Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole

Posted on March 12, 2014 by admin

I tend to not spend a lot of time on side dishes. This one could be a meal-in-one. I’ve seen a lot of broccoli and wild rice dishes but I did mine with a few slightly- healthier touches. There’s no canned soup here, and no heavy cream, no cheese, and so little butter. There is some serious flavor (and sodium) from the broth so season accordingly or swap out low sodium broth if you’d like.

The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups wild rice
2 cups water
1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1/2 tsp Krazy salt (or a mix of salt, italian seasoning, garlic powder)
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stocks, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tbs garlic, diced
3 tbs wheat flour
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper
2 cups broccoli florets, trimmed
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup wheat panko

Directions:

Cook the wild rice in water and vegetable broth until fully cooked through.
Mix in sprinkle of Krazy salt and spread into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole
In a dutch oven, cook carrots, onions, and celery in 1-2 tbs olive oil for 5-7 minutes over medium heat.
Add in garlic and wheat flour, stirring well.
brocc_rice_casserole_veg_590_390
Pour in vegetable stock, wine, thyme, salt, and pepper.
Increase heat to medium high, cover, and let look for 8 minutes at a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
Preheat the oven to 375-degrees.
In a separate pot, boil broccoli florets for about 4-6 minutes. They should be cooked through but slightly crisp.
Pour the broccoli on top of the rice layer.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole
The carrot/celery mixture will have thickened up. Pour on top of the broccoli layer.

Melt butter and mix in olive oil and panko.
Sprinkle over the top and bake for 20-30 minutes.

I liked this, but phew! It seemed like a lot of work for just a side. I love the velvety sauce over the broccoli. I would probably leave it at that next time. The rice wasn’t really necessary. The highlight is the illusion of creaminess with the broccoli and the toasty crumbs on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole
It made a ton and I felt like we ate it a million times. I’d half this or freeze half next time. I also would question the rice. This would be good for a crowd, or as a side with just about anything else…fish, pork, chicken, steak, sausages, turkey, etc. I think it could be a good one for Thanksgiving or a potluck. It definitely has a winter vibe so I wouldn’t be whipping this one up for spring.

Not to worry, I’m done with the heavy winter foods. I have a breakfast what I ate up next, then a lightened up snacky treat, and maybe a cocktail (if I get my act together).

Kale & Portobello Breakfast Strata

Posted on February 26, 2014 by admin

Again, I’m on the quest for not-sweet breakfast ideas. I wanted to try to make something that wasn’t all that egg-y. I love eggs but breakfast seems to be either sweet or eggs or fruit. That’s it. I figured I’d try to make something not heavy on the eggs, just for a challenge.

This veggie strata isn’t all that authentic – I went light on the eggs and light on the bread. It is really heavy on the kale and mushrooms to make it filling. I liked it, but wouldn’t eat it weekly. I made a ton and froze a few slices once I got tired of it.

Google helped me come up with a name for this. There’s a fine line between quiche (traditionally has crust, more egg than other ingredients) versus frittata (crustless, often has potatoes) versus strata (crustless, with bread in it).

The Three Bite Rule - Kale & Portobello Strata

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups kale, deveined and chopped
1 pt portobello mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup swiss cheese
3 slices of light wheat bread, cubed
salt & pepper
2 tbs grated Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
In a large bowl, add kale and mushrooms.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale & Portobello Strata
Add in the onions, cheese, and bread.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, garlic powder. Add in salt & pepper to taste.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Strata with Kale & Portobello
Add the egg mixture into the veggie mixture, stir well until evenly coated.
Pour the mixture into a large baking dish, sprayed with non-stick spray in a thin even layer. (mine didn’t all fit so I put the remainder into a smaller ramekin.)
Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake for 30-minutes.
Let cool and serve a room temperature or slightly warmed.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Strata with Kale & Portobello
This made about 8 very sizable servings for me. It seemed like a ton. There’s only 3 eggs and 3 slices of bread in the 8 servings. It would be an easy way to use whatever veggies you have around. I’m lucky that work not only provides lunch daily but there’s a salad everyday, but who doesn’t need more veggies daily? I liked that it definitely seems different than quiche or eggs. It was good to start the day with a serious serving of veggies for a savory breakfast.

Mushrooms are a great way to bulk up the quantity of food, without adding anything bad. They’re great fillers to meatballs or to make salad more filling or burritos or anywhere to reduce the meat without feeling hungry afterwards.

What else should I whip up for savory but easy breakfast?

What I Ate: Curry Carrot Soup

Posted on February 21, 2014 by admin

‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.

This literally couldn’t be easier. It was a nice change of pace for a quickie dinner. I came home from a class at the gym and either I want something light to not un-do my workout OR I want something filling and rich.

Ingredients:

4 large carrots with the tops cut off
1 cup veggie stock
1 cup water
1 tsp curry powder

Directions:

In a large pot, cook carrots in stock and water over high heat, for 15 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Curry Carrot Soup
When carrots are cooked though and soft, blend until smooth, either with an immersion blender or in a stand blender.
Return to the pot and add the curry and some pepper.

