Tagged: broccoli

Spinach Broccoli and Presunto (Prosciutto) Quiche

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This Spinach Broccoli and Presunto (prociutto) Quiche is savory and mouthwatering. Easy to prepare for a simple lunch, snack or dinner!

You can leave out the presunto if you want a vegetarian quiche. Enjoy!

dsc06045Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 pound fresh broccoli spears (chopped)

1 and 1/2 pounds fresh spinach (approximate)

1 small onion (minced)

1 clove garlic (minced)

3 slices of presunto or ham (cut into small dice)

5 whole eggs

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

8 ounces of shredded cheese (any favorite)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare pie crust by pressing into a large tart pan, or pie dish.

Saute the onion, garlic and presunto in the butter until onion is translucent. Add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes. Add the spinach and cook until slightly wilted. Season with the salt and pepper.

Drain any liquid and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the milk and cheese and mix well.

Pour the broccoli mix evenly over the pie shell then the egg mixture. Be sure the broccoli is submerged in the eggs.

Cook for about 35-45 minutes until golden. Test by poking with a fork which come out clean.

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Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

You will love these because they are pretty easy to make. I’m glad I made a double batch and froze half. My family loved them!

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts

3 cups cooked chopped broccoli

1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

2 eggs beaten for dredging

1/2 cup flour for dredging

Cooking spray

Preparation:

Cut the chicken breasts in half and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. One by one place each half between a piece of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until they are 1/4 inch thick.

Place about 1/4 cup of broccoli in the middle of each piece of chicken and top with a few tablespoons of cheese. Begin rolling the chicken in the plastic wrap tucking in the edges to form a tight roll leaving plastic on. Continue to form each breast and then place on a tray in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour. This will let the rolls form tighter.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. . Heavily grease a sheet pan with cooking spray. Then set out 3 small bowls.  Mix panko with the paprika in one bowl, then the remaining bowls, one with egg, and one with flour. Unwrap the chicken from plastic and begin dredging. First in flour, then egg, then in the panko. Be sure to heavily coat in the panko.

Place each breast evenly spread out on pan. Cook for about 20- 30 minutes or until the chicken is golden. Test by cutting into the breast and checking for doneness.

These can be served with any side such as a salad, rice, vegetable, potato etc.

 

 

 

 

Broccoli, Apple and Pomegranate Salad

Broccoli Apple Salad

The  pictures tell the story, so there is no need to tell you how deliciously good and healthy this salad is! The best part is; no cooking involved! Enjoy it!

Ingredients:

2 cups broccoli florets (finely chopped)

4 small apples (cored and finely chopped)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup of onion (yellow or red finely minced)

Seeds from 1/2 of whole fresh Pomegranate

1/4 cup of chopped walnuts and almonds or a mix

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper

pinch of salt

fresh spring salad mix (optional for serving)

Preparation:

Gently toss all of the ingredients into a large salad bowl. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Serve over spring salad mix, crackers, pita bread or as is. Enjoy!!

Asian Chicken and Broccoli

Why get take out when you can cure your Asian cravings at home with this easy recipe for chicken and broccoli. All you need is one big stir fry pan which makes clean up even easier. Serve this with Jasmine rice recipe, or linguini pasta.

My tip:  When ordering take out Chinese, I always ask for chop sticks and extra soy sauce and sweet sauce and of course the fortune cookies, which I save to create this dish at home. My family loves using the chop sticks and it feels like real take out!

Here’s a fortune cookie sayings archive to share with your family! 🙂

My favorite is: A smile is a passport into the hearts of the others!

 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3 large boneless chicken breasts (cut into thin 2 inches pieces)

3 cups of broccoli florets

2 small carrots (cut into thin 2 slices)

1 tablespoon of corn starch

sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

peanuts or cashews for garnish (optional)

3 – 4 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil

Sweet Sauce for seasoning

Soy sauce for seasoning

 

Sauce:

1 scallion (sliced)

2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

2 teaspoons of fresh ginger (finely chopped)

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1 cup of chicken broth

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of orange juice

1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Place the 1/2 sauce ingredients into a medium bowl or plastic bag, add the chicken and let marinade for at least 1 hour.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large wok or non stick skillet on high heat. Drain the chicken and add to the oil cooking in batches and browning on both sides. Add more oil as needed.

When chicken is done, remove from pan and set aside while you cook the vegetables.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the same pan. Heat to high and add the vegetables. Stir fry the vegetables for about 5 minutes until slightly crispy. Don’t worry if they aren’t cooked through. They will cook longer when you add in the chicken.

