Ma Whats For Dinner?» broccoli

Creepy Crudite

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:29 +0000

I am a big fan of appetizers and finger food. I feel very strongly it is a great way to get kids to try new foods. Kids, especially young ones, are by nature grazers. Apps create an opportunity to get your kids to try new things in a non threatening manner. Parties or small get togethers are an excellent place to get started.

Thus, we have the crudite plate. It’s a fixture at every dinner at our house with more than just the family involved. Since it’s Halloween we’re doing the creepy crudite plate. Let’s get ‘er done…

Creepy Crudite

Toothpicks

1 green pepper, ribs cleaned out, top plus 3 slices cut off, reserve slices to use as legs.

carrots

celery

radishes

mini peppers

broccoli

cauliflower

cucumbers

olives

cherry tomatoes

All of the above should be cut into bite sized pieces and arranged artfully on a plate.

The key to a good crudite is the dip. The veggies are a merely a vehicle to get the dip from the plate to your kids mouth, but in the meantime they do manage to get a carrot or two in there. My favorite party dip ever is Barefoot Contessa’s Pan Fried Onion Dip. It’s amazing. But feel free to pick up a packet of ranch or onion dip at the store and mix it up with some Low-Fat sour cream or even greek yogurt. Be sure to chill it in advance and get busy making your creepy pepper to store it in.

Take your hollowed out pepper and stand him in the middle of your platter. Using a sharp knife cut 3 small holes in each side. Cut each slice into 2 pieces and stick one side of each slice into the holes you just made. Next slice one of your olives in half. Using your toothpick stick the olives to the pepper to create eyes. Do the same for the nose. Fill your pepper with dip and have at it. Eating veggies was never so fun or spooky!

Chicken Divine

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:19:16 +0000

Yes yes yes, I know that most people call this one chicken divan but this casserole is just so darn good that you just have to call it divine. I love casseroles. I love the fact that you can make them in advance, I love that you can throw anything leftover in the fridge into them, I love that dinner is ready by the time you get home from soccer practice!

I love that the weather has been cooler the last few days here in the northeast. It’s going to be our first fall here and that is my favorite time of year. It’s almost here and the kids are starting school next week. This is great recipe for your arsenal when you need to get dinner on the table fast and homework done.

Serves: 8 Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes

10 ounces steamed broccoli

3 large boneless chicken breasts

1 T olive oil

1 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

8 ounces buttom mushrooms, halved

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 t. fresh lemon juice

1/2 t. curry powder

1 can sliced water chestnuts

S&P

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup french fried onions

4 strips bacon chopped

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Season your chicken breasts with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add your chopped bacon and saute until crisp. Remove and allow to drain on a paper towel.

While your chicken cooks, assemble your casserole. In a 13×9 pan arrange your broccoli on the bottom. In a large bowl combine soup, milk, mayo, sour cream, mushrooms, lemon juice, curry powder, water chestnuts. Stir to mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Once your chicken has finished cooking remove it from the oven and slice it into thin strips. Arrange the chicken over the broccoli. Pour the soup mixture over the top of the chicken and broccoli. Top with cheddar cheese and fried onions. Cover with foil and bake on 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with bacon and cook uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with brown or white rice and enjoy!

Down home baked pork chops and rice

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:28:24 +0000

What’s your favorite kind of recipe after a long day out with the kids? I’ll tell you mine…one that takes me less that 5 minutes to throw together then toss it into the oven so it can do all the work for me. This is one of those recipes! Fast, easy and oh so delicious.

Yesterday we were out at the local pool and waterpark with some friends. We ended up staying a little late and by the time I hustled everyone past the 900 ice cream trucks who line the perimeter and enduring the endless screaming about how it’s sooooo unfair that everyone else gets ice cream before dinner and I’m the meanest mommy in the world, etc. We made it home and tossed this puppy together, threw it into the oven, and wrangled everyone upstairs for baths and what not. By the time we were done washing off all that chlorine dinner was almost ready. Woo hoo! Love me some good ol’ casseroles that are a whole dinner in one.

Serves 4 Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 1 hour

2 T unsalted butter

1 cup long-grain uncooked white or brown rice

4 bone in pork chops

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 10 oz can beef broth

1 10 oz can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

1 small onion sliced

1 green pepper sliced

S&P
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and saute until nice and toasted, about 5 minutes.

Toss your broccoli and mushrooms into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Pour the rice on top of the veggies. Season the pork chops with the S&P and place them on top of the rice.

