The Recipe
Courtesy of: Betty Crocker's Best Chicken Cookbook
2 pkgs (10 oz each) frozen broccoli spears
1/4 c margarine or butter
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/2 c chicken broth
1 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c whipping (heavy) cream
2 tbsp dry white wine or chicken broth
6 large slices cooked turkey breast, 1/4 inch thick
Cook and drain broccoli as directed on package; keep warm. While broccoli is cooking, melt margarine in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir flour and nutmeg into margarine. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese, the whipping cream, and wine.
Place hot broccoli in ungreased rectangle baking dish, 11x7x1-1/2 inches. Top with turkey. Pour cheese sauce over turkey. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Set oven control to broil. Broil with top 3 to 5 inches from heat about 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and light brown.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
While little things can be done to lighten this dish up, we usually use the following ingredients to reduce the fat and sodium:
Unsalted butter
Reduced sodium chicken broth
Half-and-half (instead of heavy cream)
Fast Version
We always use frozen broccoli that is by the steam fresh brand. It is fast and easy to quickly microwave the broccoli for the dish.
Substitutions and Tips
We have only ever made this recipe with chicken. We typically cook cubed chicken breast in a little bit of olive oil until golden brown. We then use 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to deglaze the pan to give the cheese sauce a little more flavor.
In the pictures, you will notice we also put bread crumbs on top. We either include freshly baked french bread, cubed and placed in the casserole mixture (bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes) or we mix about 1 tbsp unsalted butter with about 1/2 c bread crumbs and sprinkle on top (bake at 350 degrees for about 5 to 10 minutes, instead of broiling).
Although not necessary, we like to serve this over cooked white rice.
Review
The cookbook that this recipe comes from is our most favorite cook book. We have made almost all of the recipes from it, and highly recommend to all chicken lovers, buy this cookbook! But aside from the cookbook, the recipe for chicken divan that we have always known has just been cream of chicken canned soup with some veggies and pieces of bread, so this recipe really brings a lot of amazing flavors to a classic dish!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Hidden Valley and Sarah's college roommate, Vanessa Styx
2 c (1 lb) cooked crumbled sausage
1-1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
1-1/2 c grated monterey jack cheese
1 c prepared Hidden Valley Ranch Original Ranch salad dressing mix
1 (2.25 oz) can sliced ripe olives
1/2 c chopped red pepper
1 pkg (16 oz) package fresh or frozen wonton wrappers
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a miniature muffin pan with cooking spray. Insert wonton wrapper into the muffin pan and press to form small cups.
Bake for 5 minutes. Allow the baked wrappers to cool. Remove the cups from the muffin tin and place on a cookie sheet.
In a medium bowl, mix the sausage, cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, black olives, peppers, and ranch dressing. Fill the baked wonton wrapper cups with the sausage mixture.
Bake the filled wonton wrappers 5 to 10 minutes, until the sausage mixture is bubbly and slightly brown. Watch closely so the wonton wrappers do not burn.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
Instead of using sausage, we always use ground chicken as the meat. The chicken works extremely well with the creaminess of the ranch dressing. We also use reduced-fat ranch dressing, the cheese adds enough fat to the appetizer.
As a personal preference, we tend to keep the olives out and use fresh red pepper. We really like the sweet and little crunch the fresh red pepper adds.
Review
This is not an appetizer we make often because it does need to be served warm and needs to be made in a few batches, but it is one of our favorites. We highly recommend serving this if you are hosting a gathering!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Label Brands Quick and Easy Cook Book
1-1/3 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
2-2/3 cup water
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp grated ginger root
1 tbsp oil
3/4 lb boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin bite-sized strips
6 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 cup Green Giant Select Frozen sugar snap peas
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
Cook rice in water as directed on package.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine teriyaki sauce, sherry, cornstarch, and ginger root; blend well. Set aside.
Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add beef strips; cook and stir 3 or 4 minutes or until beef is browned and of desired doneness. Remove beef from skillet; cover to keep warm.
In same skillet, combine mushrooms and sugar snap peas. Cover; cook over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until peas are crisp-tender, stirring once or twice.
Stir cornstarch mixture until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture, beef, and sprouts to skillet; cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened. Serve over rice.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
We typically make a lot of substitutions or tweaks to this recipe (see below). One that helps keeping this recipe healthy is using low-sodium teriyaki sauce (again, Kikkoman's is typically the best tasting).
Fast Version
Typically, to save time with this recipe, we use a rice cooker to make the rice. Instead of using sirloin steak, you can buy stir-fry beef strips at the grocery store; which is cheap in addition to time-saving. Also, using powdered ginger instead of grating ginger root gives the dish the needed flavor without the additional time to peel and grate the root.
Substitutions and Tips
If you do not have dry sherry, white cooking wine provides the same flavor. In fact, we almost always use white wine in this recipe.
Instead of using olive or vegetable oil when cooking the meat, we use wok oil and only give it a few turns in the wok. If you do not have wok oil (like what happened to us this time making this recipe), use olive oil with a clove pressed garlic.
