Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Yum

This is another one of those busy night, quick and tasty meals.

I usually have chicken breast in the freezer, broccoli in the fridge (it's one of the only veggies Quinn likes right now), and sauce and pasta in the cupboard.

You could use leftover chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken, whatever you have or whatever is easiest for you. I usually just poach a couple of chicken breasts.

This recipe comes from the President's Choice website.



1 box high fibre pasta
1 jar alfredo pasta sauce (or quattro fromaggi pasta sauce)
2 cups broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces (I also use the stem)
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast
1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook pasta as directed, in plenty of boiling, salted water until al dente. In the last 4 minutes, I throw the broccoli in with the pasta. Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta water, and drain pasta and broccoli.

Mix pasta, broccoli, pasta water, pasta sauce and chicken. Pour into a casserole dish, top with parmesan cheese, and cook for 10-12 minutes until cheese browns a touch.

Serve with fresh ground pepper.

Tuna Casserole, Redesigned

I grew up eating tuna casserole. From what I remember, it was egg noodles, a can of tuna, some cream of whatever soup, and frozen peas. My Mom put frozen peas in everything.

I saw this recipe that Janet and Greta Podleski put together. I mentioned them a couple of days ago. They have cookbooks and shows dedicated to redesigning not so good for you recipes and boosting the nutritional value without sacrificing flavour.

Tuna casserole is a quick meal to put together, and most people have those 3 items in their cupboard (and some frozen or fresh veg in the fridge to throw in).

But there has to be a better way!

Janet and Greta worked their magic and came up with this gem. The below recipe makes 4 large portions. It was the first time that I had made a sauce using evaporated milk instead of cream or soup mix and I was very happy with the results.



4 cups uncooked high-fibre rotini pasta
1 cup frozen green peas (or another vegetable)
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup diced yellow onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 10oz can 2% evaporated milk (13 oz/370 mL)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Grated zest of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese (3 oz/85 g)
1/2 cup packed shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz/56 g)
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 can wild salmon, well drained (6 oz/170 g)
1 can tuna, well drained (6 oz/170 g)

Janet and Greta suggest getting all your stuff chopped, shredded and otherwise prepped before beginning this recipe. It's a good habit to get into.

Put a pot of water on to boil, and cook the pasta according to directions. Unlike my previous tuna casserole ventures, this one won't be going into the oven for a final heat-up, so cook the pasta how you want to eat it.

While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic and cook until soft (about 4 minutes). Add broth. In a separate bowl, whisk together evaporated milk and flour until smooth and add to pot. Cook until sauce bubbles and begins to thicken, stirring frequently.

Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (and leaves a clear path when you swipe your finger across it), stir in mustard, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

Remove pot from heat and add cheeses, stirring until melted. Add drained tuna and salmon and mix. Add drained noodles and peas and mix well.

What to make when you have chicken that HAS TO BE cooked?

So, I took some chicken out of the freezer the other day with the intention of making a stir fry. I have some bottled schezwan sauce that I was planning on tweaking a bit, and some frozen "stir fry" veggies. Nice, quick, easy...except I really wasn't in the mood for eating stir fry.

That's one of the down sides of planning your meals ahead. Everything sounds so delicious when you make your list, but by the time you need to start cooking it, you might not want it.

I HAD to cook this chicken. What was I going to make?

I opened the fridge, stared in there blankly for a while, then closed the door. Opened the cupboards, stared in there blankly for a while, then closed the door. Got distracted by Iron Man Armored Adventures with Quinn, then realized that we needed to eat and I needed to stop procrastinating...and then it hit me.

I had an idea!

Checking the fridge again, I had eggs, mozzarella, parmesan, lettuce, caesar dressing, focaccia, and the chicken. In the cupboard I had jarred pasta sauce, spaghetti, and bread crumbs.

This was a no brainer...I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!

Chicken Parmasan!

I don't have measurements here...because it's not really a recipe that you need to follow to the letter. Remember, a few posts ago when I said that you just need to know what tastes good and then put those flavours together? If you've ever had chicken parm in a restaurant, you already know how it works...you just need to have a little faith in yourself and give it a go!

You can do it (Tom *cough*)!

So here's what I did...the timing is pretty easy on this meal as well.

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

- Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts (I cooked up 3 small ones, boneless, skinless).

- In shallow bowl, beat one egg.

- In second shallow bowl (or plate), put some bread crumbs (I'd say about 1/3 cup?), pepper, a titch of salt, and a handful of parmesan cheese (either freshly grated, by you, or that stuff you buy in the fancy pants cheese section already grated for you...not the Kraft stuff), and some italian herbs, dried, whatever...I used some chopped fresh basil from the garden. Alternately, you can also buy some "Italian seasoned bread crumbs" and not have to fuss about it.

