Recipe Review: Whole Foods Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole

Happy Sunday! I'm not watching Revenge, I don't really care about the SAG awards, or the Pro Bowl... and Downton Abbey is over. So here we are. Bridesmaids is on HBO and I'm blogging about food during that scene... you know the one. Maybe not the best for blogging about food. I'm a trooper though, and I had a great weekend, so let's do this.

This is what I say to myself when I try to budget.

 I have been craving broccoli, rice & cheese casserole, BUT almost every recipe you look for calls for processed cheese. Processed cheese is a cheese product made from regular cheese, and almost always with the addition of whey, emulsifiers, milk, salts, preservatives, and food coloring. We are all familiar with processed cheese (also called "Cheese Product", "Cheese Food", "Process Cheese", and "prepared cheese" since it can't legally be called "cheese".) I downed Kraft Singles as a kid and I'm not sure if I know of a way to make queso that doesn't involve velvetta. Both of these are "Cheese Food." Am I against cheese food? No. But if I can find an alternative to it, I prefer to use that. Then I'll save all of my processed cheese points for when someone wants to make crock pot queso. To be honest, the more processed something is, the less I want to eat it. If there is an alternative that is closer to the actual ingredients, go for that. For more info on the ingredient list for Kraft Singles, see this little blurb from Fooducate.

I did a little google search for "Broccoli cheese casserole without processed cheese" and a few different recipes popped up. One from Whole Foods seemed pretty easy to follow with ingredients I had on hand. As much as I tried not to, I made a few changes to the recipe as I went along. The Whole Foods recipe had 3/5 stars so I figured maybe I should see what could be done. 

The recipe started with toasting a cup of jasmine rice in a pot with a little bit of EV Olive Oil.Then you add in water & salt, bring it to a boil and let it do it's magical rice thing. I like to usually make my rice with chicken stock instead of water, but I didn't have any. After I added in the water I stirred in a teaspoon of better than bouillon chicken to give it a bit of flavor. Before I forget, preheat the oven to 350.

Rice Toasting

Bouillon Stirring

Ready Rice!

 Next I used my fancy little slap chop to make some finely chopped onions. L really enjoyed this whole process and asked for a repeat well after the onion was chopped. Kids. Then I sauteed the onions in a pan with EV Olive Oil.

Props to that Pampered Chef party in 2005. The Slap Chop is still going strong.

Sauteed

 I already had my broccoli prepped and my onions cooked much faster than I anticipated (thanks to all of that slap chopping) so I threw in the broccoli after only a couple of minutes.

2.5 C of Broccoli

Toss the Broccoli in with the onions.

 I looked and looked for a non condensed Cream of Mushroom soup. I found a "Semi Condensed" version and it was better than fully condensed so I went with it.

 I added the rice into the onion and broccoli mixture, followed by the soup, salt, fresh ground pepper, and a teaspoon of garlic powder. The garlic powder is not on the original recipe. 

Last I added the cheese. I probably did 3/4 cups instead of 1/2 cup. It's cheese. I was not having the processed version so I added a little in.

Extreme Close Up

 Because the soup was semi condensed, I added in about 2 tablespoons of water to the bottom of the pan. The casserole was supposed to be "Bubbly" when it was ready and there was not going to be any bubbly at this point. I poured the water in at the corners so it would seep underneath and not screw with the top of the casserole. Tips to live by. 

Casserole in pan

Sprinkled with cheese

In the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

 Then it was done. We had it for dinner tonight with some rotisserie chicken. I thought it was really good. It definitely hit the spot where my craving was concerned, but was not the exact same flavor. Was it something that left me speechless? No. But I would say for a healthier version of a very sinful treat, it was really good. Probably a 4/5 stars. I used Sharp Cheddar instead of regular, because I prefer the extra bit of flavor. Here's an extreme cheese closeup of the finished product.

YUMMMMMM

Full pan casserole pornography.

Like I said, this was a great healthier version of one of my favorite casserole treats. I will definitely make it again. S really liked it too. It was quick, the ingredients are inexpensive, and it was easy. Next time I might try to see if I can do a version with brown rice and make it even a little bit more better for you (and me). I'll report back when I get motivated.

