Chicken Cauliflower Gratin

I've always really liked the idea of using cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes. I found this recipe today and thought I would try it out. It was originally made as a side dish. But I added chicken to make it into a main dish, you could also add pasta.

This is a really creamy sauce, but without the butter! I really liked substituting the cauliflower for potatoes and will do that more in the future. If you're not a vegetable person, or are cooking for someone who doesn't like vegetables, you can hardly tell the difference! Cauliflower, when cooked, has a consistency that is really similar to mashed potatoes, so its the perfect healthy replacement.

This recipe is delicious how it is originally, but would be great with these additions:

• Adding peas and carrots
• Pasta- another take on the main dish (if you make it without the chicken, it's a great vegetarian dish)
• Taking out the chicken- to make it a side (great with steak)
• Adding minced garlic
• Add broccoli

Chicken Cauliflower Gratin

Ingredients:

• 4 cups 1-inch cauliflower florets (about 1/2 large head) (I used frozen)
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk, divided into 1 1/4 and 1/4 cups
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs, I used crumbed crackers
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 tsp evoo
• 2 Tbl all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbl chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp black pepper (you can use white too, but I like the extra kick)
• Chicken, cooked and shredded (I had some left over from a rotisserie chicken)

Directions:

Position rack in upper rack of the oven and preheat your broiler.

In a large ovenproof skillet, over medium-high heat, bring cauliflower, 1 1/4 cups milk and salt to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup cheese and oil in a small bowl.

Whisk flour and the remaining 1/4 cup milk in another small bowl until smooth.

Stir the mixture into the pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Add chicken.

Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cheese, chives, mustard and pepper.

(I didn't have an oven proof skillet, so I transferred the gratin to a casserole dish to put in the oven)
Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Broil until the top is crispy and beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
Serves 4

We served the chicken gratin with fruit, tomato basil salad, and rolls. Everyone loved the meal, and went back for seconds and thirds! It's really creamy and cheesy, but still good for you!

Chili Cheese Rice and Another Pie

Greetings for the land of pots and pans!

I'm finishing up my last Fall semester and have been so busy with work I haven't had a lot of time to cook! Last Sunday Cameron and I went to my professor's house for a Christmas party, and so of course I cooked for the occasion! I made a Chile Cheese Rice Casserole and a Blackberry-Apple Pie (my second one!) I ended up having a lot of filling left over, so I made an extra pie for my roommates.

And my professor liked my chili cheese rice so much he asked me for the recipe...

Chile Cheese Rice:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked rice ( I put in 4 cups because otherwise its just too cheesy)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chopped scallions (this is about a whole bundle)
• 4-oz can chopped green chiles
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 8-oz parmesan
• salt and cayenne to taste (and then more to top off the casserole!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. Mix the cooked rice, sour cream, scallions, green chilies, cheddar, salt, and cayenne together in a bowl. Then in a casserole bowl, butter, and sprinkle parmesan on the bottom. Spread the rice mixture in the bowl and then sprinkle parmesan on the top and dot with butter. I added a bit of cayenne to the top to give it an extra kick. Bake for 20 minutes. A great and easy side dish.

Blackberry-Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tbl lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 lbs tart apples (about 6 apples)
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups frozen blackberries (not thawed) or fresh
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with nonstick spray.

Combine lemon juice and vanilla in a large bowl. Peel, core and cut apples into 3/4-inch chunks, tossing them in the lemon juice mixture as you work. Let the apples soak in the mixture.

Mix 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch and toss with apples. Add blackberries.

Place pre-made (or homemade, I didn't have time to make my own) pie dough in the bottom of the pie shell. With a rubber spatula, scrape the blackberry-apple filling into pie shell. Cover the top of the pie with the second pie dough. Press together edges of pastry to seal. With the tip of a sharp knife, cut 3 or 4 short slashes to vent steam. Moisten a pastry brush with water and lightly brush top of pie. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbl sugar. Place the pie on a baking sheet with sides.

Bake until crust is golden and filling bubbles, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Make you bake it unit the pie crust is golden, my crust cracked, so I guess I'll have to keep experimenting so that it won't do that again!)

A Thanksgiving Side Dish

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Some of my family came into Oklahoma this morning to spend Thanksgiving with us.

Today I was in charge of the carrots. The biggest part of Thanksgiving dinner, second only to the turkey. I found a really good recipe. I have to quadruple the recipe for my family. But the recipe I'll give is only for 1 lb of carrots.

All the girls worked all morning to get the dinner ready for everyone. We had turkey, two different kinds of stuffing, broccoli cheese casserole, green beans, rolls, gravy, candied fruit, and of course carrots.

(Left: Aunt Na, Boo, and Emily) (Right: Boo and Mom)

(Dad and the 21 lb turkey! A lot of meat!)

The Recipe (Glazed Carrots):

Ingredients

• 1 pound carrots, approximately 7 medium, peeled and cut on the bias 1/4-inch thick
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• Heavy pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup good-quality ginger ale
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat, combine the carrots, butter, salt and ginger ale. Cover and bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, remove the lid, stir, and reduce the heat to low. Cover again and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, add the chili powder and increase the heat to high.

Cook, tossing occasionally, until the ginger ale is reduced to a glaze, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

To end the season of Thanksgiving, Richard discovered that he is allergic to cats and his eye swelled up and shut. Not a good time to find that out, but after the cat went outside Richard's swelling went down.