- Get a baking sheet, line with foil (because I'm lazy and hate washing baking sheets). I also use a baking rack so that the chicken gets crispy on the bottom too, but that's not imperative. It's not the end of the world if you don't have one.

- Dip a chicken breast in the egg, and then the breadcrumbs to coat. Place on baking sheet (or rack) and repeat.

- Pop chicken into preheated oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how big they are. I use two methods to check doneness...a digital thermometer should read 165F to kill all the pathogens (plus, it will continue to cook a bit after you remove it, AND you'll be putting it back in to melt the cheese anyway), or I actually cut it open and look. For this recipe, you're going to be covering it up anyway. Who cares if there's a cut in it?

Ok, so you have about 20 minutes to kill at this point. Why not make some homemade croutons?

I have some "Tuscan Herb Focaccia" for some portobello burgers later this week. I cut one up into cubes, tossed in some olive oil, placed in another (foil lined) baking dish, and toasted in the oven. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn, but you're looking at about 10 minutes. Pull them out and let them cool.

Pasta cooking time (you still with me, Tom?)

- Put a pot of water on to boil.

As far as timing goes, the chicken should be nearly done when the water boils. This is where you need to be a multitasker, but it's nothing you can't handle (Tom).

Get all your stuff together in these last moments: jar of tomato sauce (I used PC Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce because it's what we had), slice some mozzarella (maybe 1/4" thick?), pasta (we love the Healthy Harvest spaghetti), mixed greens, parmesan cheese, caesar dressing, and croutons.

Ok, you ready?

- Put pasta in boiling, salted water and turn down a bit so you don't have boil over. Stir this pasta occasionally so it doesn't stick.

- Pull chicken out of the oven. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of sauce (yup, right out of the jar!) onto chicken breasts and top with sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle on a bit more parmesan cheese, and place back in oven to melt.

- Start your salad. Place a couple of tablespoons of ceasar dressing (we use the type you find in the produce section...it's super tasty!) in the bottom of a bowl, toss in your mixed greens, and mix to coat with dressing. Serve in bowls, toss in a few croutons, and top with a bit of parmesan cheese (I love using a veggie peeler to slice cheese ribbons on top...looks all "fancy pants")

Salad is done.

- Check your chicken...cheese should be melted by now. If you like a little browning on top, hit up the broiler and KEEP AN EYE ON IT! I like it just melty, and I'm a total spaz, so I avoid the broiler thing as much as possible (or most of what I make would be burnt).

Chicken is done.

- Check your pasta. Should be al dente (we should all know what that means by now, but if you like your noodles smushy, cook it until you like it). Drain pasta in a colander. While it's doing its thing in the sink, pour some of that jarred sauce into the bottom of the hot (now dry) pasta pot, give the colander a shake to get rid of any extra water, and plop the pasta into the warming sauce. Toss it around to coat with sauce, and you're ready to plate!

Pasta on the plate, chicken beside it, a little more shredded parmesan (Death by Parm?), pepper, fresh chopped basil if you have it, et voila! You've made a really fancy fricken dinner, using what you probably have in your cupboards, and it was pretty easy, no?

Enjoy, and revel in the compliments.

Pizza Pasta

Pizza Pasta can be made with whatever you have...but it is basically pizza toppings baked with pasta.

Pizza Pasta



1/2 box whole grain penne
1 jar prepared pasta sauce (or, if I have some homemade leftover I use that instead)
Sliced pepperoni
Black olives
Mozzerella cheese

This time I also added ground beef with a little onion, because my Mother in Law gave me some ground beef that needed to be cooked up.

Cook noodles according to directions (maybe a smidge underdone to allow them to finish cooking in the oven if you go that route).

I browned the ground beef and drained, added the pepperoni and sauce. If I am adding veggies, I throw them in as well.

Mix saucy slop and noodles, dump into casserole, top with cheese, and bake until cheese is melted.

Freezes well and makes for great leftovers.

If you need to make this ahead (which I sometimes do when I need to use up veggies or other leftovers but don't necessarily want to eat it right away), cook the noodles and the slop and put it in the casserole, top with cheese, and freeze. When you feel like eating it, pull it out of the freezer, let it thaw, and bake it at 350 until heated through and cheese is melted.

Or, you can put the slop and noodles into individual microwaveable containers and freeze. When you want one for lunch or dinner, take it out, nuke it, and eat!

