinking feta and walnuts would be a tasty addition. Then again my taste buds are off from this stupid head cold.

Cauliflower Corn and Cucumber Salad via Valentina's corner
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 small cucumbers english style and leave the skins on
1/2 red pepper I used roasted
2-3 green onions
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained I only had frozen, but if i can i will use fresh off the cob.
1/3 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise I used salt and pepper olive oil mayo
Fresh dill, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cut cauliflower into sm florets. Slice cucumber in thin slices. Cube red pepper. Thinly chop gr onions. Drain corn. Mix everything. Add mayo, salt and pepper to taste, mix well. Add fresh dill.

Marshmallow fruit salad

Aka Hawaiian salad.
aka Rainbow marshmellow fruity floof

My bestie Amy asked me to make marshmellow rainbow salad and this is what I came up with.  It's a combo of a few recipes so im not listing a link to any particular site.

Teenblock said this was gross and Mrblocko refused to try it.  Their loss.

Hawaiian Salad
8 oz cool whip (this is a small container)
1/2 c sour cream (I wanted to use coconut flavored Icelandic yogurt called Skyr but it was sold out)
1 c shredded sweetened coconut
1 11-oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1 8-oz can pineapple chunks, drained (I wished I had used tidbits)
1 small jar maraschino cherries, drained and pat dry with paper towels
3/4 cup chopped pecans (i used unsalted)
2 heaping cups rainbow fruity marshmellows

In a large bowl, fold together cool whip and sour cream. Fold in remaining toppings.  Chill.  Is best if you can make a day ahead.

Buffalo Fries

Buffalo Fries adapted from Tidy Mom
1½ bags seasoned fries
2 T EVOO
1 t garlic powder
1 t cayenne powder
ground pepper to taste
1 c prepared buffalo wing sauce
1½ c cheddar cheese, grated I used a triple cheddar blend
1/2 c blue cheese, crumbled
3 green onions, sliced

1/2 lb crumbled, cooked bacon

ranch dressing to taste

450F  line large sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, add fries and toss with oil. Add garlic, cayenne and pepper and toss to coat. Place in single layer on sheet.  Bake 20-25 min, turning after 10 min. Heat sauce over low heat to warm.  When fries crispy, turn oven to broil,  drizzle with sauce and cheeses.  Melt under broiler 2-3 min.  Cool and top with onions and bacon.  Drizzle with Ranch dressing if desired

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Fifteen: Pumpkin Polenta

I've made grits or polenta once before in my life.  They were just ok.  I thought they were much better chilled, diced and fried the next day.

This Pumpkin Sage Polenta from Kitchen Confidante has made a grits convert out of me. 

Ew.  I'm such a messy cook.  Look at that burner pan.  Yikes!

I made a half batch because I wasn't sure I'd like the flavor combinations along with the texture of the grits. These grits were nothing like the grits I made before.  The combination of the pumpkin, sage and Parmesan cheese takes a simple dish like grits to a whole new level.

The amazing thing was that the grits tasted better the first day than they did reheated/fried the second day!

I'm pretty sure this was because they never set up like normal polenta does. This was probably due to the extra moisture from the pumpkin.  Instead of sticks they were more like flat pancakes.  Ok, but not nearly as good as right from the pot that first day.

As I made a half batch, I ate the whole thing myself.  It was the perfect light lunch for me.  I was surprised at how filling the dish was.  I'll be making this dish again, but whether I'll share it with the rest of my family is up for debate!

Pumpkin Grits for Two from Kitchen Confidante
1.5 c water
1/2 c polenta (I used a medium coarse grind)
1.5 t kosher salt (I omitted because I thought the Parmesan would add enough salt)
1/4 c pumpkin puree
heaping 1/2 t sage-dried
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 T butter, cubed
 

In med pan, whisk water, polenta and salt, if using. Bring to boil over med heat, whisking periodically. Lower heat and simmer, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Add pumpkin and sage, and continue stirring 15-20 min, til polenta begins to pull away from sides of pan. Stir in parmesan cheese and butter. Serve immediately while hot and creamy. (You can place in a small pan and chill instead so you can slice it and fry it up.  Mine never really solidified properly though.)

