Part Two of my broccoli overloaded surplus.

So now I have a mess of Broccoli soup to contend with and while a stint in the freezer is always a great option  - who doesn't love to have something at the ready to pull out at a moments notice?  The recent ice storms here - yes ICE STORMS - in the sunny south - have altered my viewpoint of the merits of a too too full freezer.  So I had to come up with a plan b.  I remembered my mom's mom Anna and the broccoli casserole she would make only just for me upon my summer visits.  Although I am sure it was chock full of Cream of something soup - I LOVED that she made it for me and I really did not like to share.

Fond memories present I found in addition to my broccoli soup some cooked rice and violia Cheesy Broccoli Rice casserole was born.  Have you ever noticed that if you prepose pretty much anything with the word Cheesy it becomes appetizing?  Try it - you'll see. Rice Casserole.  Cheesy rice casserole.  Enchiladas or Cheesy Enchiladas.  Broccoli or Cheesy Broccoli.  I rest my case.

I mixed broccoli soup with cooked rice, topped it off with some shredded cheddar.  Bake in a 350 oven 35-40 minutes until heated through and it's reached it's perfect level of cheesy!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!

And now......what to do with PlannedOver Cheesy Broccoli Rice part I

Costco and Broccoli Stalks

A long time ago in a forest far away lived a whole very big bunch of broccoli.  Won't you join us please on this four part planned over that will take us on an unprecedented use of plannedover product.

It all began with a trip to Costco.  In which I shopped without consulting my fridge for inventory and now I have a new rule, a new shopping rule that is, that I will share with you so you can learn from the error of my ways.  Do not go to Costco straight from the airport after you have been gone for a week and buy industrial sized (IS) bags of vegetables.  Just do not, bad idea.  There is however, one caveat to this rule which proves you are the ultimate planner because your have made sure your fridge was empty when you left. In THAT case you can shop freely for extra large portions of perishables to your hearts content.  I however found my self with 1.5 IS bags of broccoli AND a small bit of mostly stems in a produce bag hiding in the back corner.  I had a LOT of broccoli.  Even my darling husband who NEVER complains about anything that I make feebly requested to have one day broccoli free.  So I had to get REALLY creative.

I triaged my supply and determined the stalks and half empty old IS bag of broccoli needed to go sooner rather than later.  What to do with stalks and oldish broccoli?  You could make the Broccoli Pesto I wrote about here ages ago.  Or you can keep it simple and oh so satisfying by throwing the broccoli bits, some onion and potato, and some stock into a big ole pot and you can make soup.  Broccoli soup is healthy, a great use of excess and unwanted broccoli parts, and most importantly deliciously comforting food.   Top with some cheddar cheese perhaps a dollop of sour cream and thoroughly enjoy!

Maybe not the most appetizing photo- but hey it's hard to take a picture of steaming soup!  Try Food and Wine's recipe!

And now..... what to do with our planned over Broccoli Soup???

Happy Eating!

The Reincarnation of the Roast of PlannedOver Future

A not so Long long time ago (humming when the music dies) I wrote a post about the Roast of PlannedOver Future - and while we did enjoy the roast first go around, knowing that I have something cooked and in the freezer and ready to incorporate into a fabulous dinner - gives me immense satisfaction.  What can I say??? I'm a planner!  I do and have realized after talking with friends and meeting new people that not everyone shares my affliction for needing to plan.  Some are in fact, quite happy to have no clue what they will be eating for dinner that night, even if it is RAPIDLY approaching dinner time.  I have not found myself to have that capacity, it sounds nice - if only on paper.

So after we enjoyed the roast I subdivided into two portions and vaccusealed and labeled the plannedovers and into the freezer to await their rebirth into a hectic work day meal.   On this particular occasion I knew it would be a late night for me so I needed something simple for my darling husband to simply heat and eat.  That coupled with the cold temperatures of late led me to make something warmy and comforty and I decided on a stuffed spud.  To keep it as simple as possible I shredded the meat and added it to a homemade bechamel style cheese sauce, using up the last bits of several bags of shredded cheese including mexican and Cheddar.  Ready to simply heat and pour over baked potatoes.  Add a simple salad and some steamed broccoli and dinner is DONE!!

Shredded Meat in Cheese Sauce

Happy Eating!!! Enjoy!

You say potato I say POtAto. Either or EIther way you look at it reheating a big ole bowl of mashed up spuds is just plain boring.  I have explored various uses for putting to use purposefully plannedover pureed potatoes, because lets face it if you are going to put the work into homemade mashed potatoes it behooves you to plan it out to get the maximum bang for your
buck.  We've had potato pancakes.  Tried and enjoyed plannedover potato gnocchi.  And now, a genius use for planned over spuds I came about while trolling the internet on a very recent very uncommon snow day.  Twice baked potato casserole! Brilliant!!


