ROTW: Simply Delicious Broccoli
One of my earliest posts on this blog was an ode to brassica, better known as broccoli (image: Sam Ley, Creative Commons). I wrote then:
PR lessons can come from the strangest places. Now, I’m not going to create a laundry list, but as I was cooking dinner last night, the broccoli florets that I was steaming looked me square in the face and said: “Is your PR as good as we are?”
I still think it’s a fun read on what PR can and can’t be, but today I wanted to share a quick and easy recipe for what is apparently one of America’s most-loved vegetables.
Here’s my Really Simple Broccoli, especially for Jeremy Meyers, Patrick Johnson, PR@GeorgiaState, Samantha Ogborn, Clay Hebert, and Alison Driscoll. Peeps and tweeps, I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients (you can’t get much simpler than this)
1 packet frozen broccoli florets; extra-virgin olive oil (I used a “drizzle” but if that stumps you, use 2 tsp); seasoned salt to taste.
Recipe
Dump the frozen broccoli florets into a non-stick pan over low heat. Cover with lid; as the broccoli thaws, it’ll steam itself. If you’re worried about burning it, add a couple tablespoons water before covering it.
When the broccoli’s thawed (you want to make sure it’s still crunchy, not sad and weepy), drizzle the olive oil over it, and add seasoned salt to taste. Again, if you’re not sure how much to add, start with about half a teaspoon, and go from there.
Mix well and you’re done.
I said it was easy, didn’t I? And it’s really delicious.
Variation: add some simple zing to the Really Delicious Broccoli by squeezing a little lime juice over it once you’ve mixed it in with the olive oil and seasoned salt. I got the idea from Sam Ley’s photo; I haven’t tried it, but am pretty sure it would be excellent.
What other ways have you cooked broccoli that are simple but delicious? I’d love to know; and if you try this, please let me know how it turns out.
Guilt-free Shepherd’s Pie
I know what you’re thinking: since when was Shepherd’s Pie a guilty pleasure?
The guilt is more a personal thing; looking through this blog, I realized I hadn’t posted a recipe in a couple of months.
Ouch.
Well, blame #snowmageddon. How on earth am I supposed to keep up the cooking/blogging end of things when 3+ feet of snow has only just disappeared?
At any rate, here we go again. This is my version of a classic comfort dish, using cauliflower instead of potatoes to cut down on the “bad” carbs. I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients
1 lb low-fat ground turkey and/or 1 packet flavored sausage (I like Aidells); 1 white onion; 1 cup celery; 1 cup carrots; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 large cauliflower; 1/2 cup low-fat cheese, grated; 1 tbsp Smart Balance spread; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley; salt & pepper to taste.
Recipe
Preheat oven to 425. In a large skillet, heat oil and add onions, chopped fairly fine. Saute over medium-high heat until translucent, then add the carrots and celery, also chopped fine. Saute for a few minutes more, then add the ground turkey and sausage, removed from its casing and crumbled into the pan. Mix well. When the turkey is cooked, add salt and pepper to taste, and chopped parsley.
While you’re cooking the filling, boil water in a pot and drop in the chopped cauliflower. When it’s cooked through, drain the water using a colander, and then mash in a large bowl with the Smart Balance spread, cheese, and salt/pepper to taste.
In a lightly-greased oven proof dish, spoon in the turkey/vegetable mixture. Top this with the mashed cauliflower, using a fork to draw ridges into the topping.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until browned. Serve hot and enjoy!
Variations: The last time I made this, I added some enchilada sauce while cooking the turkey, and it turned out great. Just make sure the mixture is fairly dry before you put it in the baking dish. Also, I imagine adding garlic to the mashed cauliflower would be quite yummy, though I haven’t tried it.
By the way: remember I mentioned #cookchat the other day? I hear it’s due to premiere on Sunday, April 11, at 8 p.m. CDT, so tune in for what I hope will become one of the most fun Twitter chats ever!
Filed under Cooking, Recipe of the Week | Tags: #cookchat, Cooking, Recipe of the Week, recipes, shepherd's pie | Comments (4)This Spaghetti Ain’t Squashed
Winter’s been quite severe so far, what with our area’s first blizzard of the 21st century and foot-upon-foot of snow and ice.
Brr. It was fun when the snow first came down but after that, not so much.
Weather like that makes one yearn for steamy food, doesn’t it? So this holiday season, I cooked what is fast becoming a Burke family “heirloom-in-waiting”; a marinara sauce my brother-in-law learned of from a friend, and that I’ve been experimenting with as well. It’s delish.
Unfortunately you’re not getting that recipe from me today.
Not because I’m being selfish, but mostly because I don’t have any photographs of it, and it deserves to be seen as well as eaten.
What I do think you should try to make, though, is this extremely easy and tasty recipe from Martha Rose Shulman for spaghetti squash. It’s incredible. I’ve started cooking it in place of pasta to go with the marinara. In fact, I don’t know if I’ll ever eat pasta again, when spaghetti squash is such a delicious and healthful alternative.
So try this out, and then you’ll be ready for the Burke marinara to really kick your taste buds into high gear.
Tip: since the bulk of your cooking time will be spent in baking the spaghetti squash prior to sauteing, I highly recommend pre-cooking (i.e. the baking part) a couple of squashes at the same time. Then divide it into portions (i.e. what you’ll need for one meal) and freeze it in several containers.
You can zap it in minutes in the microwave when you feel like eating it again, and you won’t have to spend all that time on prep, nor defrost and then refreeze it because you defrosted too much to begin with.
Manga!
Filed under Cooking, Recipe of the Week
| Tags: Cooking, marinara, martha rose shulman, pasta sauce, Recipe of the Week, spaghetti squash |
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