The Cookbook Experiment: Broccoli Quiche

Tonight my lovely daughter was the cook! Paulina is my youngest girl and she is quite amazing. Her baked goods are just to die for! She decided to tackle dinner tonight for me. I got to stay out of the kitchen (and that does not happen very often!).

The recipe that she picked is one from an amazing woman at church who is known far and wide for her cooking. She makes a chicken salad and a homemade pimento cheese that is so amazing. Ms. Stella Smith is a wonder woman. Paulina and I are anxious to try ALL of Ms. Stella's recipes.

Tonight's recipe was Broccoli Quiche. It is a vegetarian dish that once again includes broccoli. We seem to be on a streak of making things with broccoli. It is one of my son's Nick favorite vegetables.

Broccoli Quiche by Stella Smith

(1) box frozen broccoli, thawed (we used a bag, I don't think I have seen frozen vegetables in a box in a long time)
(1/2) cup onion, chopped
(1/2)  cup green pepper, chopped
(1) cup of cheddar cheese, grated (get the good stuff...yes, I am a cheese snob)
(1 1/2) cups of milk (we used whole milk, it is all we keep in the house)
(3/4) cup of Bisquick mix
(3) eggs
(1) teaspoon of salt
(1/4) teaspoon of pepper

Grease 10" pie plate and mix broccoli, green peppers, onion and cheese in the dish. In a separate dish mix the remaining ingredients; beat one minute then pour over ingredients in pie dish. Run a for through the dish to mix everything together slightly, sprinkle a little cheddar cheese on top and bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. The right size pan is important. Adjusting the cooking time will be required if a smaller and/or larger pan is used. Make sure to cook it until it is set but don't overdo it.

This was DELICIOUS!!! The only take-aways from preparing this recipe for me is that I would have chopped the broccoli up smaller than it was in the package. Be sure to use the exact amount of green pepper as it adds a strong flavor. I think I would have liked more onion in it.

We are very happy to have tried this recipe and I am sure we will make it again. Thanks Ms. Stella!

The Cookbook Experiment: Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Pasta

Tonight's dinner is courtesy of a recipe by Doris Baynes. I don't recognize the name (this book was published during a period that I lived out of state and unable to attend church here) but she is one smart cookie!

Let me say outright, this recipe is quite a bit of work. Preparing it for someone you love makes it easier but I have to admit I have never, ever made stuffed shells before but this recipe was worth waiting for.

Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Pasta by Doris Baynes
(1) 6 ounce giant shell pasta (I honestly never looked at the size in the store and bought a 12 ounce!)
(2) quarts boiling water
(2) Tablespoons of salt
(1) 10 ounce package frozen cut broccoli
(1) Tablespoon of butter or margarine (I used butter, because...duh, butter!)
(2) green onions, chopped
(2) cups chopped fresh mushrooms (okay....I did not use this. The majority of my family does not eat mushrooms, in fact I may be the only one who does so I omitted this. I'm sorry Doris!)
(1) teaspoon dried basil
(1) teaspoon dried oregano
(1/2) teaspoon salt
(1) Tablespoon All purpose flour
(3/4) cup milk (I only have whole milk in the house so that is what I used)
(1) cup shredded Swiss or Mozzarella cheese (I used the Mozzarella)
(1/2) cup grated Parmesan cheese (don't scrimp, get the real stuff)
(1/2) cup whipping cream

Cook pasta in boiling salted water for the length of time the package says for "al dente". (Doris says 15 minutes but that was too long for the shells I had) Rinse with cold water and drain. Cook broccoli as directed on package. Chop fine and set aside. (Doris, I feel dumb here. As I type your recipe it seems I missed that sentence and was mushing my broccoli while it cooked in the pan with a potato masher!)

Heat butter in skillet. Add onion, mushrooms (or not), basil, oregano, salt and broccoli.  Stir to blend. Sprinkle with flour and stir well.  Add milk. Stir and heat to boiling. Cook until mixture thickens (and it does so pretty quick so pay attention). Stir in shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.

Fill cooked pasta shells with a rounded tablespoonful of broccoli mixture and place into a buttered shallow baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and drizzle with cream. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Good served with crusty bread.