Dinner tomorrow: Rosemary Lobster Tails. We've been there before. I'm excited to go there again. Maybe a side of Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole. The possibilities are endless!

- RT

Whole Foods Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Casserole
(can be made Gluten Free, Wheat Free, and Vegetarian) - I did none of that.This is the original recipe. I added in the Chicken Bouillon, Garlic Powder, and used Sharp Cheddar Cheese. All of that is included above.

Ingredients: 

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
• Salt to taste
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 (15 ounce) can regular or gluten-free ready-to-eat (not condensed) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Method: 

Grease a 7- x 11-inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray; set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until translucent and toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Set pot aside off of the heat for 5 minutes, then uncover, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked rice, then stir in soup, 1/2 cup of the cheese, salt and pepper.

Transfer rice mixture to prepared baking dish and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over the top. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

 

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:230 calories (120 from fat), 13g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 20mg cholesterol, 680mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 8g protein

Special Diets: 

• Gluten Free
• Vegetarian
• Sugar Conscious
• Wheat Free

Easy and Indecent Beer Can Chicken

We're going to make this quick and dirty. Tonight it's time to molest some chickens. Don't worry, they want it this way, and so do you. There are many variations on "Beer Can Chicken." Some do it in the oven, some on the grill, and some in so many different ways it makes your head want to spin. Most use beer, others use salad dressing, and still others use a can of baked beans that they then pair with the chicken after cooking. Whatever you choose, this is a pretty basic and fool proof way to cook chicken. If you are a girl still waiting to approach the grill, this is a great starting point. ANYONE can do this. If you can't, email me so I can laugh help you. In real life, you can do this. If you need some help with something TELL ME.

Look, this idiot did it. you can too!

For the purposes of this blog, let's just consider me a Beer Can Chicken traditionalist. I set out to do my Beer Can Chicken on the grill using actual beer. Call me crazy, but I like to master the basics before branching out and ruining dinner (again). They do make a stand for the chicken that you can buy, but I like to live dangerously and the chicken with the can stuck up it's rear actually creates a nice little tripod.

Here I am... I had a whole fryer that I picked up from the farmer's market. Since these chickens are not pumped full of hormones and other crazies, they are a nice small size that is easy for two people to split for dinner. Meet my chicken. We'll call her Sharon. I have no idea why.

I was kind of surprised to find that Sharon did not have her organs in a neat little bag inside of her belly. I was also surprised to find that cluck still had her neck. At least they took the head. It's the little things. Really. 

Next I found a beer in a can. It was kind of hard. I never realized how many bottles we have. Pop the top and drink (or if you want to be totally chaste about it, throw out) half of the beer. 

Hello Beer.

Pick up ole Sharon (the chicken) and rinse her off in some water in the sink, patting her dry. Then pick out your favorite dry rub. I like Uncle Chris' Gourmet Steak Seasoning. On everything. Especially steak and chicken.

After rubbing the chicken you are going to prepare to shove the beer can where the sun don't shine. Take a deep breath and tell the chicken to spread 'em. 

"You might feel a slight pinch"

See what I said about a natural tripod? Who needs a stand, really?

I had my grill heating up on high heat. When I brought the chicken out I turned off one of the burners and kept the rest running medium high, somewhere around 350 to 400 degrees. It is best to cook the chicken with indirect heat, so you don't want to have it directly over the fire or burners. I have a gas grill, and on any grill really you need to make sure the chicken set up on the beer can will fit with the grill top closed. You might have to remove a rack. In a charcoal grill you will need to make sure the coals are positioned so that you can have the chicken on indirect heat. 

 

I settled Sharon in and closed the top. About thirty minutes later... it started to rain. I called S to see if it was possible to grill in the rain. Apparently it is frowned upon. Quick as lightening I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and got ready to make a switch. After thirty minutes on the grill, Sharon was looking pretty chill.

