Elementary Chef

My kids LOVE this, and it’s healthy! Remember that roast chicken recipe? Well, use THAT chicken or use a rotisserie chicken for this recipe.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

1/2 Roasted Chicken, cut to bite-size pieces
8 oz. cooked pasta
1 can cream of mushroom (or any “cream of” soup)
1 cup milk
1 or 2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta, per package directions.

Mix pasta with soup and milk.

Pour pasta mixture into large baking dish. Add broccoli and chicken. Toss slightly.

Bake, covered, at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with cheese and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes.

broccoli, chicken, recipes, easy, cooking, family

I have a minor headache this morning. If you have never enjoyed a mimosa, maybe this weekend would be a good time to experiment! Mimosas mix champagne (or sparkling wine) in equal measure with orange juice (or grapefruit juice.) They are mildly deadly. Keep in mind when choosing champagne that brut is dry (and for me, the drier the champagne the worse the headache!) Spumante is very sweet — really too sweet to mix with juice!

Cheers!

I’m sorry to do this to you, but I simply HAVE to report on the most bizarre food news I’ve, well, EVER seen. Peeps (you know, those yellow marshmallow things?) commissioned a survey to determine which celebrities most closely resemble the candy. Here are the results:

If “PEEPS(R) came to life, what male public person or celebrity might it become?”

The male person most resembling PEEPS(R) either in physique, colorful attire, or sweet nature/personality is:
— Will Ferrell won with 22.1% of the votes
— Followed by Johnny Depp, Jamie Foxx, and then Justin Timberlake.

“What female public person or celebrity might PEEPS(R) become?”

American’s again voted for the same three winners as last year:
— #1 - Jessica Simpson. Moving up from #3 to #1 this year
— #2 - Oprah
— #3 - Ellen DeGeneres just behind Oprah by 0.2%
— Followed closely by Rosie O’Donnell

“What male public person or celebrity is most in need of PEEPS(R)?”
— President Bush won for the second time in a row with 25.7% of the vote
— #2 - Donald Trump
— And our #3 winner - Simon Cowell

“What female public person or celebrity is most in need of PEEPS(R)?”
— Britney Spears won with more than 40% of the votes!
— Hillary Clinton was a distant second
— And Paula Abdul rounded out the top 3 females

“Who is cooler, the PEEPS(R) Chick or PEEPS(R) Bunny?”
— The Chick won with 59% of the vote!

There ya have it folks. Since no one mistakes ME for Jessica Simpson, I at least have the comfort of knowing that yellow marshmallow chicks do get mistaken for the blonde (or is it brunette now?) bombshell.

I promised you spice secrets when I posted about roasting a chicken in the crockpot. This is my spice secret: http://www.penzeys.com. We won an assortment of their spices in a dirty Santa exchange a couple of years ago, and I am TOTALLY hooked. For roasted chicken, try, the Bangkok blend… Or Barbecue of the Americas… Or Jerk… It’s all FANTASTIC. I’m only sad that I’ve never gotten to wander through the store. I do see that they have a store about 2 hours south of me… Might have to stop in, next time I’m driving south!

This one was popular this weekend… So, for roast chicken day one… Prepare your crockpot chicken, and add these as a side dish. My kids loved them!

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

1.5 T. olive oil, in spritzer
2 sweet potatoes, sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Spray cookie sheet with olive oil spritzer.
Place sweet potato slices on cookie sheet (as you would to bake cookies.) Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Spritz tops of potatoes lightly with olive oil.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Yields 4 servings.

I am a fan of cheap dinners. I am also a fan of slow cookers. Combine the two, and you have dinner at my house quite frequently. This post is not for the faint-hearted! Roasting a chicken is a bit, ummm, messy.

Lately, the grocery has been running specials on whole fryer chickens. These end up being as cheap as $.29/pound. Now, if your family will only eat white meat, then pay no attention to this post. I will only eat white meat. But my kids love drumsticks, and my husband loves any dark meat, so this works for me.

Instead of buying a rotisserie chicken at $4.99 or $5.99, pick up on of those sale chickens and try this out. First, if you’ve never worked with a whole bird, well, there is some mess. Before you start cooking, you’re going to have to pull out the giblets from the cavity of the bird. Many times, these are in a nice little baggie that you can choose to simply throw away. Often they are not. Note to pet owners, Fido or Fifi will love you for tossing these her way. And no worry about bones — there are no bones in giblets….

Now that you have that bit of messiness taken care of, you have two options. Option one, leave the skin on. This will provide for a fattier bird, but it’s still chicken, and you aren’t frying it! Option two, remove all the skin from the bird. I remove the skin. Grab a knife and peel/pull away all that you can.

Your bird is now ready for cooking! Grab your salt and pepper, and sprinkle both on the inside and outside of the bird. Now grab whatever seasoning mix you’re in the mood for (more on this later this week, but at this point, even just plain oregano or basil will be nice), and sprinkle liberally on the outside of the bird.