Spanish Rice

We had tacos one night and I thought some Spanish rice would make a nice side dish. 

via

I'd never made Spanish rice before so I took this recipe from Very Culinary and mashed it together with this one from Sunny Simple Life.

Spanish Rice
1.5 c uncooked rice
2T oil
1 onion, diced small
2 red pepper, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T tomato paste
2.5 c water (I added drained juices from rotel to make up part of this measurement)
1 can Medium Rotel
2 t cumin
scant 1/2 t salt
1/4 t chili powder

Saute rice, onion, pepper, garlic, and tomato paste in oil until rice is slightly browned.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15 min, covered.  Let sit 5 min covered, off of heat.

Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

I grew a whole bunch of jalapenos in my garden this year.  Let me clarify.  By a whole bunch, I mean one plant.  It was fairly prolific.  Particularly considering that I don't use a lot of jalapenos in my cooking. 

I figured I best get cracking at using up those jalapenos I begged Mrblocko to deseed for me.  I found this recipe for jalapeno cornbread muffins from Heart Mind and Seoul that I thought would be a great stepping stone into the world of jalapeno use.

They turned out perfect.  Just a hint of that jalapeno flavor.  Not too much so that it was too spicy for Blockette or myself, but spicy enough to make Mrblocko notice that this cornbread was special.

Jalapeno Corn Muffins from Heart Mind and Seoul
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
3 T sugar
1 T baking powder
½ t salt
2 beaten eggs
1 c milk
¼ c oil
1 c shredded cheddar
4 ounce sliced or chopped fresh jalapenos or canned jalapenos or green chilies

Ready a muffin tin with 12 paper cups. Set aside. In med bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of dry mixture; set aside.
In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mix all at once to well in dry mix. Stir just til moist. Fold in cheddar and jalapenos. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425F for 20-25 min til wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Cheesy Potatoes

No, not this sort of cheesy potato.

via

Shredded potatoes mixed with cheese that gets baked in the oven.

My mom makes the best cheesy potatoes.  

The best cheesy potatoes that I do NOT have the recipe for.  

Oh sure I've watched her make them a million times, but other than cream, cheese and shredded potatoes, I have no clue how she makes them.

I wanted to have this recipe with dinner one night over the week and it was grocery day.  

For some reason I thought that recipe would magically fall into my lap.  

My mom was at work and I knew she didn't have access to the recipe in question.  

I didn't want to wait any longer to go to the grocery store, so I called to the internets for assistance.

This recipe for Potatoes Romanoff from Tasty Kitchen seemed quite similar.  

It did call for sour cream instead of cream, so it wasn't exactly the same.  

Still, it was creamy cheesy potato-y goodness. 

You can't hardly go wrong with that.  It really hit the spot.

Potatoes Romanoff via Tasty Kitchen
3 Large Russet Potatoes, Unpeeled
¾ c Minced Shallots (I used a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic, minced)
2-½ c Grated White Cheddar Cheese, Divided
2 t Kosher Salt
¼ t Freshly Ground Pepper
1-½ c Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 425 F. Stab potatoes to vent and bake 50 min until done.  Cool potatoes to room temp and place in fridge overnight. Grate chilled potatoes, including skins.  (This is quickest if you use a food processor.  Just make sure you use the grating blade and not the slicing blade.  That doesn't make things quicker.  Not that I would know or anything.) Combine potatoes, shallots, 1 3/4 c cheese, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Toss gently with hands.  Fold in Sour Cream. Place in 1 1/2 qt gratin dish, don't press.  You want the potatoes in there gently with room to breathe.   Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Bake 350 F til top golden brown, 30 min. Serves 6.


Next time I make this I think I will saute the onions and garlic/shallots before adding to the potatoes.  I will also try a thin coating of bread crumbs sprinkled on top as well.

Coconut Rice and Fish

Woah, I just realized I never posted about some of the meatless dishes we ate over Lent. 

I'd been wanting to try this Coconut Tilapia with Apricot Dipping Sauce from  All Recipes for at least a year.  Since fish is not my favorite thing I usually find excuses to make something else for dinner.  I was determined to make it this year.

This was the recipe I mentioned in this post a few weeks ago that called for creole seasoning.

