Roasted Broccoli with Bacon

Last night when making dinner, I found myself staring down a head of broccoli, saying “I think I’d rather eat the bag you are in, then eat you steamed again.”*  We’ve been doing a lot of steamed broccoli as sides lately, mainly because on a typical day it’s one of my favorite foods and it’s healthy. I had this lonely, smallish head of broccoli that I needed to use…so I had the random brainchild “why not add bacon?”

I like other roasted cruciferous veggies (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower,  kohlrabi, etc)…but since I typically love steamed broccoli, I’d never tried roasting it.

The verdict?-Yum.  Plus you can’t go wrong when adding bacon, right? (well…except maybe as far as your arteries are concerned…but I digress). This was quick, easy, & was a perfect way to perk up some broccoli that I would have rather thrown out than eaten steamed last night. The recipe below is based off of 1 head of broccoli and is meant to serve 2. Multiply to your needs. I used thin “freezer bacon” (similar to the Oscar Meyer precooked bacon)…if using thicker bacon you probably want to render/precook that mostly in a skillet so that the bacon will be crispy by the time the broccoli is done.

Roasted Broccoli with Bacon

Prep time- 5 min, cook time- 15-25 min, Serves 2

Ingredients

Bad picture of the ingredient lineup...

• 1 head of broccoli, rinsed, drained, and cut into large florets
• 2-3 strips thin bacon, cut into thin strips
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• dash of lemon juice [optional]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (this dish can be cooked anywhere from 350-425 degrees if you are cooking something else that needs a specific temperature, just adjust your cooking times lower if going hotter than this)

2. Add 1 T. olive oil to a baking dish, add the garlic and heat in the oven for 5 min.

3. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Layer in the broccoli & bacon & stir together. Sprinkle salt & pepper over it. Sprinkle with additional oil if desired.

4. Return baking dish to oven & bake for 10 minutes. Stirring once.

5. Remove the baking dish from the oven. [Optional] Add a few dashes of lemon juice (lightly) over the top of the broccoli.  Stir again and return to the oven.  Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until broccoli is to desired doneness.  A fork should be able to easily pierce the stem-end of a large floret.

6. Serve and enjoy!

I served this with baked chicken breasts
that had been brined in an apple cider brine,
& classic Stovetop Stuffing (quick & easy dinner)

*Yes—I occasionally talk to food when I make it, this particularly applies to whole poultry [hides head in shame]

Garden Saute--fresh from our garden

Our garden is beginning to kick out a lot of produce...and I'm really excited by that!  Not only do super fresh veggies taste better, they help to save a ton of money off of my grocery bill.  It's looking like we are going to have a bumper crop of squash, zucchini & green beans.  I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of flash-freezing of veggies in the next few weeks.

This was tonight's harvest. Nothing like something being on the vine & then in my skillet 5 minutes later...

Fresh picked goodness

This is a recipe I came up with a few years ago when I was getting squash for super cheap at Meijer.  Now that we have our own squash source, it will be on the menu frequently this summer.  I make this both with & without mushrooms...depending on what I have in my fridge.This recipe is gluten free & can be vegetarian if you omit the parmesan cheese.


Garden Saute
Prep time= 5 min, Cook time= 8-10 minutes, Serves 4-6


Ingredients

Ingredient lineup...minus the basil

• 2 T. olive oil (can reduce to 1 T.)
• 1-3 small summer squash
• 1-3 small zucchini squash
• 1 cup green beans
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion
• Handful of button or baby bella mushrooms, halved [optional]
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 1 t. oregano, dried
• 1/2 t. ground white pepper
• 3-4 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced (approximately 2 t.)
• 2 T. shredded parmesan [optional]
• salt [optional]

Directions

1.  Rinse & coarsely chop the squash, zucchini, & onion.

I like to cut the zucchini in half & then slice it...it doesn't
roll around on the plate that way...

Slice the onion into large wedges

2.  Preheat olive oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet.

3.  Add the garlic & onions, and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Onion & garlic cooking in the wok...

4. Add the squash, zucchini, green beans & mushrooms.  Top with the red wine vinegar, oregano, white pepper, & basil.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes, or until vegetables reach desired doneness.