Place the bird in your slow cooker and turn on High. Cook the bird at high for 1 hour, then without opening turn down to low. It’s important to keep the seal going (in my opinion), so don’t open the pot at all until done cooking. The chicken will be perfect in 6-8 hours, depending on the size of the bird.

Theme of the week? Recipes for roast chicken…. Tune back in tomorrow!

[tags] roast chicken, cooking, recipes, slow cooker, crockpot [\tags]

I’m back on my home computer (and in my home kitchen!) after a week on the slopes. I have a couple of things I tried to post from Colorado, but my internet access was hit and (mostly) miss! So forgive me if I over-post for a day to two to catch up!

First, I found this product, and I want it! Mainly, because it looks ultra-cool. I’m an absolute coffee addict, and I’m a teacher, which means I drink really lousy coffee at work! Anyone shopping for my birthday?

One of the hottest new travel mugs for coffee lovers, the BRUGO mug, was awarded “First Place-Best New Product” at the Chicago Coffee Fest trade show in January, 2007. The BRUGO mug sets out to solve one of the biggest problems with “to-go” coffee-a fresh cup is far too hot to drink right away, and when the coffee does finally cool to a drinkable temperature, it quickly gets too cold and bitter.

The concept behind the BRUGO mug is the notion that coffee tastes best at the “perfect temperature” of 150 to 170 degrees. Fresh coffee, however, is typically around 205 degrees-perfect for brewing, but too hot to drink. BRUGO uses a patented Temperature Control Chamber to instantly cool coffee, one sip at a time, to what the company calls the “comfortably hot” Perfect Temperature Zone(TM). The remaining coffee stays sealed inside at its original, hotter temperature, in order to maximize the aroma, flavor, and enjoyment for the coffee drinker.

For further details about BRUGO, visit http://www.brugomug.com. For images, visit http://www.brugomug.com/press_news.html.

I have a favorite pasta salad. I’m sure that comes as no surprise, since I have a favorite EVERYTHING. I decided to share this recipe today, since the weather has finally turned happy for tomatoes, it is time to start slicing!

Feta & Tomato Pasta Salad

1 box small pasta shells
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 container (4 oz.) feta cheese
Fresh basil (dried will work)
1 box frozen peas
1-2 T. Olive oil

Boil water. Add pasta to water AFTER it has come to a full boil. When pasta reaches the al dente stage, add peas. Continue boiling for 1-2 minutes. Pour pasta and peas mixture into a collander. In large bowl, mix tomatoes, cheese, basil (I use lots) and olive oil. Add pasta/peas and toss.

feta cheese, pasta, pasta salad, recipes, cooking

I love it when great products release easy recipes! I’m a big fan of the Simply Potatoes line of ready-to-fix potato products. The following recipe is one they’ve released for Easter brunch. I don’t think I’ll wait that long to try it!

Cheesy Hash Brown Pie
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
— 2 cups Simply Potatoes(R) Shredded Hash Browns
— 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
— 1 small zucchini, cut in half crosswise, thinly sliced lengthwise
— 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
— 1 cup (8 ounces) AllWhites(R) Liquid Egg Whites
— 1 cup milk
— 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
— 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar cheese
— 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Wisconsin Asiago cheese

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch glass pie
plate.
Firmly press Simply Potatoes(R) on bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake
for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook Italian sausage in 10-inch skillet until browned. Drain
fat. Layer cooked sausage, zucchini and red pepper over pre-baked
crust. Combine AllWhites(R), milk and mustard in large bowl; mix well.
Pour AllWhites(R) mixture over sausage and vegetables.
3. Return to oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set.
Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is
melted.

hashbrowns, brunch, recipes, cooking

I’m writing to you from spring vacation this week. My family and I are skiing in Colorado, so cooking is understably different this week! My youngest child wanted me to bake muffins while we were skiing, so we grabbed a packet of muffin mix at the grocery out here. Should’ve realized the condo wouldn’t have a muffin pan… SO, we made the mix per the directions (oil, milk, egg, stir), then spread the mixture into a square glass baking dish, and VOILA! A perfect breakfast bread-cake. Small one was pleased, and the rest of the family likes this as a quickie solution. I may try this the next time I need to fix goodies for church… It certainly stretches the muffin mix a lot further!

[tags] breakfast, recipes, cooking, bread [ \tags]

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I searched my recipes for something suitably Irish. While this recipe isn’t exactly Irish, it is green! And good! And worth the slightly more-than-usual prep time. Enjoy!

Sidenote: Since the first half of this recipe is for brownies, you can do a shorthand version and make brownies from a box, THEN add the Irish flair.

IRISH MIST BROWNIES
l/2 C. sweet cream butter (1 stick, unsalted)
2 (1 oz.) sq. unsweetened chocolate
1 C. sugar
3/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 eggs

Filling:
2 C. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. sweet cream butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened (don’t buy it in the tub! buy the brick)
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
5 drops green food coloring
2 drops yellow food coloring
1 oz. sq. unsweetened chocolate, melted

Heat oven to 350. In 2-qt. saucepan combine l/2 c. butter and 2 oz. chocolate. Cook over med. heat, stirring constantly, until melted (4 to 6 min.). Stir in remaining brownie ingredients until well mixed. Spread into greased 9″ sq. pan. Bake for 25 to 30 min. or until brownies begin to pull away from
sides of pan. Cool completely. In small mixing bowl combine all filling ingredients except chocolate. Beat at med. speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy (2 to 3 min.)

