Creamy Rosemary Chicken and Broccoli Bake

All TV shows, commercials and movies portray this idea that kids do not like broccoli. So how is it that my child, who is one of the pickiest eaters I know, loves broccoli? By the way, just because she is picky doesn't mean she gets away with it. I make her try everything! I figure one day she'll thank me.

On the broccoli note, Braelyn loves a good old chicken and broccoli casserole. Here's my beef with the traditional chicken and broccoli casserole recipes: mayonnaise and condensed soup mixed together. Hmmm...doesn't sound too fresh to me. Although, don't get me wrong, it tastes great. I just prefer my cooking to come more from me than a factory where preservatives are packed in to give it the longest shelf life possible. Sorry, soapbox there. So, I make adaptations where I can. Plus, by omitting the condensed soup, I have now made Braelyn's favorite meal gluten free. Viola!

 

I also decided to forego the mayonnaise and it yielded a "much better version" according to Ben. You get a thicker topping by adding mayonnaise which Ben doesn't quite prefer. Who wants a glob of cream in their mouth anyway? Without the mayonnaise, the topping is thick enough to stay on top of the chicken, but allows some of the sauce to drip down into the broccoli giving the naked layer of veggies more flavor. Yum-O!

 

Creamy Rosemary Chicken and Broccoli Bake

 

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (use my favorite cooking method  for chicken found here)

2 small heads of broccoli, roughly chopped (about 3 heaping cups)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, finely chopped* or 3/4 teaspoon dried

1 cup milk (I used 2%. If using lighter, increase cornstarch to 2 1/2-3 teaspoons)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, or one cube

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 oz. cream cheese (I used fat free because I accidentally bought it. Worked great though!)

2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3 cups cooked brown rice

 

Directions:

1. Begin cooking rice according to package directions. Tip: I always cook my rice in chicken or vegetable broth to give it more flavor. Begin cooking chicken. The flavor is amazing if you cook it the way I prepared it for this Healthified Chicken Alfredo. Otherwise use a shredded rotisserie chicken or boil the breasts for 12 minutes. (If you choose boiling, salt and pepper the chicken after shredding to add more taste.)

 

2. Prepare ingredients by mincing garlic and rosemary. *Rosemary leaves should equal 1 tablespoon before chopping. After chopping it should yield about 1 1/2 teaspoons. Wash and roughly chop mushrooms. Finely chop onion. Wash and roughly chop broccoli heads.

 

3. Melt butter in medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir frequently during all these additions.

 

4. In a bowl mix cold milk with cornstarch. Stir to dissolve. Add mixture to onion and mushroom mixture. Add rosemary, chicken bouillon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese. Stir until fully melted. Salt and pepper sauce to taste. Remove from heat.

 

5. Place broccoli in a microwave safe container with 4 tablespoons of water. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Drain. Lightly grease an 8 X 8 casserole dish. Distribute broccoli evenly in dish.

 

6. Shred chicken and layer evenly on top of broccoli.

 

7. Pour sauce to cover all chicken. Spread evenly. Bake in oven at 350 degrees uncovered for 25 minutes.

 

8. Remove from oven and layer with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Return to oven for additional 10 minutes. Remove casserole from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff rice before serving.

 

9. Serve each bowl with 1/2 cup of rice and broccoli casserole on top. I like to garnish mine with toasted chopped pecans. Oh, and this tastes almost better the next day! No complaining for leftovers.

 

Serves 6



Lemon Berry Smoothie

I've been a breakfast person ever since I can remember. Usually I'm looking forward to breakfast by about 12:30 am when I am finally going to sleep for the night. Seriously, I dink around so long getting ready for bed that by the time I hit the sack, I'm hungry. Pure laziness overtakes the hunger and I just find myself laying there thinking about what I will eat for breakfast in the morning until I fall asleep. I guess it kinda has the same effect on me as counting sheep.

Needless to say, the first thing I do when I pop out of bed in the morning is grab a cold bowl of cereal and chow down. My baby girl Emry is right there with me. We have the same idea when we wake up: FOOD! Braelyn, on the other hand, gets so distracted by all the exciting things she can do in the day that breakfast is the last thing on her mind. She was up for two hours before she asked for something to eat today. Her tummy was feeling extra yucky today (we can't start her on gluten free until after her endoscopy on Thursday) so I asked her if she would like a smoothie. I never make smoothies. This girl was in heaven!