Word

Using some tongs and an oven mitt, I transferred Sharon to a baking sheet and brought her inside to move into the oven. 

Totally relaxed in the oven.

After 30 additional minutes in the oven, I took the chicken out to cool. We were about to eat it, so it loses it's catchy name. I should have called it "Dinner." 

I really like how the chicken looks like it's sitting on a stool relaxing.

We removed the can and threw it away. That can is nasty. You don't want to keep it. This is why I don't understand the baked beans version of Beer Can Chicken. Once you remove the can, the chicken looks really violated. It's ok, you are about to carve it into pieces. It will get better. 

Violation

And finally, your chicken is cooked.

This one was amazing. I don't know if it was a size bonus or what, it makes me hungry for it all over again. Another cooking trick you can do with this (if you like BBQ chicken) is basting it with your favorite sauce or marinade the last ten minutes of cooking. Of course, that works much better on the grill than in the oven. S does this a lot for foolproof BBQ Chicken. I think it's less messy overall and less expensive. Most of the time buying a whole fryer (or Broiler or Roaster... aka a whole chicken) is less expensive or the same cost as buying three breasts. And who doesn't love drumsticks? Tell me. I'm going to get them! 

Basic cooking for the beer can chicken is 1 hour on the grill on indirect heat with the coals or other burners burning on high heat to maintain 350 - 400 degrees. I'm not sure the exact science of doing it in the oven, I kind of winged it. But if you can't do a grill, the oven seemed just as easy. I'm sure you could google an easy Beer Can Chicken in the Oven recipe. 

Back to food. It feels so good. Go cook your chicken!

-RT

Bean There, Done That

One of my most favorite things to cook is a pot of beans when the weather is cool. 1. It's easy. 2. You can make it healthy. 3. It's tasty. Please hold any 4th grade "magical fruit"/"good for your heart" jokes until the end of this blog post. 

Last week I put up a pot of black beans and they were fantastic. Someone asked me once what it means to "put up a pot" of something. I was kind of perplexed. I've always used that expression. I'm fairly certain it's southern if not Texan. I never really questioned its exact meaning and always use it to talk about cooking beans, peas, or other things you would cook for a long period of time in a pot on the stove. If someone has a proper history for this expression please fill me in... any linguist expert type people? No? Shocking.

The sorted life of black beans....

SO, I made black beans. I used dried beans, so they required some soaking. Step one in bean management involves sorting and picking through the dried beans to make sure there aren't any rocks or other non bean type items in there. Some people skip this step. I used to. Then I bit into a rock. Lesson learned. 

Bean Rinse aka Clean yo Bean

After you finish sorting, you want to give the beans a rinse in a colander. Then you have a few options.  All options start with you putting the beans in a pot (or large bowl) and covering them with LOTS of water. Specific amounts will likely be on your bean bag - mine said six cups. If you did the large bowl, make sure it is very large and cover it with a dishtowel to keep random mishmash from getting in there. Then leave the beans on the counter overnight or for at least 6-8 hours. You can do this same thing in a pot. I personally prefer the quick boil method. Mostly because I get tired at night and forget to soak the beans. For a quick soak, the beans need to be in a pot. Bring the water to a full, rolling boil, turn the heat of, cover them, and leave them to sit for 2-3 hours. 

 

Water Covered Beans

Boiling Beans

I did this first thing in the morning since I was making the beans for dinner that night. My plan was to have everything in the pot simmering by 4pm. When L went down for her nap I got to chopping. 

Back to the Grid Method.

Finished Product

I chopped one VERY large onion, sliced about six cloves of garlic (If you don't like garlic you should leave now before one of us gets hurt), and took the beans out of the pot to do one last rinse. I make this one a quick rinse so that I don't lose a lot of the goodness that is naturally in the beans. Next I got out my cast iron pot and turned the stove to medium to heat it up. Once it was nice and hot I added about a tablespoon of EV Olive Oil and tossed in the onions and garlic. 

My Garlic Friends

My lovely garlic press that has a slicing mechanism. Thanks wedding registry! 