Roasted Red Pepper Penne

I had a bunch of red peppers from Sunquest Farms here in my county (I love using local food!) that I wanted to roast down into a sauce.

Michael Smith is my "go to guy" for recipes, and he didn't disappoint this time. He has a Bowtie Pasta with Roast Red Pepper recipe that I worked from, and I know how I'd adjust it the next time. Maybe add a little white wine? We'll see.



Roasted Red Pepper Penne
(this was enough for the three of us plus a little left over...adjust accordingly)

4 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 head garlic, peeled, whole cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1 pound penne

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Place peppers, onions and garlic in a bowl, drizzle in olive oil and toss to coat, spread evenly onto foil lined (easy cleanup!) baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper and fennel seed.

Roast for about 45 minutes (check every once in a while to make sure everything is cooking evenly...rotate pan if necessary), until veggies are soft and have some nice colour.

Place roasted veggies into a blender and puree with a little water to loosen it up. Alternately, you can pop the roasted veggies into a sauce pan and hit them with your immersion blender.

Cook your penne in some boiling, salted water, and keep the sauce warm on the stove. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

When the pasta is nearly done, throw a few handfuls of baby spinach into the sauce and stir. The heat of the sauce, and the soon-to-be-added pasta will wilt the spinach. You don't need to cook the crap out of it at this point....unless you like slimy spinach. Hey, it's your dinner!

Spoon the penne right into the sauce. The little bit of starchy water will help the sauce stick to the pasta. Note, I said "little bit"...clearly, if you dump the pasta in with a ton of water, you'll have the opposite effect. Use your head here.

Dish it up and add a nice bit of parmesan (shavings, gratings, whatever). I also added a bit of dried red pepper flakes to balance the sweetness of the sauce.

The addition of the fennel seeds triggered a memory of sausages (but no chewy gristle!!), and it was pretty awesome. The sauce was velvety and sweet. I'd never had a pepper sauce before.

Other recipies using red peppers I'd love to try include:
Anna Olsen's Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Pepper Coulis and Red Pepper Soup from Smitten Kitchen.

Dad's Birthday Lunch

My Dad is always complaining that I never invite him over for dinner. If he says this to you, he's lying. I have invited him to dinner quite a few times when he's been here and he always turns me down...I think he's afraid of driving in the county at night. Who can blame him, really? Tomato zombies and all...

So it was his birthday this past week, and we invited him over for lunch. I picked up a delicious Black Forest cake from Lakeside Bakery and made burgers and pasta salad.

I made Roger Mooking's Pasta Salad with Green Onion Dressing. I made it the night before to let the dressing mellow out a bit, and to ensure it was cold for lunch today.

Green Onion Dressing



1/2 cup olive oil
1 bunch green onion, white bottoms and green tops separated
1 small garlic clove, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon honey (this is not in the original recipe)
1 box bowtie pasta, cooked
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, cut into 1/4" inch thick rings
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 orange pepper, diced
chopped parsley
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

Heat up the grill (I've also done this on the stovetop in a pan). Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the white bottoms of the green onions and the red onion slices. Grill until slightly softened and charred.

Set red onion aside. Roughly chop grilled whites of the green onions and place in blender with green onion tops, garlic, white white vinegar, dijon mustard, honey and olive oil and puree until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl, stir in sour cream, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I added a touch of honey to this dressing to cut the sharpness of the onions and to make it taste a little richer, but you could totally omit it if you like.

Place cooked pasta in a large bowl, chop up grilled red onion from earlier and add to the pasta, throw in peppers, and slop in the dressing. Add chopped parsley, taste for a final seasoning with salt and pepper, and put in fridge.

Granted, you could serve this lukewarm or room temperature, there's something awesome about a cold pasta salad.

I toasted some coconut on the stovetop and put it on the table in case someone (like my Dad) doesn't like coconut.

This is an "occasional" recipe. I prefer potato salad with things like this (and my potato salad recipe is golden) but, since we had eaten potato salad recently, I wanted to make something different. This isn't the best pasta salad I've ever had/made, but it's pretty tasty.

The Burger

Based on Michael Smith's awesome hamburger recipe.



1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, grated
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soya sauce

I read somewhere that you shouldn't overwork your meat. Since then, I've mixed all my bits and pieces first, and THEN added the meat in to combine. Not sure if it makes sense, but whatever. It's what I do...and this is my blog, so there.

I also tend to grate my onion so that the pieces are small (which is really good if you have pickypants to feed, thankfully I don't...yet). Today I used shallots, because that's what I had and they needed to be used up, so I just chopped them finely.