I thought this dish would go well with rice, but I wanted to jazz things up a bit so I made Tropical Rice from Steamy Kitchen.

I really liked the apricot dipping sauce went well with the toasted coconut in the "breading" on the fish.  It also almost nearly masked the fish taste.  It was just fishy enough that I knew I was eating fish, but not enough so to be bothersome.

The heat from the creole seasoning helped balance the sweet from the sauce.  The spice neutralized the sauce from making the dish overly sweet.

As for the rice.  I really liked it.  Blockette and Mrblocko didn't.

The rice gets cooked in coconut milk and stock.  It also has crushed pineapple in it.

Sounds like a great match for the coconut fish doesn't it?

For some reason that rice did not want to cook.  I cooked it 10 min longer than the package suggests and it was still "al dente."

Mrblocko is not a fan of rice to begin with, and hates chewy rice.  I thought adding some chopped slivered almonds might help with the texture.  I thought they tasted great, but not to mrblocko.  I'm wondering if he doesn't care for coconut milk.  There are a few things I've made with coconut milk that he didn't care for either.  I'm just realizing that as I write this, so I should probably keep that in mind for future reference.

Anyhow, we had lots of leftover rice that I happily ate all myself.


Coconut Tilapia with Apricot Sauce from All Recipes
1 c flaked coconut, finely chopped
2 T flour
1 T Creole seasoning
4 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
1/2 c cornstarch
1 (4 ounce) carton egg substitute (I used 1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk)
1/2 c veg oil

Apricot Dipping Sauce
1/2 c apricot jam
2 t spicy mustard
1 t prepared horseradish

Place conrstarch on rimmed plate. Beat egg with milk on separate rimmed plate.  On another rimmed plate combine coconut, flour and Creole seasoning. Coat fish with cornstarch, then egg. Press fillets in the coconut mixture coating all sides.

Heat canola oil in a frying pan to a temperature of about 350 F (175 degrees C). Fry fillets one or two at a time on both sides until golden brown. Remove to drain on a paper towel. Prepare the apricot dipping sauce by stirring together the jam, mustard, and horseradish in a small bowl. Serve the tilapia accompanied by the dipping sauce.

Tropical Rice from Steamy Kitchen
2 c jasmine rice (I had medium grain rice)
1 1/4 c chicken or veg broth
1 c good, thick coconut milk
1 c crushed pineapple
2 Tsoy sauce (or Tamari on a gluten-free diet)
1 T sesame oil
1 T brown sugar
1/4 c finely chopped green onion (Mine were all wilty when I went to use them so I left it out.)
Optional toppings: macadamia nuts, almonds, toasted coconut flakes

Rinse rice several times until water runs clear. Drain rice. In med pot, add rice, broth and coconut milk. Boil on high. Once boiling, turn heat to low, and cover.  Cook 20 min. Turn off heat and do not open lid. Let sit off the heat 10 min to finish steaming. Fluff rice with fork and add pineapple, soy sauce, sugar and oil. Top with chopped green onion and optional toppings.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Are you ever faced with an excess of mashed potatoes?  I have a tendency to prepare twice what we'll need for any given occasion.  These Mashed potato pancakes from Mr. Breakfast are a great way to use up your leftover mashed potatoes.

The amount of flour you use in this recipe is going to depend on how firm the mashed potatoes are.  The mushier they are, the more flour you will need.  Mashed potatoes with no additives, like butter, milk or sour cream are only going to need about 6 T of flour.  But seriously, who makes mashed potatoes without any of that stuff?  Not anyone in this house.  I've found that I need anywhere from 1/2  to 3/4 c of flour. 

I like these potato pancakes better than any other fried potato for breakfast.  They are a great substitute for when it's too cold/windy to grill sliced potatoes outside.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 large egg - lightly beaten
• 6 Tablespoons -3/4c flour depending on firmness of mashed potatoes
• 1 small onion, grated (chopped green onions could be substituted)
• salt and pepper - to taste
• vegetable oil for frying

In a medium bowl, combine mashed potatoes and egg. Add the flour and onion and mix all together well. Add salt and pepper to batter if desired.

