Easy Chicken & Rice Divan

This is a recipe from "way back", at a time when I was rather novice in the kitchen and cooked recipes "to a T".
Anyhow, it was inspiration for tonight's dinner, though I didn't end up following the recipe at all.
Easy Chicken & Rice Divan

serves 6 (good leftovers too!)
prep 15 min. total time: 50 min.

2 cups milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups Minute brown rice, uncooked
1 1/4 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & drained (or use fresh)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

preheat oven to 375

Using a 3 qt. casserole or 13x9 inch baking dish,
mix together the milk, mayo, thyme and garlic powder.

Add rice, chicken and broccoli; mix well.

Bake 30 min.

Remove and sprinkle with cheese.

Let stand until cheese is melted (or turn off oven, cover
with foil and leave in oven until it’s time to eat).

What I did:
Blanch fresh chopped broccoli in boiling water for 4 minutes, run under cold water to stop the cooking.
Chop up & saute some celery, onions and mushrooms.
Chop up 1 very large chicken breast.
Cook breast with the veggies once they are softened. I turned the chicken over at this point.
Pour into a casserole, grate some cheddar on top, cook at 375º until melted.
Cook up a side of rice.
Enjoy!
Here is a BIG fan of rice:

Easy Crockpot Beef Stew

It doesn't get easier than this! Buy packet of seasoning mix, veggies and stew beef. Chop veggies, add all to crockpot and let cook for 8 hours.
I like a blend of celery, onion, carrots, parsnips and potato.
Sometimes the stew beef needs to be cut down if the pieces are huge.
Whisk the (msg-free) seasoning packet + water, pour in, cover and cook!
This taster especially enjoyed licking the butter off his bread!

Quick Ravioli Dinner

We boiled up some frozen store-bought, "Mama Rosie's" spinach & cheese raviolis. Whenever boiling up some pasta, I have found, the larger the pot of boiling water, the better. 9 minutes seemed right. I sauced it up with a (microwaved) frozen portion of pizza sauce.
I'd been in a veggie chop-a ton: for beet soup, beef stew (to go in the crock pot tomorrow) and this salad! The salad was nothing special- even the tomato was a very boring winter-time type :-/

I took a peek in the living room: Dada providing some guidance with a challenging game.

Time to eat!
Topped with fresh grated parmesan and parsley.
Also, with some "Texas Toast."

Shovel it in! Raviolis are always good.

Veggie Beet Soup (or baby food?)

We have beets in the garden! What to do, what to try? Our fall-planted beet seeds were not thinned out well as seedlings so their growth tended on the small side. Now that frozen ground and winter doom is pending, it is time to dig them up and enjoy them!

First, wash and scrub your beets. They love dirt!
Next, encase in a nice drip-resistant cocoon of foil.
Roast at 375 for 1 1/2 hours for typical (larger) store-bought beets.
These beets were done after 45 minutes. Look how dark they got! Think concentrated, developed beet sugar deliciousness.
Chop up some celery, carrots and onion. Sautee with a pat of butter, on medium-low.
This flavorful combo of veggies is known as a mirepoix.
I used Swanson low-sodium chicken broth. If you are vegetarian, simply use or make your favorite broth.
While the broth melted (and stopped the cooking of the mirepoix), I roughly chopped up and added the roasted beets. I made sure to keep parts out that may harbor grit (the root ends and stem area).
This concoction to simmered covered, on very low heat, throughout the time we ate dinner.
When I got around to it, it was ready to be pureed!
During the "boat motor" process, I had a curious and ready customer, pleading for the goods! Beets are sweet, he loves carrots- and heck, it looked like a big bowl of ketchup! To fatten it up a tad, and since I had some on hand, I added a splash of light cream.

A taste....

Yum!The soup is actually for tomorrow's lunch. I put two bowls in the fridge.
Thinking it may be great cold, with a dab of sour cream,
and some hot grilled cheese from the panini press!