In a bowl combine the soup and 1/2 of the beef broth, mix well. Pour the remaining broth over the rice. Place the onion rings and green pepper over the chops and season again with S&P. Pour the soup/broth mixture over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Serve the pork chops on a bed of the rice with Roasted Brussell Sprouts.

What is your favorite quick and easy casserole?

Eat Your Veggies – Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:18:52 +0000

We all know how difficult it is to get the little ones to eat their veggies. One of the best ways I’ve found to get them to eat their greens is to make sure that they taste delicious! This is one of my favorite ways to do ‘em up good. Not only is it super tasty, but it’s so quick and easy!

Serves 4 Prep Time 3 minutes Cook Time 25 minutes

1 1/2 cups of cauliflower florets

1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 T parmesan cheese

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

S&P

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large baking dish, place your broccoli and cauliflower into the dish. Pour on your olive oil and sprinkle with cheese, red pepper, parmesan cheese, and S&P. Mix well with your hands. When the oven is hot, bake on 400 for 25 minutes.

See? Quick, easy, delicious.

What is your go -to veggie?

Shout out to the Tuesday Follow crews. Leave me a note to say you were here so I can swing by your place and say HELLO!

Twirly Whirly Pasta Salad

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:00:44 +0000

This one is for Shell. Oh you didn’t know that I take requests? Well now you do…send ‘em on over and I’m at your service. My girl Shell over at Things I Cant Say, oh yeah you know her, cool girl, superstar, all around homecoming queen, uh yeah, that’s her. She asked if we had any pasta salad ideas. Do I have a pasta salad??? Of course I have a pasta salad. Not only do I have a pasta salad, but it’s a pasta salad served up either cold or warm, it’s easy, tastes delicious, it’s healthy and you can make it with stuff already in your house. Oh yeah, Shell my sweet, I have a pasta salad for you…

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes

1 lb Rotini (corkscrew) pasta

1 bag frozen veggies (I like mixes of broccoli, carrots, & cauliflower)

2 c Italian dressing (bottled is fine, I like Newman’s Own)

2 c rotisserie chicken, cubed (from your supermarket)

½ c parmesan cheese

1 can marinated artichoke hearts, drained

Heat a large pot of water over high heat for pasta. Take out your frozen veggies and let them thaw on the counter. Once the water is boiling add some salt to flavor the pasta and then pour in fusili and cook, according to package, to al dente. 4 minutes before you pasta is set to be done add in your veggies.

Drain well and pour into large pasta serving bowl. Top with chicken and artichoke hearts. Pour on dressing and toss to coat. Top with parmesan cheese. This is a complete meal in minutes and all in one bowl! Everyone loves less dishes to clean.

Whenever I take this dish to potlucks or when I’m in charge of snack at school everyone always asks for this recipe. I’m almost embarrassed to tell them how simple it is, but it’s so good!

Eat your veggies chicken stir fry

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:00:28 +0000

What’s the quickest and easiest way to get a picky eater to finish off a serving of veggies? Toss them with some chicken and teriyaki sauce and serve up on a bed of rice of course! Fast, affordable, healthy, and delicious! You won’t have to resort to dessert bribery, not that I’ve ever ever considered anything like that, no really, not ever, to get your kids to clean their plates with this dish.

1 lb chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup sliced carrots

1 bell pepper chopped

1 T canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated on a microplane or minced

a couple of dashes chili oil

a couple of dashes sesame oil

1/2 T fish sauce (optional and available on your asian foods aisle)

2 T soy sauce

1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce

2 cups brown rice cooked according to package instructions (you could use white if you haven’t watched the Today show too many times and are now scared of anything with the word white in the title a la white bread, white rice, etc.)

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot add garlic and ginger and stir well to flavor the oil. Have your chicken on hand and ready to go so that as soon as the garlic begins to brown toss in your chicken. Toss well and allow chicken to brown stirring often (hence the stir-fry). When you chicken is browned well toss in all of your veggies. Stir and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes, until they just begin to soften a bit.

Season with chili oil, sesame oil, and fish sauce. Cook for a minutes. Add soy sauce and cook for another minute. Pour in your teriyaki sauce and turn the heat down to medium-low. Allow to simmer for a few minutes while you spoon your rice into a mound on the center of each plate. Top with stir fry mixture and plenty of sauce. It’s good and good for you! How can you beat that combination? Ok, who wants dessert?

Quelle Horreur – Top Ramen???