In a large skillet or on a griddle, heat vegetable oil (about 3 Tablespoons) over medium-high heat. Dollop batter onto the heated surface in heaping tablespoons. Flatten each dollop slightly with a fork. Fry on each side for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Leftovers can be reheated for a few minutes on each side.  This will make them very dark brown.  If that isn't your thing, reheat in the microwave for about 20 sec or until heated to your liking.

Pumpkin Cornbread

 These pumpkin cornbread from Sweet Peas Kitchen were amazing!  They are slightly sweet version of cornbread.  I couldn't taste the pumpkin itself, but the molasses, nutmeg and cinnamon make the cornbread smell like Autumn.

I served these along side this chili.  I made one small change to the chili recipe though.  I added a cup of pumpkin!  With all the flavors in that chili, no one was the wiser.  Hooray!  Extra veggies for everyone.

I was surprised that this cornbread recipe resulted in a dry crumbly sort of cornbread.  Usually when I bake with something like pumpkin, the resulting food product is super moist.  I wasn't upset that the cornbread was on the crumbly side, it was just unexpected.  Crumbly is actually good when you're dunking it in chili. Then all the little bits fall in the chili...yum!

This recipe will get made again for sure, and not just as a side to chili.  I'd totally make these for breakfast, they were that tasty!

One more thing.  You can totally make this recipe in a 8x8 pan.  I prefer cornbread in muffin form, so that's what I went with.  Muffins are easier to portion out, as I cannot cut a straight line.  Someone always complains that they got the "small" piece.  With muffins, I just use a large cookie scoop of batter per muffin cup and everything is nice an equal.  I've also found that muffins are easier for Mrblocko to transport to work than the sliced counterparts. 

This recipe does make 12 muffins.  Gnomes snatched a cornbread muffin before I could take a picture. 

Trixie little gnomes.

Pumpkin Cornbread from Sweet Pea's Kitchen
1c flour
1 T baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t t nutmeg
1/2 ct brown sugar
1 c cornmeal
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c olive oil (I used canola)
1 T molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8×8″ cake pan. (or line 12 muffin cups)  In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal; set aside. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in pumpkin, oil, and molasses. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour batter into pan, smoothing the top. (or use a large cookie scoop to portion out batter for muffins.) Bake 25-30 (10-15 for muffins) minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Baked potato

source

I'm writing this post so I don't have to keep looking up a recipe to make a classic baked potato. Can you believe I can never remember what temp, and for how long to cook them? Good thing I've got this blog!

The directions I use to make a baked potato were obtained from The Purposed Heart.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.

2. Scrub the spuds.

3. Poke the potatoes with a fork all over the place.

4. Rub with EVOO.

5. Sprinkle with coarse salt.  (I used sea salt, but Kosher would be cool.)

6. Take the tubers and place them directly on the oven rack.  If you wanna get fancy, stick a pan on the rack underneath to catch any oozy bits.

7. Bake for 45-60 min, or until a fork can poke the potato with very little resistance.

8. Split the tater open and load it up with your favorite toppings!

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Spicy Grilled Mushrooms

These grilled spiced mushrooms from Home Skillet totally blew my mind.
Ka-boom with the flavor explosion!

I'm already a huge fan of mushrooms. 

 And grilled? 

Sign me up for that.

There is just something simply amazing about this spice mix. It's smokey, sweet, savory, and spicy, with just a hint of salty. All that, combined with the meaty savory flavor from the mushrooms, and you have every flavor base covered. (At some point we are going to have to try this rub on grilled chicken. Mrblocko and I agree it would be awesome as well.)

And get this...Mrblocko asked Blockette if she wanted to taste a mushroom. Our daughter who won't eat a mushroom, even if you paid her, said "YES!" That will give you an indication of how enticing they had to have smelled for her to want to give a mushroom a taste test.

Get this, Blockette said she actually liked them. 

My child. 

Liked a mushroom. 

Woah. 

Although, they were too spicy for her to eat more than one. To her credit, the mushrooms were right on the edge of my heat tolerance level. Any hotter and they would have been too spicy for me.