Cook another 5 minutes. Add more water if desired.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Curry Carrot Soup
I was a little heavy handed with the pepper. hahaha oops. I thought the curry flavor was so good with the sweet carrot flavor.

It freezes well too. Ready. Set. Soup!

Kale Mac & Cheese

Posted on February 10, 2014 by admin

Mac and cheese becomes healthy if there’s a leafy green ingredient. Right? I love mac & cheese. It is one of my favorite wintry comfort foods. We Are Not Martha posted a great adult-flavored mac & cheese a few weeks ago. I figured mac and cheese was a great use for some of my leftover cheese fondue.

The Three Bite Rule - Kale Mac & Cheese
Some of my favorite mac & cheeses:
Fontina Mac & Cheese with potato chip topping
Bacon Ranch Mac & Cheese because these are the best. flavors. anywhere.
Mexican Mac & Cheese with taco seasoning and taco inspiration
Mac & Cheese Taste-off to try 11 different mac & cheeses while stuffing your guests

Ingredients:

1 cup cheese sauce (or leftover cheese fondue)
1 cup chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded cheese (I used swiss)
1 egg yolk
1/2 pound pasta (I used mini rigatoni)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup of crackers, crumbled
2 tbs grated parmesan
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Boil salted water for the pasta.
In a medium saucepan, warm cheese sauce over medium-low heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook until al dente, being careful not to overcook.
Add in the broth and heavy cream, mixing well.
Tear the kale off the center stocks by pulling from the base towards the other end. Then chop the leafy parts, discarding the stocks.
Drain the pasta and mix into the cheese sauce.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Mac & Cheese
Sprinkle in the kale and mix well.

Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
Mix in the egg yolk and shredded cheese to the pasta mixture and transfer to the baking dish.

Bake for 10 minutes.
While mac and cheese is baking, mix together melted butter, cracker crumbs, and parmesan.
Sprinkle topping onto the mac and cheese and bake for another 15 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Mac & Cheese
Enjoy!

I loooved this. It was a great use of some leftover fondue. It’s been such a cold year and this was exactly what I needed. The kale was earthy against the cheesiness. The egg yolk is a secret ingredient that adds a velvet texture like carbonara.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Mac & Cheese

Mojito Shrimp

Posted on February 5, 2014 by admin

It was another his/hers night here at the Chilton household…I’m seriously on a quest to get more deer out of the freezer. I was planning something with shrimp and Mr. J was forced to eat some venison. He braised it. It smelled to-die-for but my 3 ingredient shrimp was so amazing and such a reminder how easy shrimp is to throw together. Also, my shrimp had taken up some permanent residence in the freezer so I was also a culprit of freezer real estate taken over by food we’re not using.

I often cook shrimp in lemon and garlic but wanted to think about what else goes well with the flavor of shrimp. Not lemon this time, but lime! Perfect! Fresh herbs were on sale so I didn’t feel as bad shelling out big bucks for an herb I had 1 plan to use. I did get a fancy herb keeper for xmas so there’s hope that the mint can find another use. I’d be all about mojitos if it weren’t 4-degrees outside.
The Three Bite Rule - Mojito Shrimp

I made shaved brussels sprouts as a side dish but thought it’d be a perfect bed for my little shrimp. Trader Joe’s sells them shaved, which is awesome, or you can chop up whole ones, discarding the base. Jasper’s Corner Tap in San Fran does a side dish of brussels sprout petals which is also an amazing way to use them.

Mojito Shrimp over Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

~5 large shrimp
10 mint leaves
3 tbs lime juice
2 tbs melted butter
3 tbs bread/cracker crumbs (optional)
2 slices of bacon (optional)
10 oz bag of shaved brussels sprouts, or 1 pound fresh brussels sprouts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Defrost, peal, devein the shrimp (as needed).
Chop the mint.
Toss together shrimp, lime juice, butter, and shrimp in a small baking dish.
The Three Bite Rule - Mojito Shrimp
Sprinkle with salt & pepper and bake for 5-7 minutes (my shrimp was fully cooked already).
Heat a large pan to medium high heat.
Fry the bacon until crisp and 75% cooked.
While bacon is cooking, chop brussels sprouts if using whole ones.
Add in the shaved brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Mojito Shrimp
After the shrimp has cooked for the 5-7 minutes, stir, then top with breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs (optional) and bake another 5 minutes.

Toss the brussels sprouts letting them caramelize a little bit.
Lay a bed of brussels sprouts onto the center of the plate.
The Three Bite Rule - Mojito Shrimp
Top with shrimp and drizzle a spoonful of the liquid on top of the shrimp.

I went a little overboard with the lime juice so I toned it back for your quantities, and increased the butter a bit so your liquids have better balance than mine did initially. The lime was quite strong so I added the breadcrumbs to it. It would be fine without those…just use my lime/butter quantities as a reference.

This was really good. The mojito (aka lime & mint) flavors would be great with chicken, or pork, or other fish…such a great way to have fresh flavor in the dead of winter! The shrimp would be great on a grill, or even indoors on a grill pan. I popped mine into the toaster oven, since they were fully cooked I was just looking to get them warmed and the flavors incorporated.