OKAY, a few tips here from me:

• make sure you use butter to grease the dish. Cooking spray will not cut it here, you need real butter (or if you must, margarine)
• when your shells are done cooking, spread them out on some parchment paper so they don't stick to each other while they are waiting to be filled (I thought they looked like albino turtles, but maybe I am just crazy!)
• Don't forget to chop up your broccoli small like I did. It makes a difference.
• I prefer my milk and cream to be room temperature when I use them so I measure and set aside while I am doing everything else. I have never like putting cold anything to make a sauce thicken.

This was a delightful recipe that my whole family (except my vegetarian because she does not like broccoli!!!) enjoyed. I had never stuffed pasta before and this was a good starter recipe. Imagine, a last name of Maurizi and I had never stuffed shells before! 

I hope you try it! And Ms. Doris I cant wait to try your other recipes in this book! You are a keeper!

Open-Faced Tostadas - Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian

Nothing beats a fast dinner that is really tasty. Even better when you plan ahead and have the ingredients on hand.  One of our favorite fast meals is what we like to call "Open-Faced Tostadas" Is it really a tostada? Beats me! That is just what our family calls it!

It starts with a flour tortilla on a cookie sheet sprinkled with some shredded marble cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like) and put in a 350 degree oven for the cheese to melt and the tortilla to heat up and curl just a bit.

What happens next is up to you. My family prefers the Non-Vegetarian route. Before I heat my tortillas up, I brown one pound of ground chuck (poor chuck) in a skillet with one half of a medium yellow onion, chopped. When it is browned, I drain and add one package of taco seasoning per the directions. I have also used shredded chicken seasoned with onions and peppers in lieu of ground chuck.

The best part about the tostadas is that you can stack them up with whatever you want. The main ingredients that ours always have is the following:

Broccoli Slaw
Shredded Marble Cheddar Cheese
Grape Tomatoes
Black Beans (rinsed and heated)
Queso Fresco

I have to say that I have tried several different brands of Queso Fresco and I keep coming back to the Cacique brand. No, I am not being paid to endorse them. I just like them the best.

Once you have your meat ready, go ahead and get your tortillas in the oven with the shredded cheddar to start melting so you can begin to prepare the remaining ingredients.

On top of the melted tortilla and melted cheese I stack the meat, a generous handful of black beans, then a little more shredded cheddar, next the broccoli slaw, sliced grape tomatoes, crumbled queso fresco. Sometimes we add a dollop of salsa or sour cream. It all depends on what we have on hand.

For the Vegetarian version - I substitute the meat for sliced and diced Avocado. I never even miss the meat! And the best part of it all is that I generously sprinkle with Celtic Sea Salt.

It was a wonderful dinner, maybe a little heavy on the cheddar but truthfully a totally customizable (is that a word?) meal for each person in your household!

A Healthier approach....

I just spent a week in Kansas City training for my new job. Since I was staying at a hotel, I ate out everyday for lunch and dinner. There is nothing like KC bar-b-que! It was wonderful. By the end of the week, however, I was very tired of pork and beef! I was also not happy with myself and my size. I have gained a bit of weight back over the last year and it is not good.  Three of the nights in KC I spent pacing the floor trying to figure out if I had really bad heartburn or did I need to go to the hospital with chest pains.  Enough is enough.  Time for a new plan. One that I can live with and stick to. Tonight's dinner was the very beginning of that plan.

Tonight's dinner was oven-baked tilapia with roasted broccoli, scalloped potatoes and green apple slices. After consulting friends on Facebook, I put my tilapia in the oven with smashed and chopped garlic, a sprinkle of basil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper, a slice of tomato and a drizzle of olive oil.  While that  baked, I chopped some more garlic and put it on a baking tray with some fresh broccoli cut up and more olive oil.  The broccoli roasted while the fish baked.  Paulina made scalloped potatoes and I sliced some apple and tossed it with a little lemon juice so that it did not turn brown.

The tilapia was very moist and I liked the tomato and basil although the Italian in me was craving some cheese or something on it! Crazy huh?  I loved the broccoli.  I had just bought it fresh today at the Farmer's Market.  It was so good! The little bits of sliced apple were a wonderful palate cleanser and I even drank water instead of kool-aide!

I am off now to take a walk!