Marinated Mackerel (saba)

I've long had a desire to create my own saba sashimi. My favorite saba ever is at our local sushi restaurant, Asahi, on Market St. in Brighton Center. It has the perfect tang and richness and is not "fishy" at all. That being said, I went to Super 88 in Allston to seek out some other Asian ingredients. We were there at 10 a.m. while they were stocking the seafood case. They didn't have Mackerel but I purchased a couple of these attractive little guys to try out.
After all, they were labeled "Mackerel Pike". At $1.08, how could I go wrong? I did a Google search and discovered that they are actually known as Pacific saury.
A quick knife sharpening and I set up filleting next to the kitchen sink. Whew! They were fresh but had a strong odor, characteristic of a more oily fish.
The fillets are coated with sea salt and left to sit (refrigerated) for an hour to draw out any excess juices.
Rinse the salt off under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels.
Marinate them in a vinegar mixture for 1-2 hours. I need to play around with the marinade recipe to get the perfect taste (hopefully the sushi chef at Asahi will divulge).
The recipe I used: 1 cup of rice vinegar, 1 tb mirin and 1 tsp salt.
The vinegar helps to preserve and tighten its oily flesh, making it easier to slice.
Remove from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Slowly peel off the papery thin outer skin. Place fillets on a cutting board and feel for any small bones. Use tweezers to remove them. Slice up and enjoy! It can be prepared up to six hours in advance.
The verdict? I didn't eat it! Bwaahahahaaa!
It had too much of an off-putting smell, not at all similar to the Mackerel I love. This project simply served as a confidence booster.
I can't wait to get my hands on a fresh caught Mackerel!

Smoothie

This is an all-time favorite when I feel the need for a health boost.
Andrew and I have been fighting off colds this week. A fresh smoothie hit the spot!
All the ingredients you need: 1 ripe banana, a container of your desired yogurt (in this case, french vanilla), berries to your liking (a frozen mix offers variety on the cheap) and orange juice.
No ice necessary.
Break up banana into small pieces, scrape in yogurt, pour a splash of oj, sprinkle in some berries. Blend! The longer, the better.
Breaking up the banana beforehand helps since often I am left with big pieces of banana in my drink if I don't do that.
I am guilty of letting bananas rot on my counter far too often! Please, self, remember to peel them and break up into blender size pieces and freeze in a baggie.
My tester had a fit because he wanted strawberries. He was refusing a try so I snuck a taste into his mouth with my finger. He soon came around and highly approved! Later on he was asking for more when he saw these photos and had a fit that it was "all gone"! Good cheddar cheese and fresh berries were the cure for that.
He drank 1/3 of it= mommy happiness!
When I drank the rest, I was a tad annoyed with the seeds (primarily a problem with raspberries). So you may want to stick with a strawberry/blueberry blend. The possibilities are endless. Check out all the selections in the frozen fruit section at your supermarket. I noticed Yoplait makes frozen yogurt/fruit cubes that you just add milk to and blend! Pretty clever- but I wonder how much sugar are in those. Besides, fresh is almost always better!

Vegetarian Miso Soup

After a trip to Whole Foods and $12, we are ready to begin!

Additionally, you will need scallions and a carrot. We have scallions in the garden still- even though mostly wilted from the cold, they are good to use.
Peel and slice a small carrot on the diagonal. I happened to use 1/2 of a large carrot.
Simmer in 3 cups of water for 10 minutes.
Measure out a heaping tablespoon of wakame and soak in a bowl of cold water during that time.
When the carrots are done, drain the wakame in a small colander then dump in with the carrots. Cook on a simmer still, for a minute. Add chopped scallions and turn the heat off.

I opened up the miso and POW! Holy shout at you health statement!

Scoop out 1 1/2 tablespoons or so of miso (no exact measuring needed) and plop in a bowl. Use your spoon to scoop some broth in and create a paste by mixing it with the back of your spoon.
Pour the paste in and stir. While that sits, cut up some tofu in nice little 1/4" cubes.
Add to the soup and enjoy!
It was very good!
Next time I'm going to try Alton Brown's version.
He starts by making his own dashi (which includes fish flakes).
This NY Times article has me very excited about cooking with dashi!
Serves two big bowls.
Andrew the taste-tester tried all elements of the second bowl (he was napping when I made this) and enjoyed the miso broth, tofu and carrots. He did turn away from a heaping spoonful of wakame ;D.