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:00:29 +0000

Oh yeah, I did it…I know what you’re thinking, first spaghetti tacos and now the wretched Ramen? Has Ma lost it? Think of the low nutritional value, think of the sodium content! I know, I know. You all know what a crazy week it was last week, GG’s in the hospital and I just wasn’t feeling like Supermom so I folded and gave the chillins some Top Ramen. I tried, I added some good stuff like protein and veggies, and it’s not like I just tossed the stuff into the microwave and let them have at it on the couch in front of an episode of Sponge Bob. You know everything said in jest is at least partly true right? The television was paused in the other room when they came to the table and scarfed it down. And it wasn’t Sponge Bob, it was Fanboy and Chum Chum…but come on, how do you beat a meal that costs less than $1.50 to make and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare???

Serves 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes

1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles

1 head broccoli cut into florets

1 leftover pork chop cut into small chunks

In a small saucepan heat 2 cups of water over high heat. When the water boils add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes turn the heat down and add the seasoning package, the broccoli and the pork. Allow the broccoli and pork to warm through, about 4 minutes, and serve. For the record, the hubs and the kids loved this!

Chicken Stir Fry

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:32 +0000

Chicken Stir Fry

Serves: 4 Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

For the stir-fry:

1 pound chicken tenders, sliced thinly

1 T vegetable oil

½ large onion, chopped

1 T minced garlic

½ T minced ginger

pinch of Salt & Pepper (S&P)

½ cup broccoli florets

6 oz sliced mushrooms

1 can water chestnuts, drained

½ cup Chinese snow peas

½ cup bean sprouts

2 T all purpose flour

For the sauce:

3 T Hoisin sauce

2 T soy sauce

2 T sake

1 t sugar

½ T red chili paste

1 t toasted sesame oil

¼ c chicken stock

2 t corn starch combined with 1 T water mixed until smooth

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup jasmine rice

Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce in a medium sized bowl. Mix well and set aside to let the flavors come together. In a small saucepan heat 2 cups chicken stock over high heat. Once the stock is boiling add in 1 cup of rice and stir. When it comes back up to a boil, cover and turn down to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a wok or extra large skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat. While the oil heats up season chicken with S&P and toss with flour to coat lightly. When oil is smoking add chicken to the wok and allow to brown (about 2 minutes) then flip chicken pieces over to allow other side to brown (about 1 minute more.) Once your chicken has browned use a slotted spoon to remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil.

Add onions, garlic, and ginger to the oil left in your wok. Give them a good stir and let the flavor infuse your oil for about a minute or so. Toss in your broccoli and mushrooms and stir quickly. After a minute add in your water chestnuts to the stir fry mixture. Toss to combine. Allow to cook for another minute. Return your chicken to the wok along with the snow peas and bean sprouts. Pour your sauce over the top of your stir fry and stir. Allow to cook for an additional minute or two or until your sauce has thickened up.

Once your rice is cooked, remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Scoop a healthy portion of rice into the center of each plate and top with stir fry.

Tasty Tidbit: You could serve this one up with super healthy brown rice instead of the jasmine. Just be sure to start the rice early as it takes about 45 minutes to cook! My family never even notices the difference!

Meaty Morsel: You can switch out or add any vegetables you like. Involve your kids in the decision process. Maybe go with the green theme and add in green pepper and scallions, go orange with an orange pepper and carrots, or try purple with eggplant and purple cabbage!

Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken & Broccoli

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:00:32 +0000

Serves 6 Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 20 minutes

1 cup chicken stock

S&P

1 pound fettuccini

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces finely grated good quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

4 thin sliced chicken breasts

1 T extra virgin olive oil

10 ounces fresh broccoli cut into florets

Bring large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Put the broccoli into a steamer and steam for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to warm, about 200 degrees F. Put a large serving bowl or a platter, for the pasta, into the oven to warm.

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and season with S&P. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 7 minutes on the first side, 5 on the second. Allow to sit for 5 minutes then slice into bite sized pieces.

In a small pot over low heat, heat the chicken stock.

When the water boils, season with salt, add the pasta and cook to al dente. Just before draining, add a ladle of the starchy pasta water to the pot with the chicken stock. Drain the pasta.

Remove the bowl or platter from the oven and scatter with the butter pats. Add the pasta and pour in the chicken stock. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and toss for 1 minute. Add more cheese and continue to toss for another 1 to 2 minutes. Keep tossing until the pasta is evenly coated and cheese has melted into the saffron broth forming a creamy sauce. Toss in chicken and broccoli. Serve immediately.