The original recipe was even spicier. The spice blend calls for 2 tsp each of ancho and New Mexico Chile powder. I used 4 tsp of Chili powder instead. Once we run out of this batch, I will reduce the cayenne pepper from 2 tsp to just 1 tsp. I think this will make the spice blend with in Blockette's heat level. Mrblocko will probably be a bit sad, because he thought the spice blend was perfect the way it is. He can always add a pinch of cayenne to his portion of mushrooms and bring the heat up to inferno if he wants.

Amazing spicy grilled mushrooms from Home Skillet
Spice blend
1 T kosher salt
1 T black pepper
2 ½ t garlic powder
1 ½ t onion powder
1 ½ t oregano
1 ½ t basil
¼ t cinnamon
3 T brown sugar
1 T smoked paprika
1 T paprika
4 t chili powder
1-2 t cayenne

Combine all spices and store in an airtight container.

Grilled mushrooms
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 ½ tablespoons mega spice mix

Place mushrooms in medium bowl. Drizzle oil and toss with mushrooms. Sprinkle on spice mix, coating mushrooms evenly. Set aside and prepare grill.

If using charcoal, light charcoal according to package directions or using your favorite method. Once 80-90 percent of charcoal ashed-over, spread into single layer, put cooking grates on, cover, and let grates heat up for 5 min. Adjust height of charcoal and air vents, if applicable to get a nice hot temp(350-400F).

If using gas grill, set temperature to high (350-400F) and cover for 5 min to heat grates.

Using a paper towel, coat cooking grates with thin layer of oil. Try to not let it drip down onto the coals to prevent flare ups. Place halved mushrooms on grill, cut side down. Cover, and come back in about 2-3 min to check on them. Once they’ve started to soften up just a bit, and bottoms have a nice char, remove from grill and serve hot.

10 Minute "Baked" Potato for One

Usually my lunches are boring things like cereal, grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches. Yawn. Sometimes I want something a little more substantial, but I hate spending any sort of time or effort on food when I'm just feeding myself.  These roasted potatoes from Iowa Girl Eats totally meets the needs of the hungry lazy girl. Can you believe it only took me 10 minutes to make?

The first thing you need to do is wash your russet potato.

Next you get to stab it all over with a fork so it doesn't explode in your microwave. (This would not be a good thing cause at some point it would need to be cleaned, and that would totally negate the laziness of this dish.)

Place your stabby potato on a microwave safe plate and nuke for 3 minutes. Turn your potato over and nuke for 2 minutes. (I have a microwave with a rotating plate that cooks faster than most. You may need to increase your bake time to suit your nuke box.)

While the potato is cooking, preheat your broiler.

Once the potato is cooked, cut in half and cut each half in squares, almost to the skin but not quite. (I think this looks like some sort of wonky pineapple.) Slather on some butter and seasoning salt and top with the shredded cheese of your choice. (I used a blend of parmesean and mozzerella. Because it was already shredded and the bag was open. See, super lazy when no one is looking.)

I hate washing dishes (Lazy), so I place my potato on a foil lined pan and broil for 5 minutes. (The original recipe says 10-15 min. Beware! See how dark the cheese is? That was after 5 min! Good thing I like crispy cheese, eh?)  Keep an eye on that potato cause it will go from crispy to burnt quickly. 

And there you have it, super speedy baked potato. Feel free to add any additional toppings that your heart may desire!

Microwave Potato Chips

Oh no! I am all out of potato chips!!!! Whatever shall I do?

Run to the store? HA!
Go without? NEVER!

Make your own I say.

Say what? Wait, I know you are thinking, "How can she be serious.  Make potato chips?  Is this the same girl who is terrified of frying?"  Why yes in deed it is.  But this kicker with these chips is that you don't need to fry them.  They are baked.  And the best part is, they get baked in the microwave.

Yes, there is a recipe for microwave potato chips from all recipes. Who would have thunk it?

In a nutshell, here's what you need to do:
1. Wash your spud.  I left the skins on, cause I am lazy.
2. Cut the spud into slices as thin as you can get.  It really helps if you have a mandoline to do this. (I mandolin might help as well, but that has yet to be determined as I have no skill with stringed instruments.)
3. Toss the chips into a plastic bag with 1 T veg oil of your choice.
4. Spray your microwaveable plate with cooking spray.  (You only need to do this once.)
5, Place the slices on the plate in a single layer.
6. Nuke for 3-5 minutes until the chips are brown.  It is important that they get brown, or they won't be crispy.  My mandoline doesn't cut paper thin, so I cooked my chips for 5 minutes.
7. Carefully remove chips from the hot plate to cool.
8. Shake on salt or the seasoning of your choice.