I felt a little sneaky making this because I slipped an entire cup of fresh spinach in the mix. Braelyn couldn't even tell. She grabbed a jacket, sat on the back porch and drank it like a milkshake. Hehehe!

 

Lemon Berry Smoothie

 

Ingredients:

1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves

1/2-3/4 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt

1/2 small banana

1 cup blueberries

2 cups frozen strawberries (if you don't have frozen, reduce to 1 cup and add 1 cup of ice)

 

Directions:

1. Add ingredients into blender. I made the mistake of putting frozen strawberries on the bottom so it was hard to blend the whole thing. Make sure your frozen ingredients are at the top.

 

 

2. Blend ingredients until fully pureed. You may need to stir with a spoon and pulse mixture occasionally.

 

 

3. Serve immediately and garnish as desired.

 

Makes about 4 servings (8 oz. each)

 







Fudgy Rocky Road Brownies

Chocolate!!! There is not a single person in my family that is not a chocoholic. One of our favorite family stories is when we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Goggins and my mom asked Braelyn, after drinking some hot cocoa, "Do you like warm chocolate?" In the enthusiastic three year old tone that she has she immediately replied, "I like warm chocolate. I like cold chocolate...I like ALL chocolate!!!" But really, who doesn't?!

My mom made these delicious Rocky Road type brownies when we were up there for the holidays. They were divine because, of course, they were full of chocolate. In my true form I couldn't wait to come home and try my own twist on her knock out recipe. Really the only thing I did differently was bake them thicker with more melted chocolate in the batter, added caramel, and drizzled chocolate on top instead of spreading chocolate frosting.

 

Hahaha! Really??? A fork in this picture? As if! You know you are going to just pick these bad boys up and shove the whole thing in your mouth, one chocolately fudgy brownie at a time. Don't lie. In all seriousness, these brownies should come with one warning label: Consumption requires a tall glass of ice cold milk!

 

 

Fudgy Rocky Road Brownies

 

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 bag miniature marshmallows (10 oz.)

1/4 cup caramel topping

1 cup milk chocolate chips for drizzling (can use semi sweet if you prefer)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for metal pan or 325 for glass pan (I prefer glass). Once oven is preheated spread pecans on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 minutes, stir and toast for 3 minutes more. Remove from oven and set aside. Grease a 9 X 13 glass cake pan and set aside.

2. In a microwave safe dish, microwave butter until melted. Pour in 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips into the warm melted butter and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.

 

 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs together. Add sugar and whisk until incorporated.

 

 

4. In another smaller bowl combine flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix together.

 

 

5. Pour melted butter and chocolate into egg mixture and stir until combined. (Easy job for the kiddos. Who needs hired help these days?!) Then pour in flour/cocoa mixture and stir until incorporated.

 

 

 

6. Pour batter into greased 9 X 13 cake pan and smooth batter evenly across pan.

 

 

7. Bake for 38-40 minutes until barely set. Pour marshmallows on top and return to oven for additional 3-5 minutes until marshmallows are barely golden brown and soft.

 

 

8. Let cool for 10 minutes. Drizzle caramel topping on top of marshmallows. Add 3/4 cup of the nuts. In a microwave safe glass dish, microwave chocolate chips for 30 seconds. Stir chocolate. Microwave for additional 15 seconds and stir. (Stir for a while since the warm chocolate will continue to melt and you do not want to overcook the chocolate chips) Continue microwaving in 15 second increments until chocolate is melted. Pour melted chocolate into a Ziploc bag and cut a tiny corner off. Close bag and squeeze chocolate through the slit to make drizzling easier. Drizzle over pecans. Top with remaining pecans.

 

 

9. Let cool an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour until no longer warm and completely set. Cut and serve with lots of milk and napkins!

 

Serves 24

 

 







Healthified Chicken Alfredo

I love Alfredo, but I hardly ever get to eat it. Every time we go to an Italian restaurant and I skim the menu, the Alfredo is so tempting. I can just never bring myself to order it because Alfredo in and of itself is so fattening, and then you add the factor that a restaurant is making it?! That totally drives up the "not so healthy for you" status. Restaurants are known for adding more sodium and fat to their food because heck, it just makes it taste better.

