Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

from melskitchencafe.com

Serves 8-10 as a side dish

2 slices hearty white or wheat sandwich bread, torn into pieces

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons butter, melted; plus two tablespoons chilled

1 garlic clove, minced

2 pounds broccoli (about 3-4 medium heads of broccoli), florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stems chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups long grain white rice

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Pulse bread, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and melted butter in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add garlic. Set aside.

Microwave broccoli florets (save stems for later), covered, in a large bowl until bright green and tender, 2 to 3 minutes (no need to add water). Be careful not to overcook or they will become soggy and discolored. Melt remaining butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion and broccoli stems until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, half-and-half, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in cheddar cheese, cayenne, remaining parmesan and broccoli florets.

Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve.

Add cooked chicken and it becomes a meal!

Mexican Rice

This recipe from melskitchencafe.com.  Sounds yummy, but I will have to change a few things so the whole family might possibly eat it.  Like use less cloves of garlic (like 1 or even just garlic powder)  and maybe substitute parsley for the cilantro.  Also, I usually use brown rice instead of white rice.

*Serves 4-6

1 cup of long grain white rice

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup of tomato paste

1 tablespoon of lime juice, from about 1 lime

1/2 cup of freshly chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons cumin

Salt to taste

In a medium-sized pot, add rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer for 17-20 minutes. Remove from heat and keep the pot covered for 5 more minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions in the hot oil for 10 minutes, until translucent and starting to brown. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato paste and cumin and cook for another minute or two. Mix in hot, cooked rice, lime juice and cilantro. Mix until well combined. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately.

Baked Brown Rice

This sounds interesting.  I'll definitely have to try this method of cooking brown rice!

Baked Brown Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the above ingredients in a 3-quart baking pan or casserole dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for five minutes before removing the aluminum foil and fluffing with a fork.

Variations:
Before baking, slice one small yellow onion into dices or half moons and caramelize and brown in 1 teaspoon of olive oil until golden and soft (about 10 minutes in a nonstick skillet). Stir onion into rice and broth mixture and bake according to recipe.

After removing riced from the oven and letting it sit for five minutes, remove aluminum foil and stir in the zest and juice from 1 lemon, 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 apple, finely diced.

Re-Invented Hawaiian Haystacks

This is from Melskitchencafe.com.  This recipe looks like it could go either way, good or yuck.  I hope its yummy!


*Makes about 4 cups chicken sauce (enough to serve 4-6 for Hawaiian Haystacks)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks (or leftover cooked chicken, cubed)
3 tablespoons butter
½ onion (about ½ cup), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic; finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion and raw chicken (if using leftover cooked chicken, don’t add it to the skillet now, you’ll add it later). Saute the onion and chicken, if using, until the onions are soft and translucent and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and chicken and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for one minute – this helps get rid of the starchy, flour taste. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Add the salt and pepper. If you are using leftover cooked chicken, add it now. Continue simmering, stirring the sauce frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 5-8 minutes.

Serve the chicken sauce over rice with your toppings of choice, such as olives, tomatoes, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, green onions, mandarin oranges and chow mein noodles.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I found this recipe on melskitchencafe.com.  I will be making this tonight.  I hope its a hit....it looks soo yummy!

*Serves 4-6

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve the chicken over rice. 

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients - pour half over the chicken and follow the baking directions in the recipe and pour the other half in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce on the stovetop at medium heat for 8-10 minutes until it simmers and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

UPDATE - I made this and I loved it!  I'm glad I had leftovers for the next couple days!  I wasn't a big fan of using the sauce for dipping....it was definitely very vinegary.  But I felt the chicken was saucy enough for us.  I served it with white rice and broccoli on the side.  Definitely a keeper!

2nd UPDATE - The first time I made it I could it at a higher temperature and for less time.  It was absolute yummy.  The second time I followed the recipe's time and temp.  But they were way too cook and it was not as good as the first.  Maybe that's because I cut my pieces truly bite-size. So I think I will from now on cook it at 350 or 375 for 20-30 minutes (I'm pretty sure that's what I did the first time.)

Mexican Rice & Bean Burritos

This recipe is from allrecipes.com.  Sounds yummy and better than buying those packages from the store that are loaded with sodium and other things.  I hope its yummy and that my kids will eat it.  Okay, I hope I can at least think its yummy.....

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.

Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

*Some recommendations/comments in the reviews section (that's why I love allrecipes!)

-Tried it as written, just with the cumin, and it was not nearly as good as it was when I did it a second time using Taco Seasoning I (from allrecipes.com site). I just sprinkled in what looked like enough, about 1-1/2 tsp.

-Cook onions before browning rice, so onions are more soft and not crunchy (which is very yucky in my opininon!)

-Don't worry about puffing the rice, just brown it.

-Use fresh garlic instead! saute with onions...before adding rice

-Use a rice cooker instead.  Saute the onions, minced garlic and cumin in a skillet, then throw it into the rice cooker along with the 1 c. rice, 1-1/2 c. chicken broth and all the other ingredients, omitting the garlic salt.

-Use sea salt (to taste) instead of garlic salt and added 2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed) - (In my family 1 clove might be enough)

-Didn't have any tomato sauce so I used a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with the juice. I still used the same amount of water and it worked out perfectly

-Omit the salt and just used fresh minced garlic instead and add some green onions along with the regular onions, also use olive oil instead.

-Add 2 TBLS of picante sauce to bring out the mexican flavor a little better and cut that garlic salt by half.

-Omit the tomato sauce and add "Rotel" in its place.

-Use tomato paste mixed with water when don't have any tomato sauce on hand.

-add just a pinch of saffron at the end for another wonderful layer of flavor

Bean Burritos

I was referred to the Mexican Rice from hip2save.com because she puts that rice in her burritos.  The basic recipe for the burritos is cooked black beans, shredded cheese and the rice rolled in a burrito/taco shells.  Then she wraps them up in foil and freezes them.  Then when you want to eat them just take of the foil and pop them into the microwave.  Great for a quick lunch or dinner!