I like my broccoli very crispy but you can cook longer if you prefer. Remove the broccoli from the pan and set aside.

Add the remaining 1/2 marinade to the pan and let come to a boil. Add the cornstarch and cook for a few minutes to thicken. Add the chicken and vegetables to pan and stir to coat with the sauce. Let cook for about 5-8 minutes to absorb all the flavors together.

Taste the sauce and add more soy sauce, sweet sauce, and the red pepper flakes if desired. When you achieve your desired flavors add the sesame seeds and nuts, and serve.

 

Look at that beautiful color on the broccoli.

Crustless Ham with Broccoli Quiche

This crust-less quiche is easy to prepare in only 45 minutes. I make this quiche very often as a side dish when I serve fish or chicken.  It also makes a perfect lunch, snack, or serve it as dinner with a salad.

Make it a vegetarian quiche by substituting the ham with your favorite cooked vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped ham (optional substitute with any cooked vegetables)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 pound package frozen broccoli spears or fresh (cooked and chopped)

1 small ripe tomato (chopped) (optional)

1/2 small onion (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

1 and 1/2 cups half and half (1/2 cream – 1/2 milk)

5 eggs

Pinch of Salt (add pinch more if you omit the ham)

Dash of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Preparation:

Saute the onion in the oil for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.

Beat eggs until foamy in a medium bowl. Add the milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the eggs and mix to incorporate. Add the broccoli, ham, onion, and 1/2 of the cheese. Mix all ingredients.

Heavily grease a deep souffle dish with margarine. Pour the broccoli mixture into the dish and spread evenly. Top with the remaining cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

You many need to cook longer if your souffle dish is deep. Cut into the center of the quiche it should be firm and not runny. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato & Broccoli Corn Chowder

When I owned a small cafe many years ago, I began making fresh home made soups for the customers. I calculated that during those years, I probably made over 3,000 pots of soup. If I was to add that figure to the soups I made at home through the years, the total amount is probably somewhere around 5,000!

Now that’s a lot of soup!

Today, the soup making continues and the title of; “The Soup Queen” bestowed upon me by my family, is well deserved!

Maybe I should follow the steps of the famous Seinfeld show’s “Soup Man” and open a soup restaurant?

But don’t worry I wouldn’t turn into a “Portuguese Soup Nazi” but maybe I call it; “Portuguese Soup Queen”?

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (cut into 1 inch cubes)

4 tbsp of butter

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 large celery stalk (chopped)

1 large onion (chopped)

1 pound of frozen or fresh Broccoli (chopped)

1 pound bag of frozen corn

2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 gallon of low fat milk

3 tbsp of flour

1/4 cup of milk or cream

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

 

Instructions:

Separate the broccoli into stems and florets. In a large heavy non stick soup pan, saute the onion, celery, broccoli stems and sweet potato in the butter and olive for about 2 minute on medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the stock, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Puree the vegetables with a hand held immersion blender until very smooth. *Add a small amount of milk if you find the mixture too thick to puree.

Add the milk, salt, pepper, corn and florets. Stir and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes stirring often so the soup does not stick.

In a small bowl mix the flour with the 1/4 milk or cream and mix until the flour is dissolved.

Add a few tablespoons of the warm soup to the flour to temper.

When the broccoli florets are cooked, add the flour and stir very well.

Cook the soup for an additional 20 minutes on very low heat stirring often.

Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper to your desired taste.

Cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!

*Note: If you prefer a creamier style soup, puree the soup with immersion blender to your desired consistency.

 

Crustless Spinach and Broccoli Quiche

Spinach and brocolli quiche

Crust-less Spinach and Broccoli quiche is an amazing savory dish. This is my go to dish for meatless hearty lunch, but I also prepare it as a side dish.

Did you know that 2 cups of Spinach has only 20 calories and 2 cups of Broccoli has 60?

 

Ingredients:

1 pound package frozen broccoli spears or (1 bunch fresh)

4 cups fresh Baby Spinach (approximate)

1/2 small onion (finely minced)

6 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup shredded cheese

1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

crushed black pepper

Preparation:

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Steam or cook broccoli in a small amount of water until tender. Drain, chop into small pieces and place in a bowl. Cook spinach in a skillet with butter and cook until slightly wilted. Drain any moister and add to the broccoli. Let mixture cool.

Beat eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Add to the broccoli mix and mix well.

Grease a deep dish souffle pan or baking dish with margarine or cooking spray. Add broccoli mix evenly submerging the mix into eggs. Top with the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!