For the vegetables, we have never used frozen snap peas, we have always used fresh snap or snow peas (whichever is available at the store or farmer's market). Also, shiitake mushrooms are not always the best looking in the store or cheapest, so we use either baby bella's or white button mushrooms. If bean sprouts are not available or in season, they can be easily omitted from the recipe.
While rice is traditionally served with stir fries, we have also made it with udon noodles. These can be purchased at any local Asian market or even at Woodman's. Cook the noodles in boiling water (they only need about 4 to 5 minutes to cook) and add them to the stir fry at the very end to coat with the sauce.
The meat can be easily changed for this recipe. Substituting the beef for chicken, pork (you can purchase stir fry pork strips at the grocery store too), or even fresh shrimp can be easily done. If using shrimp, add it to the vegetables at the very end before adding the sauce. Also, when cooking the beef, cook it until just barely browned (a little pink is still visible) because the beef will continue to cook when removed from the pan, causing it to become very tough.
Review
We love Asian food, so this is a very easy and delicious recipe to make. It is easily changed to whatever ingredients you have in the house and that is why we highly recommend
it!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Sarah's Family
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 pkg vanilla pudding (cook and serve)
1.5 tsp cinnamon
24 frozen dinner rolls
chopped pecans
Thaw the dinner rolls until just soft (about 2 hrs).
In a pot, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, milk, vanilla pudding, and cinnamon, mixing until well blended.
Grease a 9x13 pan. Put the chopped pecans on the bottom of the pan. Place 12 rolls on top of the pecans. Pour butter mixture over to coat the dough. Place 12 more rolls between the butter covered pieces and pour remaining mixture over to coat.
Let the rolls sit and rise to approximately double the size, about 1.5-2 hrs, at room temperature.
After the rolls have raised, bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and invert the rolls on the cookie sheet.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
There is nothing to really do to make this recipe healthy. This is a once a year (Christmas Day) family tradition where the diet takes a break for a few days anyways.
Typically, we use sugar-free pudding and unsalted butter which can help reduce the sugar and sodium intake of this dish.
The best frozen dinner rolls to use for this recipe is Rhodes Frozen
Dinner Rolls (White). You can also use their bread loaves, cutting them
into roll sized pieces.
Fast Version
Typically, we make the sauce and place the rolls in the baking pan the night before and store it in the refrigerator over night. The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them rise for about an hour or so and then bake.
Review
This is a family tradition, back from when Sarah was young, to have the rolls for Christmas morning. And as a couple, we have continued the tradition. So, not only is it an addicting favorite of ours, but it's a wonderful Christmas tradition!
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Joshua's Aunt
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 pkg ramen noodles, uncooked
1 pkg slivered almonds
1 medium head nappa cabbage, shredded
1 bunch of green onion
1 oz sesame seeds, browned in 3 tbsp butter
In a saucepan, boil the oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce for one minute. Mix the remaining ingredients just before serving with the dressing mixture just before serving.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
As with all recipes, using olive oil instead of vegetable or canola oil is typically considered healthy. However, this recipe really thrives from the taste of vegetable, canola, or even sesame oil instead of olive oil. If you are looking to create a healthier option, use only 1/4 cup of sugar and low-sodium soy sauce (we have found only Kikkoman's can make low-sodium soy sauce decently).
Fast Version
If you are in a time crunch, make the dressing the night before and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You can toast the sesame seeds the night before and also store them in the refrigerator. Also, you can buy bagged, shredded coleslaw mix to use.
Spicing it Up
You can add bean sprouts, water chesnuts, or even sunflower seeds to the salad to spice it up a little.
Review
The salad is very similar to oriental salads you can get at your grocery store deli, but of course is much better being made fresh. We highly recommend including this salad with any Asian inspired meal.
The Recipe
Courtesy of: Rachel Ray's Top 30 30-minute meals - Comfort Food Cookbook
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1-3/4 lbs ground beef or ground lamb
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp sour cream or soften cream cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream (vegetable or chicken broth may be substituted)
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
In a large pot, boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
While potatoes boil, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to hot pan, then beef or lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and there's a lot of fat, spoon some of it out. Add carrot and onion; cook 5 minutes stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat, cook butter and flour together, 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire. Cook to thicken, 1 minute. Add gravy to meat mixture. Stir in peas.
Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk, and cream. Pour the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.
Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes evenly over meat. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from heat until evenly brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Tips/Tweaks
Keeping it Healthy
We tend to try and keep things on the healthier side, so we suggest not using the olive oil while frying the meat. Typically the meat provides enough grease to help cook the veggies. Also, we have used a beef/turkey blend in the past as the meat, which also provides a healthy twist to the meal without taking away from the flavor.
Using half-and-half versus heavy cream also helps lighten up the dish. Milk can also be substituted. We typically use the cream cheese (1/3 the fat) and have left the egg yolk out if watching the cholesterol of the dish.
Fast Version
If you are in a time-crunch, using refrigerator mashed potatoes such as Bob Evans or Simply Potatoes works just as well. You can also use left-over mashed potatoes, just add a little extra cream than what the recipe calls for.
Review
This is one of our favorite dishes, especially in winter time. It's not only an easy recipe to make, but it provides a delicious flavor. This is a recipe that we have been making together since college and we highly recommend it!
