Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Noodle Casserole

Who doesn't love cheese? Who doesn't love chicken? Who doesn't love noodles? Who doesn't love broccoli? Ok, well, I know everyone doesn't love my favorite veggie. (Including my mother, who never fed me broccoli, so I never knew I liked it until I was an adult. But, that's a whole other issue for a whole other blog, isn't it? ;) Ha ha - just kidding, Mom.) The broccoli can always be deleted from this ALMOST EMBARASSINGLY EASY recipe. Read on.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large or 4 small chicken breasts (or 2 large cans of chicken breast)
1 large or 2 small crowns of fresh broccoli (or a steamer bag)
1/2 bag of No-Yolk extra broad noodles
1 can 98% fat free Cream of Celery condensed soup
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup of light mayo (I use Kraft with Olive Oil)
Chicken or vegetable broth
Chives (fresh or dried)
Thyme, sage, garlic powder, salt, black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cook noodles as directions read on bag; Drain and run cool water over them to cool; set aside
3. Warm soup with a can of broth (instead of water or milk) on the stove over low-medium to medium heat
4. Add thyme, sage, garlic powder and black pepper to soup - about a tsp of each
5. Trim broccoli and blanch or steam lightly; when beginning to soften, remove from heat and set aside to cool
6. Cook and shred chicken and mix with mayo (sort of like you're making chicken salad) in a large mixing bowl
7. When soup is creamy, begin stirring in cheese - use a little more than half of a 2 cup bag
8. When cheese and soup are combined well, remove from heat
9. After broccoli has cooled, chop it (if they're large; we used baby broccoli, which didn't need chopping) and stir into the chicken and mayo mixture
10. Add a pinch or two of salt, a few dashes of garlic and thyme and black pepper (to your liking) to chicken mixture
Be careful with salt, as the soup and broth will be fairly salty...you can always add later if needed
11. Stir the chilled noodles into the chicken mixture
12. Stir in the soup mixture and about a Tbsp of chives; here, you may want to have a little taste to see if any seasoning should be added
13. Pour into a casserole dish and spread evenly
14. Sprinkle the remaining cheese shreds over the top of the casserole
15. Bake for about 20 minutes; til cheese is "melty" on top and beginning to brown slightly
16. Let it set to cool for about 10 minutes and then, serve!

Cilantro-Lime-Curry-Coconut Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

We'll start with the marinade for the chicken. It's super simple. Oh, and keep in mind this, like most everything on this blog, serves two.

INGREDIENTS:
\ 1.5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Cumin
3/4 tsp Ground Coriander
1.5 tsp Salt
1 tsp Curry Powder
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 C Cocunut Milk (I used Light Coconut Milk)
Dash of Cayenne
Chopped fresh Cilantro (I used approximately 1/4 cup)

Whisk all the above ingredients together in a bowl, and put your trimmed chicken breast in the bowl.
Marinate chicken for about 2 hours. Then, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
I used a broiler pan, so the liquid cooking out of the chicken could drain away from it. For the rice, I followed the directions for amounts of rice to water to butter. I used vegetable broth instead of water, though, and olive oil spread instead of real butter. I also added garlic powder, onion powder, s&p and dried cilantro, brought it to a boil, and then, let it simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes (til all the liquid is cooked out).

The brussel sprouts were just as easy. Trim and cut them in half, length-wise. Cover bottom of large skillet with olive oil and warm it over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the sprouts flat side down. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes, til browned. Deglaze the pan with a splash of vegetable broth, flip the sprouts and sprinkle s&p and a few dashed of garlic and/or onion powder. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Let simmer until the liquid is cooked out. Sprinkle feta on top (if desired) and toss. Such an easy, but impressive meal! :) If you don't like brussel sprouts, try them this way. They get a great "nutty" flavor from the olive oil. They are my 2nd favorite green veggie now!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Chicken, chicken, and more chicken is what we've had for supper this week. I needed some beef, but I wasn't feelin' a regular burger or meatloaf, etc. So, I searched my Pinterest boards and found a recipe for Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes. I followed the general idea of the recipe but added my own touches, too. The result was our new favorite ground beef meal!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
Beef broth
A-1 Steak Sauce (small bottle)
About 5 or 6 dashes of Steak seasoning (optional - I used Penzey's Chicago Steak)
Salt and Black pepper to taste
2 wheat buns or sub rolls (or white - any bun or roll you like is fine)
2 slices of provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

2. Place onions and peppers in skillet and cook til they begin to brown a little bit and get soft.

3. Add ground beef to skillet and brown it. Drain grease very well, wipe out skillet and return meat mixture to skillet. (You may want to set out your cheese at this point, so it's not too cold when you are placing it on the sandwich. It will melt more easily.)

4. Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper and steak seasoning; stir to distribute evenly. (Use s&p lightly if steak seasoning contains both.)

5. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of beef broth and 1/2 bottle of A-1, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the liquid is gone.

6. Toast both sides of the buns or rolls. I turned the broiler to low and placed the baking sheet on the top rack. It took less than 5 minutes.

7. Pile meat onto the bottom bun and place cheese on top of it. (The cheese will form to the meat to help keep it in place.) Put top bun on the sandwich and push down a bit, so it sort of adheres to the cheese. Ryan put his cheese on the bottom before adding the meat, but I think the cheese on top of the meat worked out better. Test it out and see what works for you. Also, if you want a more saucy sloppy joe, before you add the cheese, pour A-1 over the meat.