So throw the onion (or shallots in this case), Worcestershire sauce and soya sauce in a medium bowl. Season with pepper and mix. You won't need salt (unless you like your burgers extra salty) because you are using soya. This is a genius move on the part of Chef Smith. The flavour it lends the meat is very impressive.

Plop in your ground beef, mix, seperate into 4 portions, form into patties no more than an inch thick. In our house, they need to be thinnish. That's how Don prefers them. I also let the meat come to just a smidge colder than room temperature.

I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere too, to not put cold meat on a hot grill (or in a hot pan). My logic (and that's often questionable, admittedly) is that a super cold hunk of meat will contract when placed on a searing hot grill which would make the meat tough in the end. I could be totally off base, and if I am, don't tell me about it. I don't want to hear it.

So where was I?

Heat the grill, and toss the burger patties on. Leave them alone. Seriously. Don't poke at them, don't flip them, and for pete's sake, DON'T SMUSH THEM DOWN WITH THE FLIPPERMAGIG!

Why do we have the urge to press the meat into the grates? All it does is smush the burger flat and dump out a crapload of juicy goodness!

Michael says around 4 minutes each side should do...I'm not sure how long I cook my burgers for. I guess until I think they are done.

While I was cooking the burgers, I toasted the herb focaccia on the grill to dry out the surface a bit. I like that.

This time I dumped some Diana Sauce (Original style) on the top during the last minute or so, and then pulled them off the grill, put them on the platter, and let them rest for a few minutes while I make sure everything else is in order.

I shredded some cheddar to put on the hot, glazy bbq sauce, and dumped a bit more on top.

Why didn't I melt the cheese on the burger while it was cooking, you may ask? I don't like it. It gets oily and weird...and I like the texture of the shredded cheese mixed in with the bbq sauce. Do whatever you want.

I don't like anything else on my burger when I do it like this...I think the bbq sauce and cheese is plenty, but dress it up to your taste.

This is how I make my burgers, generally. They are pretty tasty, and have the texture that Don prefers in a burger - tender and a little crumbly (and if you don't manhandle them on the grill, the crumble factor happens when you take a bite, as opposed to on the grill)...that's why there's no egg involved.

We had our cake, and retired to the living room where Quinn entertained everyone with his spastic form of interpretive dance, and wild boxing style.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Local Asparagus, Arugula and Pesto Pasta

Last night I tried a new pasta recipe. I had some local asparagus that I picked up at Nature's Corner on Seacliff Drive in Leamington, and I was just itching to do something different with it. I saw this recipe while zipping around on the web, and thought it sounded perfect!

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, for instance, instead of making fresh pesto (which I love), I used up some jarred tomato pesto that I had leftover from the mushroom and leek pizza I made last week. I added some basil from our garden and grated in a clove of garlic to suit my taste.

I had 2 partially used boxes of whole wheat penne. How annoying! So I used what was left in both boxes and made some space in my cupboard (win!).

I had to buy some arugula, and unfortunately it wasn't available loose (so I couldn't just buy a handful or so), but I plan to make a steak salad this week so I can mix what's left into the baby greens I have on hand.

I am a fan of asparagus, and it's good for you too (with the whole having folate and vitamin K) but I wish I could say the same for arugula. I don't HATE it, I just don't love it. It's a great little leaf though, full of calcium, iron, and vitamins A, C and K, so if I can find a way to use it, I do.

So here's what I did:

Cut the asparagus into 1" pieces and steamed it barely tender. In another pot, I cooked the pasta (though I'm sure I could have just popped the asparagus in the pasta water as it would have floated and I could have fished it out when it was done).

In a bowl I plopped a few tablespoons of jarred tomato pesto (President's Choice brand in this case), chopped up a few basil leaves, and grated in a small clove of garlic.

I drained the pasta, threw it back in the pot with the pesto and the asparagus, tossed in a couple of handfuls of arugula and stirred to combine. Drizzled on a touch of olive oil to loosen the sauce up a bit as well. It didn't need salt (probably because the pesto was perfectly seasoned) but I did add some fresh ground pepper.

I had a couple of herbed foccacia rolls in the fridge from a grilled veggie sandwich I made last week, so I sliced them, brushed them with olive oil, and toasted them in the oven.

The pasta and toasts were topped with a bit of freshly grated parmesan, and we dug in.



The Verdict?

  I liked it. It had good, balanced flavours.

Quinn ate it right up. That surprised me as the arugula is bitter. He did, however, leave the asparagus bits. Probably didn't like the consistancy.

Don liked the flavours, but he prefers his pasta to be "saucy", so it wasn't to his liking.

I'll probably keep the recipe as an occasional meal, but it won't go into "The Rotation"