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!

Pumpkin Granola

Get a load of that massive granola-y goodness.

OM. NOM. NOM.

This isn't just any granola. It's pumpkin granola from Baked Bree. The weird thing is that it's not too much different than my go to recipe for granola.  The main difference is this one doesn't have any filler Rice Krispies, but does have pumpkin.  Hmmm...since this granola has applesauce and pumpkin in it, does it qualify as eating a fruit and a veggie?  Well if the government considers pizza a vegetable, then the answer must be a resounding YES!

I made a few minor additions to this recipe.  First I added about 1/2 c coarsely chopped walnuts, and quite a bit more than 1/2 c of sliced almonds.  I just dumped the almonds into the cooked and cooled mixture until I thought it looked almond-y enough. I also added 1/2 c steel cut oats, 1/4 c wheat germ and 1/4 c ground flax seed.  I add all that to my regular granola for extra fiber so I did the same here.  With all those add ins the granola didn't clump up as much as it probably should.  I don't particularly care for the huge chunks in my granola either, so it worked well for me.

When this first came out of the oven, I snuck a tiny bit to test taste.  At the time, I didn't think it was anything special.  However, once the granola cooled, the spices and slight pumpkin flavor emerged.  YUM!  It was difficult to stop eating. It tasted that good.

This really is the perfect granola for the fall and winter.  There is something about it that tastes really hardy.  More so than my go to recipe.  I'll keep making my usual granola in the spring and summer.  I think the extra spices would be too heavy for the warmer months. 

Pumpkin Granola from Baked Bree
5 cups rolled oats
1/2 c rough chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 c steel cut oats (optional)
1/4 c wheat germ (optional)
1/4 c ground flax seed (optional)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (you can buy this or make your own. See below.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar (use splenda brown sugar to reduce the sugar)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (Make sure it's puree, not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used the fake stuff, go ahead and use sugar free if you want)
1/4 cup applesauce (Again, sugar free is ok, I used Cinnamon applesauce as I am a cinnamon fiend)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds (or more if you are like me)

In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts, flax, wheat germ, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and brown sugar. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, maple syrup, applesauce, and vanilla. Pour the pumpkin mix into oat mix. Toss til coated. Spread onto baking sheet lined with foil or parchment. Bake in a preheated 325F for 20 min. Take granola out and stir it around. Bake another 20 minutes or until granola gets crisp. (I usually have to cook mine for about an hour to get it as crisp as I like it.) Take granola out and mix in the cranberries and almonds. Store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Pie Spice from Baking Bites
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container.

Bread Bowls

These Soft bread bowls from Jamie Cooks it Up were a last minute addition to dinner.  I wasn't really thrilled with the idea of eating boring old leftover soup.  Fresh bread can jazz up any meal, and I was all about giving this ordinary soup some oomph.

I searched my "to make" list for breads.  Most of them had long rise times.  I didn't decide to make bread until about 4:00 after I got Blockette and M off the bus.  No way I was going to push dinner off until 7pm or later.  That never works well, especially on a school night.

The bread bowls only take about an hour to make.  They rise in a low oven, and then you crank the heat up and they continue to rise as the oven preheats.  It worked perfectly.

Look how yummy those little bread bowls are!  Tan and shiny, just like they've been sunning themselves on the beach.  I got a little giddy when I took them out of the oven.  I did that little hopping up and down happy dance because they actually turned out.  I'm always surprised when I make bread and it looks and tastes like something you might buy at a bakery.

And here's our little vessel filled to the brim with soup. Oh, it's far from boring and ordinary now! I gobbled up my portion with gusto.

Blockette thought they were awesome too. She got to eat her bowl, something that she thought was hilarious. Eating your bowl, I mean that is pretty cool whether you're 6 or 36.

One word of warning:  let the bread bowls cool before you attempt to hollow them out.  I was impatient and did it right away.  The center of the bread is quite soft and almost gummy right out of the oven.  It can be done, but it is much easier to scoop out the center when the bowls have cooled.

Soft Bread Bowls from Jamie cooks it up
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t salt
4 C flour
1/2 C warm water
1 C milk
2 T butter
1 T yeast
1 egg, beaten

1. Place 2 C flour into bottom of stand mixer. Add sugar and salt. Stir it around a bit to combine.
2. Pour milk and water into one measuring cup. Heat it in the microwave for 1 min, til bubbly and hot.
3. Carefully put the butter into the hot liquid and let it melt just a bit.
4. Pour buttery milk into \mixer. Turn \mixer on to low and let it mix for just 30 sec or so.
5. Add yeast and remaining 2 c flour.
6. Mix dough for 5 min.
7. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and set dough out on to it.
8. Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 6 equal parts.
9. Let dough rest 5 min, then shape each piece into a ball. Whisk egg up in a small bowl and spread egg over tops of each dough ball.
10. Place pan in a 170F oven and let dough rise until doubled in size. This should take 15-25 min.
11. Turn oven up to 350F (leave pan in oven while temp increases) Bake little bowls for 15 min (depending on how long your oven takes to heat up) or until golden brown.
12. Let bowls cool 10 min, then slice top of each bowl, scoop out middle, and pour some soup right on in!

Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday 46.11

This year I'm especially thankful that my life is so full of all those things that money can never buy.  I am so blessed to have a weird, wonderful, drive me crazy, goofy, loving family that encompasses more than just those loonies I'm genetically related to.  I loves all y'all!