Who's Living Rent Free in Your Head?

Thankful Thursday 47.11

Well, a day late and a dollar short with the Thankful Thursdays this week. I just plumb forgot!

1. The kitchen sink completely backed up after we made our big Thanksgiving dinner, not before.

2. A nice long weekend with my family.

3. Not getting mobbed at the stores on Black Friday. (I went at noon after the mad rush.)

4. Blockette pretends she's a General at recess.

5. Mrblocko didn't need an x-ray or MRI for his wonky knee(fingers crossed).

6. We could wait to call the plumber until Monday. (I'm particularly grateful we didn't have to pay time and a half as the repairs took 3 hours!!!!)

7. Mrblocko didn't have to miss Daddy Daughter breakfast at Blockette's school.

8. I took 3 naps Wed and two on Thurs. (Boy did I ever need them.)

9. My rice was not rotten this time.

10. I'm going to get so many meals from the leftover turkey!

November Reads

Not a very big list of reads this month.  I've been more into watching weird shows like Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Fringe and American Horror Story. (Which, by the way, a bazillion times weirder than Twin Peaks.)

1. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim.  Man, the girl who played Nellie Oleson had a messed up life.  I always hated that character growing up, but now I have a new appreciation for her.  She's my new hero.

2. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. Book 2 in the Heroes of Olympus Series.  This book is the latest episode in the saga that is the life of the demi-god Percy Jackson.  I'm enjoying the Roman mythology more than I did the Greek that was in the first series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Maybe because I'm less familiar with Roman mythology.

3. The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley.  This was an enjoyable quick read aimed at a middle school aged audience.  The main character, Molly the scullery maid,  has visions which lead her on the path to discovering and breaking the curses laid upon the Royal family.  The end was left open for a sequel, which I hope gets written.

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

Okayu - Japanese rice porridge

A few weeks ago I was feeling under the weather.  Nothing sounded good to eat, not even toast or soup.  I was sitting at the computer, screwing around in hopes that I could just pass on the whole lunch thing. Then I came across this recipe for Okayu over at FOODjimoto.  I knew instantly that I HAD to get my butt in the kitchen and make it for lunch.

Back when I was in college, many many moons ago, I took a quarter off of school to visit some friends in Japan.  It was a horribly failed trip as I caught a virus on the plane and had to return home after only having stayed for a week.  My "friend's" (I use the term "friend" loosely here, as apparently me getting sick really put a cramp in her style)  mom made me some Okayu in hopes that it would make me feel better.  It was one of the few things I could actually eat.

I had no idea how to make it or even what it was called.  The mom just plunked the bowl of gruel in front of me and politely encouraged me to eat it.  I didn't realize what it was until I saw the picture of it on the FOODjimoto blog.

This dish was exactly what I needed back then, and last week when I was under the weather.  I was feeling better the day after I made this, so I added my Okayu leftovers to some veggie soup.  It made for a really thick yummy soup!

If you're feeling under the weather, but not quite up for the usual chicken noodle soup pick me up, here's what you need to make Japanese rice porridge!
1/2c short or medium grain rice
4 c water

Rinse the rice in a colander.  Put the water and rice into a pot and let it come to a boil.  Simmer covered on the lowest setting for 30 min.  Keep the lid slightly ajar so the pot doesn't boil over.  (I forgot this part and made a mess of my stove. Don't be me!)  Stir occasionally so the rice doesn't burn. Add salt or whatever strikes your fancy.  ie pickled plum, eggs, leftover meat, veggies, dashi, etc.  I didn't have any of those things, so I added 2 cubes of chicken bullion to the water as the rice cooked. It was a bit on the salty side for me, so I think next time, I'll try just one bullion cube.

How come no one told me Sawmill Gravy was so easy to make?!

I finally broke down and made sawmill gravy from scratch.  It wasn't any harder than making it from a packet, or heating up a jar of the stuff on the stove.  I always add sausage to the pre-made stuff, so there's no extra work there.  And with the packet of powdered gravy stuff, you have to add milk and cook it over the stove so no extra work there either.  It takes the exact same time, tastes better and is loads cheaper!

I used Mr. Alton Brown's standard Sawmill Gravy recipe. Which is basically as follows:
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (I used skim)
Salt and pepper

Cook up the sausage in skillet. Remove the sausage to drain, leaving all but 2 T of fat in your pan.  (My sausage only yielded 1 T of fat so I added 1 T butter.)  Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. (I only cooked it for about 2 min, just enough time so the nutty flavor in the flour could develop.) Slowly whisk in the milk in a slow stream to eliminate lumps. Turn the heat up to med high, and stir occasionally until the gravy thickens and comes to a simmer.  (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that's where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled sausage and serve over toast or biscuits.  Now, how easy is that?!

I think the look on Blockette's face says it all...pure heaven. 

Now all I need to learn is how to make biscuits that aren't popped out of a can!  Then, if I ever meet Alton Brown on the street, I won't have to hang my head in shame.

Lion House Rolls

These Lion House Rolls from Mel's Kitchen Cafe were amazing.  I was over the moon when they turned out looking and tasting like bread.  It's too bad that I didn't see the link on how to roll them and place them on the sheet until well after I made them.  Oh well.  There will be a next time.  I'll try to remember to post an updated photo when I cut, roll and place them on the cookie sheet properly.

Here's the before shot.  Yeah. I was really in a hurry to get those rolls into the oven.  Finished was better than perfect.  I'd rather have a weird sized roll vs no roll at all with my soup!

Here's what they looked like after 15 min in the oven.  They probably should have been darker, but it was dinner time and Blockette and I were famished. 

I froze 12 of the cooked rolls, as I knew they weren't going to get eaten before they got stale.  I put them in the fridge to defrost and nuked them for a few seconds to heat them up.   They were great for breakfast when I was on antibiotics and was trying to stay clear of dairy.

Here is the recipe as written on Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  (I highly suggest heading over to her site as she has wonderfully helpful pictures.):

Lion House Rolls
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5-6 cups flour

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add remaining flour gradually (1/2 cup at a time) until a soft but not sticky dough is formed. Knead dough for at least 5 minutes if using an electric mixer and for at least 10 minutes if mixing the dough by hand. When the dough is smooth, supple and elastic, place it in a lightly greased large bowl covered with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled.

Separate the dough into two portions. Roll each section out to an 11X14-inch rectangle. Brush the top with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into two pieces, the long way (see photos below). Then slice the dough into five or six strips across so you end up with 10 to 12 small rectangles. Roll each small rectangle up like a snail and place on a silpat-lined or lightly greased baking sheet with the roll resting on it’s open edge. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes until they are nicely browned.

Here is the YouTube video on how to roll out the...um...rolls. Good thing it's a video cause I've no idea how you explain that flippy thing the lady on there does.  I can't wait to give it a try!