Cook & stir...

until tender & it starts to caramelize...

5.  Move vegetables to a serving dish & sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with salt if desired.  Serve & enjoy.

Delicious

I served the garden saute with pan seared
garlic rosemary beef tenderloin tips.

Sauteed Asparagus and Blender Hollandaise Sauce

I love asparagus.  I can't wait until we can get our own asparagus bed started so we can grow our own (on the charts for a future lawn project).  While Hollandaise isn't a healthy sauce to pair with asparagus...they do taste fabulous together.

This version of Hollandaise is Quick & Easy.  Using a small food processor or a blender, this sauce comes together in 5 minutes.  I never make Hollandaise from the packets anymore, because it tastes lame next to this version, is highly processed & is more expensive per serving.


Quick, Embarrassing Confession-- Up until 2 years ago, I didn't realize that those little holes on the lids of blenders were for streaming ingredients into the blender while it is working.  Is that weird? For some reason I always thought they were vents for the stuff you were blending.  So in case you are in the same boat as I was--you can stream stuff into the blender from those little holes in the lid (available on most blenders). "Now you know."

If you are worried about the eggs in this recipe (particularly if you are pregnant, have immune system issues, or young children), you can move this sauce to a double boiler to heat to a higher temperature.  Just watch it carefully to watch for sticking, scalding, or lumps forming. You could also microwave it for 5-10 seconds at a time, stirring between "nukes" until desired temperature (just watch out for lumps forming).

Sauteed Asparagus
Prep time 5 min, Cook time 5-8 min, Serves 2-3


Ingredients

Sauteed Asparagus Ingredient Lineup

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, rinsed & ends trimmed
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
• ground pepper, to taste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 dash of lemon juice

Directions

1.  Preheat oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet.  Add asparagus to the oil & toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Tongs work great for tossing the asparagus around the pan

2. Saute for 2-3 minutes, turning asparagus frequently, drizzle with lemon juice, & then saute until desired tenderness.

3. Remove from pan, serve.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Modified from a recipe found at Allrecipes.com. Makes 3/4-1 cups Hollandaise

Ingredients

I use my Cuisinart mini prep...perfect for this task

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 dash hot sauce (I use Louisiana)
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup butter

Directions

1.  In a blender or food processor, pulse the egg yolks, hot sauce & lemon juice until well blended.

Ingredients in the processor, ready to rumble

What the blended egg yolks, lemon juice &
hot sauce looks like...

2.  Using a glass measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave until boiling hot. Stream the butter into the blender/food processor.  Sauce will thicken & look lemony in color.

Stream butter in while blending...

Stream hot butter in while blending...

3.  Serve immediately, or move to a double broiler to hold warm until serving.  

Delicious.

Pineapple Fried Rice

I love rice. White rice, brown rice, wild rice, black rice…I would have a rice problem if I let myself.  I can see the episode of Intervention now…

This is one of my favorite rice dishes…It combines sweet & spicy, and it makes incredibly delicious leftovers for lunch.  I never let myself make more than 4 cups at a time (unless feeding a crowd), because I’m pretty sure I would eat this, and nothing else but this for a full week.  

For this recipe you need to use cold, leftover long grain white rice (none of that parboiled Minute/instant rice junk).  It needs to be cold, otherwise you will end up with a starchy, gloopy, sticky mess. Normally I would make a 5-6 cup batch of plain white rice on a Sunday evening (Basmati or Jasmine rice) & serve it with Sunday night dinner.  Then I would use 2 cups of that rice for this recipe, and then use the remaining rice for another recipe, or to use as breakfast for the week (leftover rice, warmed up & treated like oatmeal is delicious).

However…sometimes I do dumb, ditzy things.  Like plan this dish as a side dish for dinner, tell my husband I’m making it (who also loves this recipe), and dream all day about the homemade fried rice I’m going to devour for dinner & at lunch the next day…only to realize at 2:00pm while sitting at my desk...”I didn’t make rice.”

Ugh.