Once in the pot, I stirred the onions and garlic until my house smelled amazing and the onions were soft and becoming "clear" in appearance. 

Clear Onions, Full Heart, Can't Lose...... it's late. shut up. 

I put a smoked ham hock in the pot and gave it a little browning on the sides before adding in about 4 cups of chicken stock. You can always add in water, but I prefer to use stock if I have it.  

Stock

Stock and Hock

 After bringing that up to a boil, I added the beans back in along with two more cups of water and two Goya Ham seasoning packets. It's like Ham bouillon. It's magical. 

Ham Flavah.

Full pot.

 I wanted the broth to cook off of the beans so they would be less like soup, so while I boiled them I left the top off and checked in on the broth level. I cooked them over a low boil for about 2.5 hours. You'll want to check the beans after two hours to check the consistency and see if they are getting to what you prefer. I like mine to still be firm, so 2.5 hour timing works well. 

Low boil, badly captured.

 After a couple of hours my beans looked like this. I took out a spoonful to sample.

Taste Test

 This is the point where I see if my beans need added salt. Because I am cooking with broth and a ham hock, and ham seasoning, I like to see how much natural flavor and saltiness I can get out before adding more in. I also (just to remind you again) don't really salt things that can be easily salted to taste after they are cooked. 

I love chopped tomatoes in my black beans. BUT tomatoes and cast iron are not friends. Also, if you put the tomatoes in too early, they wilt into nothing. I took about four roma tomatoes, gave them a rough chop, and put them in to cook for about 15 minutes with the beans. 

Tomato Party

Now  I want this again.

 The last thing I do, right before serving, is take an entire bushel of washed cilantro and tear it into pieces over the pot, dropping it all in but the stems. You have a couple of options with the ham hock. I usually leave it in and then add it to the leftovers, keeping it until all of the beans are gone. You can also pick all of the meat off of the hock and add it in with the beans and throw the non meat rest of the hock away. Do as you please. 

Up close and personal.

Finished product.

 We are usually a brown rice family. I like brown rice and if it's better for me, then bonus. I happened to have the brown and wild rice I used with the chicken soup that is fantastic, so I decided to try that out with the beans. WINNER. Here is a photo op in case any of you want to seek it out and try it. 

You know it's good because it says "Arroz"

Cooked to perfection, even though I need a new rice cooker. Suggestions appreciated. 

Things that are great to serve with this meal include: sliced avocado, Mexican cotija cheese, sour cream (or non fat plain greek yogurt), salsa, or pico de gallo. We did avocados and Cotija cheese. 

The final product. Perfection in a bowl! 

Because I was making this for us AND Landy, I didn't add jalapenos, which I usually do and love. If you want to do that, I like to add in one jalapeno (deseeded then chopped) with the onions and garlic, and then take a second jalapeno, chop the top off of it to expose the seeds and insides, and drop it into the water to boil with the beans. I remove the remaining whole jalapeno before serving. 

Cooking in pots is the best thing about cool weather. And if you happen to be home with the kids or on a Saturday or Sunday, you can work on it little by little throughout the day and still have plenty of time with your kiddos. This is also something you might be able to adapt to a slow cooker if you work during the day. I'm not great at slow cooking, but it's one of my goals to figure that out this cool weather season. Here's a quick recap of my ingredients:

1 16oz package of dried black beans

1 T EV Olive Oil

1 very large white or yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic

1 smoked ham hock

4-6 cups of chicken broth or water

1-3 packets of goya ham seasoning (to taste)

4 large roma tomatoes

1 bunch of cilantro

rice

Optional:

Jalapeno

Avocado

Cotija Cheese

Sour Cream (not really optional)

pico de gallo

This is one of my absolute favorites. I think I make it twice a month during the fall and winter. It is another warm, filling dish that is actually pretty healthy and simple. It is also EXTREMELY cost effective. On the health front, just remember, you are in charge of your own sour cream intake. I love sour cream, so I try to sub it out for plain, non fat greek yogurt. Can't even tell. Share your beans with someone you love. They are magical, after all. 

-RT