PlannedOver mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Milk
Sour Cream
Crumbled bacon - optional
Chopped Green Onions - optional

Preheat oven to 350. Mix mashed potatoes with sour cream and milk - stir in cheese, and if using bacon and onions.  Top with cheese.
Place in an oven proof baking dish.  Bake until heated through and cheese is melted 30-45 minutes.

Enjoy!! Happy eating!

The Business of a Name

What is it about the particular name of something that either induces a strong desire for or against a particular food.  For example pate sounds much more desirable than liver pudding - yes such a thing does exist.  All I can tell you about puddin as it is know around these parts, is that when I asked how you serve it and eat it here is what I was told "You cut a slice and put it on hot grits and it just sort of melts."  I passed.  Boudin noir better than blood sausage, Escargot infinitely better than sails and crudites sounds more appetizing and far more chic than raw cut up vegetables. To me,  being a love of  vegetables in all form this one does not apply to me.  So food, or the perception of food, along with so many other aspects of life can vary greatly, depending how it is presented.

So whether you call it stuffing or dressing the teenage male in my household had made up his mind that he did not like this particular dish.  Please do not even get me started on the thousands of variaions of what stuffing or dressing can be comprised of, he is of the opine that if he had eaten something called stuffing and he did not like it, he would therefore from that point moving forward, not like anything called stuffing.  A dilema because I had stale bread and leftover celery from Christmas morning bloodies and when you find yourself with those  two ingredients and it is winter - you make stuffing.  And I did.  I did also, however, when querried as to what was for dinner, rename it as bread pudding.  Needless to say it was a hit!

Hodge Podge of Stale PlannedOver Bread

Left over bread - if you see from my picture I used bagels
Onion
Celery
Mushrooms
Eggs
Broth or Stock
Salt and Pepper
Bell's seasoning

Saute onions, mushrooms and celery in a little butter and olive oil until translucent and soft.  Transfer to a bowl.  If your bread is not dried out - put it in a 350 oven for 20 minutes.  Add cubed or torn bread to bowl with onions add two beaten eggs, stock and seasoning to taste.  Mixture should be pretty wet.  This can even be made in advance, refridgerated, check if additional broth needs to be added and continue.  Place mixture in a baking dish 350 45-60 minutes!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!

The Roast Revival

I cooked a RibEye Roast for the first time - times 2 - this holiday season.  Having never cooked this cut of beef before I asked the butcher for recommendations.  For my 5 plus pound roast I was given the following instructions:

Bring the roast to room temperature by leaving on the counter for one hour prior to cooking Preheat the oven to 350- Cook for one hour then turn the oven off.  DO NOT OPEN the Door during this time.  Wait one hour.  Then turn the oven back on to 350 and cook 20-40 minutes depending upon your preference for how rare you like your beef.

She told me she had been cooking her roast this way for 25 years and true to her word it came out beautifully!  Now I just need to remember to stop in and let her know how it turned out!

The marbling in a ribeye is a beautiful thing and provides so much of the rich beefy flavor of this particular cut of beef.  Especially when it is hot.  Next day ribeye leftovers that marbling can seem obscene as if somehow overnight in the refrigerator all of the fat molecules joined forces and multiplied - a lot.  I figured I could take advantage of their effort and use a braise to melt the fat and re-infuse the meat -making it tender and juicy.  I fine chopped all I had left and added it to a pan with some remaining au jus and a little broth and simmered it all for about 30 minutes.  Sauteed up a mess of peppers and onions and my Ribeye Roast was reborn into a Philly Cheese Steak.

 Enjoy and Happy Eating!!!

By the way...................Spencer says

A Tale of Two Dips - part Two

The other luscious leftover from our celebrations was a simply divine mushroom pate spread.  Long long ago in a galaxy far far away, no wait - that was just for you MG, faithful reader and mine.  Several years ago one of us got a small tin of Mushroom Pate in her stocking.  I believe it was my mother who took it and developed a simply marvelous mushroom mashed potatoes that is  heavenly and has been oft repeated at holiday dinners.  We had a menu change this year which left me with a tin of pate and a desire to have a mushroomie component to our meal.  I mixed the tin with some sauteed finely chopped mushrooms, cream cheese, and a hefty handful of grated Parmesan.  35 minute stint in a 350 oven produced a creamy, earthy, cheesy - mushroom delightful spread.

And now the fun begins round two with the continuation of the party, the refrigerator clean out party that is. It has been unseasonably cold here, well everywhere for that matter and that has me staying indoors and seeking warmth.  I decided that the perfect second life for our cheesy magic mushroom spread was to become a sauce for pasta.  I took the spread, thinned with a little milk and heated in a saucepan.  I added cooled cooked orzo and cooked until heated through.  Perfect as is or feel free to add some freshly chopped parsley and a little more Parm - never hurt anything!

Happy Eating!! Enjoy!!