Then I remembered something that I saw at the grocery store.  Confession--I laughed when I originally saw it.  Uncle Ben’s now makes warm & serve packets of different varieties of long-grain rice under their product line "Ready Rice."  You know…those things you put in the microwave, pray that the plastic they are cooking in isn’t toxic, warm & dish up?  I remember laughing when seeing those for the first time.  The seasoned rice blends I could kind of understand…especially for those that don’t cook.  But plain basmati or jasmine rice?...who wouldn’t just make their own?

Apparently…these are specially designed for the ditzy-cook-who-has-her-heart-set-on-pineapple-fried-rice-but-forgets-to-make-the-darned-ricecorner of the market.  I’m guessing there are others like me out there.

What is incredibly handy—this recipe calls for approximately 2 cups of rice…and that is approximately how much is in one of the packets of Uncle Ben’s instant rice.  Glorious. I just dumped it straight out of the packet into the pan (no microwaving). 

While it’s not an economical way to dish up dinner compared to cooking the rice from scratch…it saved our dinner last week.  The taste/texture of the rice was ok—but was not as good as precisely cooked basmati in this recipe, but it satisfied the pineapple fried rice craving.

Ok…enough rambling…on to the recipe.  I served this last week with Hawaiian Ribs & sautéed green beans.  Normally when I make this I do not add chopped vegetables to the rice, because I’m normally serving it with vegetables (plus…I hate peas).

My favorite leftovers...

Pineapple Fried Rice

Modified from recipe #28005 on food.com, Cook time: 10 minutes, 4- ½ cup servings

Ingredients

Ingredient lineup...with the dinner-saving rice

• 1.5 t. olive oil
• 2 t. garlic, finely minced
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups leftover white rice (long-grain, not Minute rice)
• 1-2 green onions, green & white sections, chopped
• 2 t. soy sauce, your choice (gluten free, low sodium, etc)
• 1 t. kosher salt (optional)
• ¾ t. ground white pepper*
• 6 T. pineapple, chopped or tidbits
• chopped vegetables- i.e peas or carrots (optional)
• 3 T. cashews, chopped (optional)

1.  Preheat oil in the bottom of a wok or large skillet.  Add garlic & sauté until it starts to brown.  Add chopped vegetables (optional).  

2.  Put rice into the pan, fold together with oil & garlic.  Add the soy sauce, salt, white pepper & pineapple.  Stir until well mixed. 

3.  Scoot rice over to one side of the pan.  Crack the 2 eggs side-by-side on the empty spot of the pan.  Using a rubber spatula, scramble the eggs until mostly cooked, breaking up any large chunks.  Stir eggs into the rice.  (If you stir the eggs into the rice uncooked…you will end up with a gloopy mess.  If a little rice gets into your eggs while you are scrambling them…that’s not a problem at all).

Crack eggs into the pan

Scramble the eggs.  Don't blend them into the rice yet.

Now it's ready to blend together...

4.  Fold in green onions & cashews…and serve.  

Love it.

*A note on white pepper- (1) You want to use white pepper not black pepper.  It is the “heat” element in this dish.  Black pepper will not taste remotely the same.  (2)If halving the recipe, use ½ teaspoon of white pepper.  If making 3 cups of rice, use 1 t. ground white pepper. 4 cups of rice=1.25 t. white pepper…etc.  White pepper is one of those ingredients that you do not want to truly double.  The heat from the pepper doesn’t double…it quadruples.  Along those lines…if you are cooking for a family that doesn’t like spicy foods—in the recipe above use ½ t. ground white pepper instead of ¾ t.  

Spice Cabinet Roasted Red Potatoes

I love making roasted potatoes.  They are low-maintenance, cheap, & reheat well for leftovers.  I always chuckle when I see people buying the frozen roasted potatoes at the grocery store.  They are about 5-10x's the cost of what it is to make them from scratch, and tend to be loaded with TONS of extra salt/preservatives. This is a super easy & economical side dish, especially since gorgeous baby red potatoes were on sale for $0.88/pound this week.  Normally I like to use fresh garlic & herbs when I make roasted potatoes...but sometimes there's not time to do all of the mincing, or I don't want to pay the prices for herbs at the grocery.  This is my recipe "Spice Cabinet Roasted Red Potatoes." This recipe is flexible for the time/temperature it cooks at, so it cooks easily beside other dishes in the oven.  Tonight I cooked this next to baked jerk chicken.  I use a cast iron skillet for this recipe but you could also use a glass baking pan or casserole dish.

