Broccoli cauliflower casserole

Vegetables are vegetables, and I'm usually not terribly adventurous.  We either steam them up or toss them in stir-fry.  But I attempted a variation on the usual dinner side dish with this casserole.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
1 package (16 ounces) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 package (16 ounces) frozen cauliflower florets, thawed
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, cubed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning in small bowl. Set aside. Cut up any large broccoli or cauliflower florets into bite-size pieces.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, garlic salt and pepper. Add milk; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; cook and stir until cream cheese is melted. Add vegetables; toss gently to coat. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle top evenly with crumb mixture.

3. Bake 40 minutes or until heated through and top is lightly browned.

VERDICT

 I don't think I'd exactly bring this to a family picnic (no one wants to be that person who brings broccoli when all the cool moms bring cupcakes!) but it was a great addition to our dinner. Which, by the way, was also great!  You can find the Jalapeno Popper Chicken HERE.

Greek chicken skillet

 This recipe is not the norm for our house.  If you've followed this blog enough you know I stick to stir-fried chicken, steaks on the grill, and pasta.  While this isn't a complete departure from the norm, it is a very different flavor from what we're used to.  So did my family say "Ooompa!" with me?  Check it out:

INGREDIENTS

  4  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 pounds total)

  Salt and ground black pepper

  1  tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil

 1-1/2  cups sliced zucchini (1 medium)

 3/4  cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 medium)

1  medium onion, sliced and separated into rings

2  cloves garlic, minced

 1/8  teaspoon ground black pepper

 1/4  cup water 

 1  10.75-ounce can condensed tomato soup (oops... or a can of plain tomato sauce)

2  cups hot cooked couscous* (My family is not a fan- we used rice)

 1/2  cup crumbled feta cheese (2 ounces)

 Lemon wedges

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and black pepper. In a 12-inch skillet cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm.

2. Add zucchini, sweet pepper, onion, garlic, and the 1/8 teaspoon black pepper to skillet. Add the water; reduce heat. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Stir in soup. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes more, stirring once.

3. To serve, divide cous cous (or rice!) among dinner plates. Place chicken on couscous. Spoon vegetable mixture over chicken and couscous. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve with lemon wedges. Makes 4 servings. 

VERDICT

There was a lot of improvising going on for us.  I skipped the cous cous completely because I knew my husband hated it.  And condensed tomato soup?  A little can of plain hunts tomato sauce works just as well.  In spite of my failure to adhere to the recipe as written, we loved it!  The feta cheese on top of the Greek chicken & veggies was the best!

 

 Source:  Everyday Food

Spicy Orange Chili Chicken

 

When I tried to pull up this recipe a few days ago I couldn't find it anywhere on the blog.  How is it possible that I haven't shared one of my favorite Asian-inspired dinners with you yet?

This tasty chicken stir-fry is similar in flavor to Bonefish Grill's "Bang Bang Shrimp" and is quick and easy to whip up.  Plus, as a baked dish it has the flavor of stir-fry without the oil!

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken-
2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces.
3 eggs
2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp pepper

For the sauce-
1/2 cup of Mayonnaise
4-5 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup orange juice (I freshly squeezed it because I forgot to buy orange juice!)
green onions/ chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Cut 2 large chicken breasts into approx. 1 inch pieces or bite sized pieces.

In a bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, a teaspoon of garlic salt and a touch of siracha (or Red Hot will work).  Add the chicken pieces to the egg and mix them around so that all they’re all coated in egg.

In another shallow bowl/dish, mix together a cup of flour, the remaining garlic salt and some black pepper together.  In small batches of 3-4 pieces, coat the egg drenched chicken pieces in the seasoned flour and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. 

Bake the chicken at 400F for about 15 minutes and them stick them under the broiler for another 5 minutes to brown them slightly.
 

While the chicken is cooking, you can mix together all the ingredients for the sauce. Half a cup of mayonnaise, 4-5 tbsp of Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and half a cup of orange juice. Whisk it all together until there are no more lumps.  Pour the sauce into a sauce pan and bring it to a gentle boil on medium-high heat.
 

Once the chicken is slightly browned and cooked through, add it to the simmering sauce. Mix it well so that all the pieces are coated in the sweet sauce. The flour on the chicken will make the sauce thicken and it’ll also start looking glossier and clearer.

Turn off the heat once the sauce reaches the desired thickness.  Garnish with some fresh chopped green onion/scallions or garlic chives. 

 

VERDICT

My favorite way to eat leftover rice is a mix of Thai chili sauce and Siracha similar to this recipe.  The sweet-hot flavor is a favorite in this house, and this chicken is always a hit!