Spread over cooled bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Cut into bars. Store refrigerated.
YIELD: 25 bars.

St. Patrick’s Day, brownies, desserts, cooking, Irish, green, recipes

Here’s a press release that bears publicizing! Edy’s Slow Churn Ice Cream will be giving away 1,500 ice cream block parties this summer! Enter! And invite me if you win! Here are the details:

Edy’s is dishing out its third annual Edy’s Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute(SM) — a national contest that rewards 1,500 neighborhoods across America with free, old-fashioned ice cream socials. Ice cream fans can visit Icecream.com for a chance to scoop-up enough ice cream and fixings (scoops, invitations,
nametags and more) to host a block party for up to 100 neighbors this summer.

Since the Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute program debuted in 2005, Edy’s has delivered ice cream socials to 3,000 neighborhoods and their 300,000 residents. The Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute builds and recognizes strong communities, which are the bedrock of our country. Edy’s believes ice cream can be a sweet social liaison that breaks the ice and enables neighbors to share and bond over a scoop of their favorite flavor.

Ice cream lovers are invited to nominate their neighborhoods to win a doorstep delivery of 12 cartons of Edy’s Slow Churned in a variety of flavors, including the new American Idol Limited Edition Flavors. With half the fat and 30 percent fewer calories than regular ice cream, Edy’s Slow Churned gives neighbors even more reason to celebrate. Each Neighborhood Salute party comes complete with a “Party in a Box” which includes napkins, spoons, scoops, cups, bowls and other supplies to host up to 100 neighbors.

More about Edy’s Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute Contest:
Visit Icecream.com beginning March 14, 2007, and submit a paragraph (350 words or less) explaining why your neighborhood deserves a “Edy’s Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute.” Contestants must be residents of the United States and at least 13 years of age as of March 14, 2007. Official contest
rules and entry forms will be available on Icecream.com beginning March 14, 2007. All entries must be received by May 25, 2007. Edy’s will notify the winners in June and will salute each of the 1,500 winning neighborhoods with an Edy’s Slow Churned prize package during July and August.

ice cream, block party

Ivy, since you didn’t use your raspberries in your lemonade, I dug up another fun use. Italians love their limoncello. But limoncello isn’t the only fruit-based liqueur that will wow your guests and add some zing to your after-dinner imbibing… Try this easy recipe for Raspberry Cordial!

Raspberry Cordial

2 cups granulated sugar
2 pints ripe raspberries, picked over (not molded! and avoid grit)
1 quart vodka

1. Place the sugar in a 3 quart glass jar with a lid. Add the raspberries
and the vodka, and cover. (The sugar may not dissolve completely at first.
It will eventually, however).

2. Place in a dark cool place. Each week for about 2 months open the jar
and stir the cordial.

3. Strain the finished cordial through a very fine sieve into a decanter. (This is important! Otherwise, you’ll have seeds.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

Invite me over before drinking!

raspberry cordial, drinks, recipes, raspberries

Soft pretzels are one of my favorite indulgences. A friend and I were going to try making some, and I found this easier-than-your-average-bread recipe using a bread machine. Try it out!

As usual with bread machines, it’s important to measure everything precisely.

Soft Pretzels

1 1/4 c water
3 1/2 c bread flour
1 t salt
1 egg yolk (save white for later, but don’t add to bread mixture)
1 T oil
1 t lemon juice
2 T sugar
1/8 t white pepper
1 T active dry yeast

Place ingredients in order listed into bread machine “pan.” Use dough setting. Start machine.

Punch down and on a lightly floured surface cut the dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 16″ long. Shape each rope into a pretzel. (Cross the ends of the rope to make a loop; twist the crossed ends once and fold across the loop.)

Place the pretzels on a greased baking sheet 1 1/2″ apart. Brush with combined egg white and 1 T water. Sprinkle with salt or sesame seeds. Bake in preheated 375 degree (F) oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until gold brown.

Makes 16 pretzels. Dip into melted cheese, chocolate sauce, mustard……

recipes, soft pretzels, cooking, snacks

I know it’s hard for beginning cooks to feel confident enough in their skills to experiment in the kitchen, but sometimes very simple things yield fantastic results.

This weekend, I was ready for some lemon bars. But I also had a carton of unused (and beginning to go bad) raspberries. I can’t stand to let good produce go bad, so I decided that lemons and raspberries sounded like a good combination.

Success!

Next time you try lemon bars, throw a handful of raspberries on top, before baking. (I bet blueberries would be yummy, too.) I made mine half-and-half, since my teenager isn’t a raspberry fan. It was fantastic! — an oh-so-easy!