Spice Cabinet Roasted Red Potatoes

Spice Cabinet Roasted Red Potatoes
Serves 2-5, Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 45-60 minutes


Ingredients

Ingredient Lineup

• 1-2 pounds red potatoes
• 1 pat of butter [optional]
• 1/4 t. kosher salt [optional]
• 1/2 t. ground rosemary (whole needles work too--but crush them)
• 1/2 t. ground black pepper
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/4 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. thyme leaves
• 2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

1.  Heat oven to 350 (or use whatever oven temperature between 300-450 degrees that is convenient to whatever else you are cooking.) Put the cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up.  

2.  Assemble all of the spices into a small container.  Add the olive oil to the spices & stir.  Set aside. 

Spice Palette 

Blended spices

Spice & Olive Oil Mixture

3.  Wash & dry potatoes.  Cut into quarters (or eighths if you are using large potatoes)

4.  Carefully remove the skillet from the oven.  Add a small pat of butter to the pan & coat all surfaces of the skillet [optional].  Put the potatoes into the skillet.  Drizzle the olive oil/spice mixture over the potatoes.  Stirring until potatoes are well coated with the oil & spice mixture.  Discard any of the extra spice mixture.

Potatoes evenly coated in the oil-spice mixture

5. Put potatoes in the oven.  Cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes until the potatoes are done & browned.  If you want crispier potatoes, broil the potatoes in the skillet for 5 minutes before serving.

Picture of the potatoes 30 minutes into roasting

Finished crispy, delicious potatoes

Spice Cabinet Roasted Red Potatoes,
Steamed Broccoli & Baked Jerk Chicken

Garlic-Soy Green Beans

This is a simple, versatile side dish that cooks quickly & is easy to make in bulk for dinners & gatherings. This dish can also be gluten free if you use gluten free soy sauce. Let the green beans get some pan marks while they are cooking. Tonight I served these as a side dish with Citrus Glazed Pork Belly.

Garlic-Soy Green Beans and Citrus Glazed Pork Belly

Garlic-Soy Green Beans
Serves 2-3, Cooking time- 10-15 minutes


Ingredients

Ingredient Lineup (minus the white pepper)

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 t. sesame oil (can use up to 2 t.)
• 1 bag of whole, frozen green beans (or fresh equivalent-- around 2-3 cups)
• 0.5 t. ground garlic (or substitute 1-2 cloves of minced fresh garlic)
• 1/4 t. ground ginger
• 1/4 t. ground white pepper
• 2 t. soy sauce
• [optional] Sliced almonds

Directions

1.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over Medium-High heat.  When oil is hot, add the sesame oil.

2.  Add the frozen green beans to the pan.  Sprinkle the garlic, ginger & white pepper over the beans.  Toss green beans around in the oil & spice until evenly coated.

Beans & Spices

3.  When green beans are almost cooked thoroughly, toss in the soy sauce.  Continue cooking until liquid is reduced.  Pour green beans into serving dish & toss with sliced almonds. 

Colorful Asian Slaw

I have a new favorite coleslaw recipe.  I tried this recipe out tonight & it will definitely be prepared for a family reunion or picnic this summer. The dressing from this recipe would also be great for a dipping sauce for crispy tofu, & potentially as a sauce for chicken satay.  I paired this with Korean style BBQ short ribs & they went fabulously together.  I'm looking forward to making another batch of this for lunch tomorrow.

Asian Slaw (modified from a user submission on allrecipes.com)
Serves 3-5

Ingredient Lineup

Ingredients

• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2.25 t. creamy peanut butter
• 1.5 t. soy sauce
• 1.5 t. brown sugar
• 1 t. fresh ginger, minced finely
• 0.75 t. garlic, minced finely
• 1/2 bag Dole classic coleslaw mix (use approx 7oz of 14oz bag, or substitute around 3.5 cups of chopped green cabbage & julienned carrots)
• 1/4 head red cabbage
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

1.  In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger & garlic.  Set the bowl aside & let the flavors develop. (Note: microwaving the peanut butter for 20-30 seconds makes it easier to whisk into the other ingredients)

Delicious.

2.  Rinse the red cabbage, green onion, & cilantro.  Finely slice the cabbage.  Chop the green onion & salad. Layer the coleslaw mix, red cabbage, green onion & cilantro into a large serving bowl.  Toss together.

Love the colors.

Slaw mixed up & chilling until dinner.

3.  A few minutes before mealtime, pour the coleslaw dressing over the slaw.  Toss until evenly coated.  Serve.

Slaw with dressing.

Asian Slaw with Korean BBQ Short Ribs

Note-- You can also add additional julienned carrots or julienned red peppers for additional color if desired.  Also--depending on the soy sauce & rice wine vinegar you use, this can be a gluten-free recipe.

Couscous Ca-Choo! (Golden herb couscous)

Traditional couscous is something we always have in our pantry.  It is the most frequent type of pasta that we cook (we’re not big wheat noodle fans) & is incredibly versatile for meal planning.  Plus, it cooks quickly…yay!  

Golden Herb Couscous, Moroccan Inspired Baked Chicken,
& Steamed Brussels Sprouts

The following recipe is a staple in my cooking arsenal. It’s a quick, flavorful side dish that pairs well with poultry.  Although I cook it regularly, I’ve always cooked it by “feel & taste” instead of “measurements” for the spices, so coming up with the approximate measuring amounts for a “palm-full” has been a fun challenge for me.  But this does mean that if you are lacking an ingredient listed, it gives you more room to play & improvise with the recipe.  Typically we buy the Rice Select brand couscous because it’s available at all of the groceries here, but whatever brand of plain, small-grain couscous prefer will work for this dish.  This recipe gets its beautiful yellow coloring from the turmeric.  I suggest serving this with Moroccan Inspired Baked Chicken and steamed vegetables.

Golden herb couscous (original “I experimented in the spice cabinet” recipe):

Serves 3-5. 

The Ingredient Lineup

Ingredients

• 1- 12oz can of low sodium chicken broth or stock (or vegetable broth for non-meat eaters)
• 1 chicken bullion cube or equivalent in chicken stock paste [optional—if you add this, you should not need extra salt]
• 1 T lemon juice
• 2 t. dried basil
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 3/4 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 t. ground turmeric
• 1/4 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. ground black pepper
• 1 cup dried couscous
• 1-4 T water, as needed
• Salt, to taste
• Powdered sumac for garnish [optional]*

 Directions

1.  In a medium microwavable mixing bowl, add the chicken broth, bullion, lemon juice & spices, excluding the salt & sumac.  Stir.  Microwave the mixture for 2-3 minutes until boiling (dependant on individual microwave strength).  Let mixture sit & develop flavor until 10 minutes before meal time (I normally let it have a party on the counter for about 20 minutes before finishing the dish).

Dry ingredients (minus couscous)

2.  10 minutes before serving the meal, return the mixing bowl back to microwave.  Heat until boiling.  Carefully remove bowl from microwave & stir in the dried couscous.  Cover the bowl & let it sit on your counter for 4-5 minutes.

3.  Remove the cover from the bowl & fluff couscous with a fork.  Taste a small sample of the couscous and check for 1) To make sure the couscous is soft, yet still a little firm [but not chewy] & 2) To make sure the salt level is ok.  If your couscous feels chewy, stir in 1-3 Tablespoons of water & return to the microwave for 30 second to 1 minute.  Let couscous sit one minute, fluff with fork, & recheck.

4.  Move finished couscous to a serving bowl.  Sprinkle the top with ground sumac, and serve.

Golden Herb Couscous

*A note on powdered sumac- First of all, this spice is not made from poison sumac, so set that worry aside.  I love garnishing with powdered sumac & I especially love adding it to couscous dishes & hummus.  It is a beautiful purplish color when plated and has a tart, tangy flavor similar to lemon, yet slightly flowery.