Cheesy Pasta Shells & Broccoli Bake

When it is cold and rainy out, as it has been here for the past few days, I crave some good comfort food.  Nothing better than a cheesy, noodle bake to satisfy the craving! I threw together many ingredients I had on hand to make this rich and satisfying take on macaroni and cheese.  It's a bit away from the traditional mac & cheese but yummy nonetheless and I think even better the next day.  Give it a whirl!

Cheesy Pasta & Broccoli Bake
Time: 45 mins
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 cups mini shells pasta or other small pasta
2 large garlic cloves minced
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup 1% milk
4 green onions, white and green parts chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
6 oz Velveeta cheese
4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 bag pre-chopped steam in bag broccoli
1/3 cup shredded parmesean cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 T chopped chives

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.

In large skillet with sides, melt butter over medium heat and saute onions and garlic for about 2 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over butter, stirring with a wisk until thick and pasty.  Add milk and continue to stir constantly until milk is bubbling and sauce is thickened.  Add green onions, chicken broth, Velveeta and cream cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, microwave broccoli according to directions on bag. Note: I find they tell you WAY too long for the broccoli so I do for about 1 minute less than directions.  You can also add the broccoli to pasta water during last three minutes of cooking to boil it.

Remove cheesy mixture from heat and stir in broccoli and pasta.

Spoon mixture into 11x7 baking dish.  Sprinkle dish with parmesean cheese, then chives, then panko.  Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until panko is lightly browned.

almost done with cheese and chives

panko to top it off!

ENJOY the cheesy goodness!!!

Chicken, Andouille Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo

I consider myself quite lucky that my hubby was born in New Orleans and still has family that lives in Louisiana.   My mother-in-law grew up in Louisiana and still cooks amazingly delicious dishes from the region.  This recipe is loosely based on the gumbo recipe their family often uses and it is awesome! If you've never had andouille sausage, a word of warning it is SPICY.  If you are sensitive to the spicy you might want to sub in smoked sausage.  I was intimidated and a bit scared to try this recipe as it does take time and it might seem difficult but don't let the steps scare you - it's pretty easy! From start to finish however, it does take about an hour and a half.

Without further ado, here's the recipe with a few step-by-step pictures.

Chicken, Andouille Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo
Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs bone-in skin on chicken breast (alternatively you can use 2 lbs boneless, skinless or rotisserie chicken to cut down on time)
10 cups water
1 lb Andouille Sausage sliced then quartered
1 large onion chopped
1 bunch green onion, white and green parts chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp cajun seasoning such as Tony Chachares
About 1 tsp ground black pepper
1 box Zatarains gumbo base (see picture)
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails off
Hot cooked white rice for serving

Directions:

Place chicken in stock pot and boil until done about 25-30 minutes for skin on, bone-in.  Remove chicken from water and set aside to cool.  Scrape any fat off the top of the water once cooled and reserve water.

In a large pot or dutch oven, cook sausage until done about 5-8 minutes.  Remove sausage and set aside.  In the same pot, add onions, bell pepper, thyme, creole seasoning and pepper and saute until vegetables are soft.

While veggies are cooking, remove skin from chicken breast and shred the meat into bite sized pieces.

Add reserved chicken water to the pot with veggies and add the box of Zataraines, stirring until the seasoning is dissolved in the water.  Add chicken and sausage to water and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes, add shrimp and bring back to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for another 15 minutes until shrimp is cooked.

Serve over white rice, now enjoy y'all! Remember it's spicy!!!!

Roasted Beets & Sauteed Beet Tops

I actually made it to the farmers market this weekend - a feat that is too few and far between these days! The produce stand had lovely bunches of fresh beets for sale.  I've never tried roasting beets myself and thought why not try.  The nice man at the produce stand told me that the beet greens were actually very good as well when sauteed with garlic and olive oil.  That night I roasted the beets up, sauteed the greens and served them alongside some Gorgonzola and pancetta raviolis (also fresh from the farmers market and DIVINE!).  If you have not tried making these purple veggies I would urge you to try, they are sweet, satisfying and good for you!

A word about the beets.  I read that you can first peel the beets and then roast them however the beets I had were quite small and it would have been really difficult to use a peeler on them.  Instead, I wrapped each individually in foil - grouping the smallest together in groups of two - added a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Once they were done roasting, I peeled afterwards which I think was easier than before with the little guys.  Again the peeler was too difficult with the small ones so I ran the knife around the outside and the peel came right off.

Bake the beets in a 400 degree oven for about 25-45 minutes depending on the size of the beets.  When they are tender and soft when poked with a fork, they are ready!

For the tops, make sure you trim the stems off as those are not pleasant to munch through. Wash thoroughly to remove all the dirt.  Heat skillet or pan over medium-high heat.  Add 3 teaspoons chopped garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Saute the greens until they are wilty and soft.  Season with salt and pepper.  The texture is much like collard greens or kale so the more they cook, the softer they will become.  They also have a bitter taste so are delicious paired with something a bit rich and creamy.

onion and garlic

chopped leaf tops

sauteed tops