I had two plates that I rotated through the microwave.  As one plate was cooking, I arranged more slices in a single layer on another plate.  This helped speed up the process quite a bit.

Aside from not burning myself or the potato, like I would if I fried the chips, or the long baking time and hunger induced crabby time that would have resulted from actually baking the whole potato in the oven, crockpot, or even the microwave, I felt like this was a pretty healthy way to eat a potato. Frying the potatoes would have me consuming much more than 1 T of oil.  And if I eat a baked potato, you'd better believe that I'd be using more than a Tablespoon of butter, not to mention sour cream and cheese.

So I ate this entire plate of chips for lunch one day and did not even feel like a piggy pig pig.  Aaaa-nd they tasted just like Baked Lays.  So there.

Go ahead and make these babies.  I give you permission to eat the whole spud yourself.

BBQ Onion Rings and Burgers of Extreme Goodness

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Freezing Quinoa

Did you know that you can freeze quinoa?  I read about it over at Not Rachael Ray.  I figured it was worth a shot.  So, when I made Broccoli Quinoa Casserole in November, I cooked up the entire box and froze what I didn't use in ziplock bags in 1 1/2 c and 1 c portions. 

This was a huge time saver for me, doing the cooking just once.  When I used the quinoa, I let it defrost in the fridge first.  Guess what!  No one noticed a difference in texture or flavor.  I've heard you can do the same with rice so I might have to give that one a try next.

One Pot Mac n Cheese

AAAAACK! And I was doing so good at remembering to take pictures of stuff. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the one pot mac n cheese from White on Rice Couple.  Instead, please enjoy this picture of Calvin and Hobbs.

Aren't they a photogenic duo?  Certainly much better looking than any picture of macaroni and cheese that I could have taken.

In particular, this mac n' cheese was a lot lighter than any other mac and cheese recipe I've made thus far. In fact, it was so pale, one might even dare to call it white. I think this was due to the fact that the noodles are boiled in milk. That's right. Boiled in milk.

Boiling the noodles in milk is what makes this a "one pot" dish. While this dish certainly saved me a lot of time in clean up, I spent more than that time babysitting the noodles over the stove so the milk didn't burn or evaporate too quickly. Regular old boil the noodles in one pot and make the sauce in another from scratch mac and cheese is loads faster.

This macaroni and cheese was with out a doubt the creamiest mac I've ever made. We found it quite lacking in the taste department though. This could have been because I used half Colby jack and half extra sharp cheddar cheese. I think this dish needs a really strong cheese to make it worth your time. However, I know my audience and Blockette wouldn't eat more than three bites of a very sharp tasting cheese dish. It's hard enough to get her to eat mac that doesn't come out of the blue box.

Creamy One Pot Mac n'Cheese from White on Rice Couple
2 cups large elbow Macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb)
2 cups low fat Milk (about 16 oz)
if needed, additional 1/4 cup milk or water for final cooking
1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
1 teaspoon Salt, plus additional for final season later
generous dash of Nutmeg
1 cup Grated Cheese, any one or combination of ( jack, cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan*, asiago*, pecorino*) *Hard cheeses are best combined with a secondary, softer, better melting cheese.
additional toppings: bacon bits, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, diced tomatoes (optional)
black pepper to taste (optional)

Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain. In med pan (about 3.5 qt), add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg. On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mix to a simmer, stirring macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mix will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop. Once to a simmer, immediately turn heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in milk. Having the heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly! Continue to stir frequently so macaroni will cook and absorb milk evenly. If you don’t stir   frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir! Cook  15-20 min or til milk has been fully absorbed. If macaroni not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water ( in small amounts) til macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 min. When milk evaporated, stir in grated cheese. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for 5 min. This will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb excess milk. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together. Serve immediately. Feeds about 3-4 people.