Serve!

The fries are oven baked. Cut one large russet potato into strips after peeling, and soak them in a bowl of salted water for about 30 minutes. Drain the bowl and place the potatoes on a towel to dry them. You'll want to soak up as much water from them as you can if you want them cripy. Toss potatos in olive oil to lightly coat. Place them on a baking sheet treated w/ non-stick spray, and sprinkle with salt. Bake in upper third section of oven at 425. Turn after 15 minutes. After another 15 minutes, take them out and sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other herbs you like. (I used rosemary and thyme, as well as s&p.) Return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Add more salt if needed and serve.

The asparagus was roasted. First, trim the woody ends, and, then, toss lightly in olive oil. Place them in a glass baking dish and sprinkle with any seasoning combination you like. I used black pepper and Penzey's Trinidad seasoning. (Trinidad is a lemon-garlic seasoning.) Roast at 425 for about 15-20 minutes.

Easy Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

I don't like to make a rue. For anything. Ever. So, I developed this easy recipe for a broccoli and chicken casserole.

INGREDIENTS:
6 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 4 large
1 large crown of fresh broccoli (makes close to 2 cups when cooked)
1 can Cream of Chicken or Cream of Broccoli (98% fat free/lower sodium)
2% milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tsp ground sage (approximately)
1/2 tbsp each of garlic powder and thyme (approximately)
Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil chicken in large pot of salted water til done and remove from heat and pot

2. Cut broccoli into florets and blanch or steam until it starts getting soft, and then remove from heat and drain

3. Put soup into a saucepan with a can of milk (as can's directions show)

4. After soup and milk combine and are warm, add all spices except salt, and then, gradually stir in the cheddar til melted

5. Once chicken and broccoli cool, chop them both and place in a mixing bowl - add a small amount of salt, maybe a tsp or two

6. Pour soup in the mixing bowl and stir to combine all ingredients

7. Pour broccoli-chicken-soup mixture into a baking dish

8. Sprinkle Panko crumbs evenly over the top

9. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes at 425 & let it set and cool for about 10 minutes before eating

10. Serve alone or with rice or pasta

Ryan ate the casserole with orzo pasta, but I was happy to just enjoy the cheesy deliciousness by itself.

Leftover Love

On Easter, Ryan made macaroni and cheese for lunch at his grandparents. He had some cheese sauce leftover, which we saved because I just knew I could come up with a way to recycle it. This is the story of that leftover cheese sauce...

First, I picked up some all natural, hormone and antibiotic free chicken breasts at the Choppin' Block, and when I arrived at home, I set out the sauce so it could come to room temp.

Next, I got out a jar of marinated quartered artichokes and a can of mild diced tomatoes and green chiles. I sliced about half of the artichokes, added them to the sauce, drained the tomatoes and chiles, and added them, too. It was finished off with black pepper and cilantro and stirred.

I placed the chicken on a broiler pan and spooned the cheese sauce mixture over each one.

They baked at 350 for about 25 minutes, and then they were ready-to-eat deliciousness.

I served them with sweet yellow corn and lima beans. (Ryan called them butter beans - cooked in milk and butter. I don't know anything about cookin' beans!)

So, the lesson here is be creative and use what you've got on hand to make an easy and yummy dinner!

For the cheese sauce:

I know Ryan made a rue with milk, butter and flour, but I don't know the amounts. I do know that when either of us make a rue, it is just done by "feel." (Here is a link to make a rue from Allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cheese-sauce-made-easy/)

To the rue, he added Philadelphia Cooking Creme Italian Cheese & Herb. He let that melt and combine. Once it was combined, he added black pepper and it was taken off the heat to cool down to room temperature. Then it was combined with the rotini pasta and shredded cheddar cheese to make the macaroni.

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Peruvian Eggs

Eggs are one of my favorite foods! Unfortunately, I don't have time for them every day, but you can bet that on Saturdays and Sundays I'm eating eggs!

Ryan got a new cookbook for Christmas and found an egg recipe in it that he tried for breakfast last Sunday. It's different from a traditional breakfast, but it was fantastic!

INGREDIENTS:
6 Large eggs
1/8 Cup grated Parmesan
1/8 Cup 2% milk
1.5 Tbsp crushed saltine crackers (or whatever you have available)
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Dash of Tabasco
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Cup light tomato sauce
For the tomato sauce, saute 1/2 onion (sliced into strips) in butter (about 1/2 to 3/4 Tbsp) until almost clear. Add minced garlic - 1 or 2 cloves - a cook for a minute or two. Then, add 1 Cup of canned tomato sauce and about 1/2 tsp of oregano. Let it simmer lightly while you work on the eggs.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk eggs lightly in a medium bowl
2. Add cheese, milk, crackers, basil, salt, pepper and Tabasco - mix well
3. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over med heat
4. Spoon 2 tbsp of the egg mixture into the skillet, spread to about 1/4 inch thickness and cook until lightly browned on one side

5. Flip and brown on other side
6. Place the cooked egg onto a plate
7. Continue the process with the egg mixture and stack them on a small plate

8. Cut cooked eggs into 1/2 inch thick strips

9. Add the eggs to the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer

10. Toss the eggs in the sauce and let it simmer for about 2 minutes
11. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley (you can also add more grated cheese)

I loved how tasty this dish was, as well as getting some egg-variety. It was sort of like pasta, too, but without the carbs. Bonus! We'll definitely be having these again.