Cooking when you’re Staying home

Broccoli soup or broccoli slaw?

If anyone is looking for a twist on a caesar salad, this recipe is excellent. I’ve used it for decades.

https://bluemesagrill.com/2017/04/03/southwestern-ceaser-salad/

There’s the oldie but goodie broccoli rice casserole - you can even add cooked chicken to it to make it a main dish:
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/broccoli-rice-casserole-scratch/

The 80’s recipe just used cream of mushroom soup and cheez whiz!!! :slight_smile:

Some ideas for broccoli:

https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/one-pot-cheesy-broccoli-sausage-pasta/

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/chicken-and-broccoli-stir-fry-recipe-1942670

https://livelytable.com/make-ahead-broccoli-cheddar-egg-cups/

@4kids4us the salad is pretty simple. 2 cups blueberries. About 4 cups -or what I have - peeled, halved, seeded and sliced thin cucumbers. A cup feta or goat cheese - I used goat. 3 mint leaves chiffonade. Salt pepper. Then about 1/2 cup white wine vinaigrette. Recipe called for Wegmans version but I made my own and everyone like it better. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/70364/white-wine-vinaigrette/

@jym626 I found it in a library cookbook I have checked out. When I go downstairs I’ll look if I can find a link or I’ll post it.
The mango cucumber salad was good and I’d make it again. The sour cream chive chicken was good but I won’t be in a rush to make it again. I tried baking at 400 on convection but it wasn’t browning. I had put it on a rack over a sheet pan. I think I needed to have some fat with the panko. I spritzed with some avocado oil spray but I don’t think I did enough. I ended up taking it out and frying in a bit of oil to crunch up the coating. The chicken was moist but I felt it needed a bit more flavor.
Tonight I need to come up with a dinner using Brussel sprouts.

I’m making this tonight because I have several peppers that are getting a bit weary looking and an over abundance of red onion I got by mistake in an online order.

I’m not a fan of cilantro so don’t have any and I’ll just leave it out.

Will make a salad to go with it because I’m swimming in lettuce.

https://damndelicious.net/2019/07/24/sheet-pan-chicken-fajitas/

Another idea for broccoli is quiche. One of my family’s favorites of my quiches is broccoli, cheddar and onion.

@doschicos We had a broccoli quiche last week and the week before–there always seems to be broccoli in our produce box. I liked your idea of a broccoli salad and went in search of a recipe–there are many. I’m thinking of making this recipe.

https://sugarspunrun.com/wprm_print/10698

I’m not a fan of sunflower seeds (and don’t have them), so I’ll leave them out.

I haven’t tried this yet but had saved it. Looks yummy to me.

http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2012/02/asiago-mashed-potatoes-and-broccoli.html

I have not tried this yet but I think it looks delicious - uses the broccoli stalks for no waste. Super simple and fast. And isn’t everything better with “hunks of freshly shaved parm”??? :slight_smile:

https://www.lifeisbutadish.com/shaved-broccoli-stalk-salad/

https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/mango-mint-salad
@jym626 I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I used a lot of Persian cucumbers and less radishes.
I also found another similar salad in another cookbook that looked good. https://forward.com/food/322559/mango-cucumber-and-sumac-onion-israeli-salad/

I made a similar salad with shaved asparagus, but got tired of shaving asparagus, but I got tired of shaving them and stuck the whole thing in the microwave! The paarm cheese melted a bit, but so what :slight_smile:

A mandolin would work great on the broccoli stalks!

Grocery shopping tomorrow; so dinner tonight is a combo of things that need to be used, Cleaning out the produce bin and roasting up a huge tray of broccoli, carrots, zucchini and fennel. Baking some potatoes and griddle-frying a package of bratwurst.

LEFTOVERS + MICROWAVE = DINNER = MORE TIME FOR ME TO BE OUTSIDE!!! :slight_smile:

Lobster again because why not when it’s on sale for $5.99/lb. It was grocery pick-up day so easy to have them steam 4 for the 2 of us. Just caprese on the side in an attempt to reduce carbs so easy dinner.

@abasket My next broccoli endeavor is going to be that shaved stalk salad you posted. I usually end up not using the stalks and I hate seeing food go to waste. My mother’s favorite parental response to not wanting to eat a particular food was “kids are starving in . . .!” I guess it did influence me.

I’ve cooked simply most of the time during all of this. Saved a lot of money not eating out. We didn’t do much pick up either. I was and still am skeptical about the safety of that. I used stuff I had stocked piled, which is good. It was time to get rid a lot of that stuff. I’d also stockpile staples early in this pandemic, because I didn’t like the way things were heading, and I’m not in a prime shipping area. No Costco, Trader Joe’s here. So, I got the very basics and specialty items I like to have in hand when cooking, enough for a very long time.

I’ve gotten fresh fruit and vegetables, but cut down on the meats quite a bit. Especially lately when finding the quality beef is both expensive and challenging.

We had steamed shrimp and a salad tonight. Grilled cheese and tomato soup last night. A cream soup and salad the night before. Trying to keep it simple. A lot of times just a loose smorgasbord of things.

A bit to much wine at Happy Hour, so felt slightly tipsy and in no mood to start cooking. So, we had the rest of the big salad and baguette. I’ll do the fajitas tomorrow.