What’s cookin’ on the home front? Well, this past week I made the best stewed apples in my stovetop pressure cooker. Only problem is I don’t have a recipe! OK, so it wasn’t for print purposes. I promise the next time I’ll measure. All I used were honey crisp apples cut into quarters, maple syrup, brown sugar, 2 cups apple juice, and cinnamon. The biggest tip on doing these in a pressure cooker is as follows: Allow your pressure cooker to return to normal without opening any
valves to release steam. Let it cool down naturally before you open. Why? Well, when you have sugar on fruit, such as apples, it leaves a terrible mess when you open the steam releases!! I mean terrible sticky mess. The apples however were absolutely delicious-
I thought we would take an old standard and re-write it for health purposes.
First we’re going to say goodbye to the canned mushroom soup and cheese whiz. Then we’ll try new approaches that will enhance overall flavor and outcome. I will also discuss the type of rice used. At the bottom of the column I’m going to print the original recipe and then my new adaptions. You may wish to do some or all of the modifications. And…for goodness sakes, use fresh broccoli!
Instead of the 8 ounce jar of cheese whiz go with 16 ounces of fresh grated cheddar cheese. The best would be to grate it yourself, second-best would be to use pre-shredded in the bag. Remember shredded cheeses all have cellulose powder added to prevent sticking.
Rice: If you have the time use regular long grain rice the flavor is so much better. You could even rinse the rice first removing excess starch, then sauté in a tablespoon of butter before cooking. Outcome, better flavor.
Cream of Mushroom Soup? I know it’s quick and simple, but do we really know everything that’s in the can? Not to mention all the extra sodium and msg.
Here’s what I would do: Grab 8-16 ounces of chopped fresh mushrooms, sauté in 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in 3 1/2 tablespoons of flour, working it into the shroons and butter. Now add about 1 3/4 cups to 2 cups of milk to thicken. Try to stay closer to the 1 3/4 cups if possible. Cook until very thick. Enhance this with garlic powder, onion powder and peppers, etc.
Instead of the 10 ounce package of frozen broccoli, reach for fresh. Use very small flowerets that you have cooked previously. Consider implementing at least 2-3 cups because it’s a great vegetable. Not to mention it’s a terrific cancer fighting food.
If you don’t like the idea of the hard boiled eggs in this recipe omit them. I’m not too fond of the French fried onion rings. I would reach for something simple like a fresh sprinkling of cheese across the top added during the last minutes of cooking. Consider baking this recipe longer so the flavors have time to blend. Go for at least 30 minutes. Let it be bubbly around the outer edges.
Remember at the bottom of the column you will find 2 versions of this recipe; the original from my first cookbook and my ‘healthier’ version.
Enjoy the flavors of fall and the company of a good friend. Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com
Broccoli Casserole
(Original copy from ‘Simply Yours’ cookbook)
1 (10 ounce) package broccoli, cooked and salted
1 cup chopped onion, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 can mushroom soup
1 (8 ounce jar) cheese whiz
½ teaspoon dry mustard
3 cups cooked rice
4 hard-boiled eggs hard-boiled and quartered
1 small can French fried onion rings
Sauté onion in butter until tender, but not brown. Mix all the ingredients together except the French fried onion rings, place them on top, and bake in a greased 1 ½ quart casserole. 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 4-6 persons.
Broccoli Casserole, Revised
2-3 cups cooked and salted broccoli flowerets
1 cup onion, minced
1 tablespoon butter
8-16 ounces mushrooms
White Sauce, see paragraph 5 in column
16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3 cups cooked rice
1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs, hard-boiled and quartered
Extra cheese for the top of the casserole
In microwave or sauce pan cook broccoli, but don’t cook until mushy!
In a saucepan sauté onions in butter until translucent. Remove from pan and continue with the mushrooms and white sauce in the same pan. Rinse long grain rice and sauté in butter before cooking. Consider cooking extra rice to use later in the week in another dish. Mix all ingredients together and place in a greased pyrex baking dish. Set oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes until bubbly around the edges. Add extra cheese in the last few minutes of baking.
*Afterthought: A few sautéed red peppers would add more color to this recipe. I think I might consider using the peppers and leaving out the eggs!