But here's the good news; if you make your own Alfredo sauce you can cater it to your own preferences. My personal preference for Alfredo: light yet creamy with a garlicky undertone. Perfect!

 

This Healthified Chicken Alfredo was so easy to put together and the flavors were delicious. I was able to make this smooth and creamy sauce using about half the butter traditional recipes call for, as well as 2% milk instead of heavy cream or half and half. The result was quite comparable to mainstream Alfredo sauces. A success indeed!

 

 

Healthified Chicken Alfredo*

 

Ingredients:

2 uncooked chicken breasts

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or dried

4 cloves garlic, minced

*10 oz. your choice of whole grain pasta (I used gluten free spaghetti, yay!)

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup chicken broth

2 cups milk (I used 2%), divided

3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

Directions:

1. Trim fat off chicken. Pierce each side of chicken with a sharp knife 8-10 times. Generously salt and pepper each side. Rub rosemary and 1 clove of the minced garlic into both sides of the chicken. Cook chicken in large saucepan or grill. (I have to admit, I still use my George Foreman from when we first got married 10 years ago! Love it though! If using a saucepan, melt 1 additional tablespoon of butter and cook chicken over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through and no longer pink. George Foreman takes 10 minutes.)

 

 

 

2. Set chicken aside (if you cooked in a saucepan, do not clean. It will give additional flavor when you cook your Alfredo in the same saucepan). Prepare salted boiling water for pasta. As you're waiting for the water to boil, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the remaining 3 minced garlic cloves and continue stirring for 1 more minute. Add 3 tablespoons chicken broth and stir until liquid has almost completely evaporated scraping bottom of the pan to deglaze (about 3-4 more minutes).

 

 

3. At this point you should begin cooking your pasta according to package directions. Very important: you want your pasta and sauce to finish at almost the exact same time. You won't want either to sit waiting for the other to be done.

4. To the saucepan add 1 3/4 cup of the milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth. Bring to a light boil. Stir constantly for five minutes.

 

 

5. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup of cold milk. Stir until dissolved. Add to saucepan and stir for one minute until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to low and immediately add grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted into the sauce. If sauce is too thick, add more chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

6. By this point your pasta should be done. Drain pasta and pour hot pasta into saucepan. Add chopped parsley and stir to completely coat pasta.

 



 

 

7. Garnish with sliced chicken, shaved Parmesan, lemons and parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

 

Makes 5 servings.

 









Simply Guac

Avocados...just say the word and I'm there. I may be a bit obsessed with those little so called fruits. Okay, let's be honest, I'm highly obsessed with them! Apples, bananas and avocados are staples in our household. As in, my fridge could be full of food and if I am missing one of these three items I'm declaring, "Babe, I have to go to the store. We have nothing to eat!"

I'm talking about in sandwiches, on top of soup, added as a baked potato bar topping, dressed in a salad, you name it. It's like "Where's Waldo?" in my house except for it's "Where'd Brielle Put the Avocado?" Well there's one appetizer where you won't have to look far to find it and that's guacamole. That's one food where the avocado is the true star, and well deserved it is!

I whip up guacamole at least once a week because it is so easy. Sure you can make it more complex by adding jalapeno, cilantro, tomatoes, etc. But really you only need four main ingredients for a good guac: avocado, sour cream, your favorite salsa and some salt. That's it!

Simply Guac

 

Ingredients:

2 medium sized avocados

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons sour cream (I use light, but any works)

2 tablespoons favorite salsa

1 teaspoon lime juice (okay, maybe five main ingredients!)

 

Optional ingredients:

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno (seeded)

1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

1/2 tomato, diced

 

Directions:

1. Wash and slice avocados in half. Scoop out seeds and remove skin. Place the 4 halves in a medium sized mixing bowl.

2. Add salt, sour cream, salsa and lime juice. Mash all together using a fork, pastry blender or dough blender until no large chunks of avocado remain.

3. Add additional salt to taste.

4. Add optional ingredients for additional flavor or spice.

 

Makes about 1 cup. Serves 6.

 

 

By the way, part of the reason I always have avocados on hand is because I buy them so cheap. I totally take advantage of Walmart price matching and rarely pay more than 25 cents per avocado. If you have any local Hispanic grocery stores around, they usually sell them on average of 20-25 cents per avocado. Can't beat that price!