Broccoli Quinoa and Honey Nut Chicken

I happen to like a good many of the Broccoli Cheese and Rice casseroles out there. Personally, I don't know what's not to like. You've got the cheesey, salty, carby goodness, with some healthy broccoli thrown in there for good measure. My husband on the other hand, thinks broccoli cheese casserole is disgusting. Oh, sure he'll politely take a portion when it's served at potlucks, and eat it so as to not hurt anyone's feelings.  But secretly, he HATES it.

So when I told him I was making this Broccoli Quinoa Hotdish from Eating Well...Living Thin, he gave me the stink eye.  I was not expecting him to like it at all.  I had never had quinoa, so I didn't even know if I was going to like it either.  In the effort of being a good parent, and not limiting our daughter's palate by our own likes and dislikes, we even worked out a secret code to let the other one know if we thought the dish was total rubbish. 

Surprises of all surprises, the dish was fantastic.  Even Mrblocko LIKED it.  Not just tolerated it, he cleaned his plate and said I could make it again, any time I wanted.  Whoohoo!  Blockette liked it too, although she said she liked the broccoli part better than the quinoa.   She likes the veggie part better than the grain part? Yeah, I'll take that as a victory.

I have a few theories as to why Mrblocko liked this casseroles, and not the others.  First, I only used the shrubby part of the broccoli.  No stems.  Cause cooked stems are like chewing on a stick.  Bleck.  I also used fresh,  not frozen broccoli.  I'm sure that it would taste just fine with the frozen stuff, but then the broccoli would be mushy.  I only par boiled the broccoli before I cooked the casserole, so the veggies were crisp and had a bit of bite to them.  It was a nice mix of textures with the crunch of the broccoli, mushiness of the quinoa and the ooey gooeyness of the cheese.

I also made Rachael Ray's Honey Nut Chicken for dinner that night.  I used to make this all the time before Blockette was born.  Ahem.  Well, actually, I would have Mrblocko would make it.  I couldn't cook to save my life before Blockette came along.   I don't know what I was scared about back then, because this is a really easy chicken recipe. 

I cannot for the life of me remember the last time I had this chicken.  I think it's one of the side effects of having a blog and constantly trying out new recipes, you forget about the really good favorite stand by recipes.  Blockette certainly didn't remember ever eating this chicken before, and she has a memory like a steel trap.

I'm fairly certain that the last time I made it I did not have the nice food processor that I do now.  In the past, the nutty breading was always really chunky.  My nice Cuisinart just pulverized the nuts.  I missed having the larger peanut chunks.  I'm going to have to remember that this machine actually chops things and pulse the nuts for a shorter time.

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole from Eating well...Living thin
One 10 oz can condensed Cream of Broccoli soup (or mushroom) (I used cream of chicken)
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cups reduced fat shredded cheese (cheddar, colby-jack, etc)
1/2 teaspoon Splenda/sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups cooked broccoli (I just par boiled mine until they were bright green)
1 1/2 cups COOKED quinoa (see note)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To cook quinoa:
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear. In a small saucepan combine the quinoa, water, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy and the white ring/tail is visible. Fluff with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a shallow (8×8 in or 5-6 cups) casserole dish with vegetable cooking spray. (I forgot that part but it didn't stick or burn.  YAY!)In a large bowl combine the soup, mayonnaise, milk, shredded cheese, Splenda, pepper, and nutmeg until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.Spoon mixture into prepared casserole. Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes

Honey Nut Chicken from Rachael Ray
2/3 c honey roasted peanuts (Smoked or honey roasted almonds are great too)
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grill seasoning 
2 eggs
A splash of milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce, several drops
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 (6 to 8-ounce) pieces of chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put nuts, bread crumbs and grill seasoning in food processor and pulse grind to combine the nuts into bread crumbs. Pour nutty-breading onto a plate.

Beat eggs and half-and-half or milk with hot sauce in a shallow dish.

Pour flour out on a plastic board or plate.

Dust both sides of the chicken with flour. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then coat with the nutty-breading.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer. Brown chicken pieces 2 min on each side in hot oil til evenly light golden in color. Transfer to a baking sheet (I have a skillet with an oven safe handle so I just stuck the whole thing in the oven in the pan.) Cook in oven until juices run clear and breasts are cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes