Cheesy Mushroom and Broccoli Casserole

We eat alot of variations of potatoes at my house - and don't get me wrong - potatoes are awesome, but sometimes I get tired of them.  So I'm always on the lookout for something creative and different to try as a side dish.  This is a dish that combines carbs and veggies into one which makes my life a little easier.  And it is oohhhhh sooooo goooood!  It is also easy to make and doesn't contain canned condensed soup, which ups its stock a few points in my book.  It would also be great with ham or chicken added to make a one-dish meal.  Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:  butter, flour, mushrooms, onions, garlic, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, heavy cream, chicken stock, frozen broccoli, shredded cheddar cheese and instant rice.

Start by preparing the rice according to package directions and thawing the broccoli.  Drain the broccoli and pat dry.  Sorry, no picture : /

Butter a casserole dish.

Melt some butter in a saucepan and add the flour.

Let it bubble for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.

Until it becomes a roux.  It should be a deep golden color and have the rich, wonderful smell of browned butter.

Meanwhile, chop up some onion and mince some garlic.

Add it to the pot along with the mushrooms.  Season with garlic powder and cayenne pepper.  The double garlic makes it extra flavorful and scrumptious!

Mix in the cream and chicken stock.  Let it cook for a minute or so to thicken the sauce.

Then toss in the broccoli, half of the cheese and the rice.

Mix it all together, season with salt and pepper to taste and turn it out into the casserole dish.  It should be thick, creamy, fragrant and luxurious.  Resist the urge to immediately cram heaping spoonfuls into your mouth.

Top it with the remaining cheese.

And bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.  It will be bubbly, melty, AMAZING.

Serve it alongside a big juicy butterflied pork chop your husband has grilled to a perfect medium well and dig in!  It is creamy, cheesy, comforting, and out of this world!!

Link to the printable recipe:

Cheesy Mushroom and Broccoli Casserole

Source:  Sunny Anderson

Pad Thai

I can't get enough of Asian noodle dishes.  Unfortunately, we have no Thai or Vietnamese restaurants in my small town, so I've had to learn how to make Pad Thai and Pho for myself (Pho recipe coming soon).  It also doesn't help that my husband won't eat anything that originated east of Europe.  So on the occasional night when I tell him he's on his own for dinner (which usually results in him eating a few handfuls of peanuts) I will indulge in one of my favorite Asian recipes, like this one.

Ingredients:  rice noodles, brown sugar, white vinegar, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, red pepper, dried shrimp (yes, you can find this at Wal-mart...see details below), canola oil, shallot, garlic, shrimp, scallions, peanuts, lime and cilantro.

*Note:  Traditional Pad Thai has more vegetables in it.  I like to keep it simple and so I leave them out.  However I have written the recipe as is at the bottom of this post for those of you like the fresh veggies.

Believe it or not, you can actually buy dried shrimp at your local small town Wal-mart.  It is in the Latin foods section with all of the Mexican spices (which by the way - if you have never browsed the Mexican spice section, you are seriously missing out!).

Soak the noodles in warm water for about 20 minutes or so, until they are soft.

Drain them and set aside.

To make the sauce, combine water, brown sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey and red pepper in a sauce pan.

Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until it has reduced and thickened to an almost syrupy consistency.

Remove it from the heat and add the dried shrimp.  Let that cool and thicken even more.

Meanwhile, rub some shrimp with canola oil and season with salt and pepper.

Toss them into a hot skillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side.

Until they are orange and opaque.  Set them aside.

Mince some garlic and shallots.

And stir fry them for a couple of minutes.



Then add the sauce to the skillet and once it begins to bubble add the noodles.

Toss it all together and add the shrimp and some scallions.

Plate it up with some chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, hot chile sauce, more scallions and lime.

It's not quite the same as getting it at a real Thai restaurant, but it is a delicious substitute!  Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get your Asian food fix when you're livin in the boonies ;)

Copy and paste this into Word for a printable recipe:

Pad Thai

serves 4-6

8 oz. dried rice noodles

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

3 tbsp. white vinegar

3 tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tbsp. honey

pinch of dried red chile pepper

4 oz. string beans, thinly sliced

4 oz. sugar snap peas, halved

2 tbsp. canola oil

2 shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 c. fresh bean sprouts

3 scallions, sliced

chopped dry roasted peanuts

lime

fresh cilantro

Soak the noodles in a large bowl of warm water for 20 minutes, or until softened; drain well.  Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey and red pepper in a small saucepan.  Simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; add the dried shrimp.  Set aside.

Cover and bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the string beans and cook for 1 1/2 minutes.  Add the sugar snap peas and continue cooking for 30 seconds.  Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes.  Stir in the sugar mixture and reduce heat to the lowest possible setting.

In another large nonstick skillet, cook the shrimp over medium-high heat, 2-3 minutes per side.  Meanwhile, add the noddles, a quarter of the bean sprouts and half the scallions to the hot shallot mixture.  Raise the heat to high and boil, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Add the shrimp, string beans, and sugar snap peas, and stir for 1 minute more.  Garnish with peanuts, remaining scallions, lime quarters, cilantro and bean sprouts.

Source:  Martha Stewart

Croque Monsieur

It is a dream of mine to take french cooking classes in Paris someday.  Maybe it will happen...maybe not.  But until then I will continue to satisfy my culinary curiosity with DVR'd reruns of Barefoot Contessa.

Croque Monsieur is basically just a french version of the grilled ham and cheese sandwich.  Except it is waaaaaaaayy more impressive and about 20 times yummier!  But it is NOT 20 times harder to make.  Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:  butter, flour, half and half, Gruyere cheese (if you can't find Gruyere, white cheddar or even sharp yellow cheddar would be good substitutes), Parmesan cheese, white bread, Dijon mustard and ham.

Grate some Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses.

Melt some butter in a sauce pan.

Add some flour.

And let that cook, stirring for a few minutes until it is golden.

Meanwhile, heat some half and half in the microwave for about 2 minutes or so (don't let it boil).

Then whisk it into the butter/flour mixture.

Cook it over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens into a sauce-like consistency.  Then add the Parmesan cheese and a little of the Gruyere cheese.

Whisk that for about a minute or so until the cheese melts into the sauce.  Then season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.

Give it one final whisk then remove it from the heat and set aside.

Cut the crusts off some white bread and place it in the oven on a sheet pan.

Let it toast for about 5 minutes or so until it's just browned.

Spread one side of each toast with Dijon mustard.

Then pile one side with ham.

And half of the remaining Gruyere cheese.

Top the sandwich with the other piece of toast.

And slather the top with the cheese sauce.

Then pile the remaining Gruyere cheese on top and bake for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese and heat it through.  Turn the broiler to high and broil for another 5 minutes until the cheese on top bubbles and starts to brown.

HALLELUJAH!  This is not your mother's grilled cheese!  That is unless your mother is French...

MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  MM mmm MM mm MMMMM!!

Link to the printable recipe:

Croque Monsieur

Source:  Barefoot Contessa