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broccoli

Farfalle with Sausage and Roasted Broccoli

January 17, 2018 by sblades Leave a Comment

One of my favorite things to do is browse Amazon for new cookbooks that come out. September through December is prime time for new cookbooks and one that I’ve been looking at is Alex Guarnaschelli’s The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart. If you watch Food Network or the Cooking Channel, you’ll recognize her from Iron Chef or Chopped, and as being a highly regarded chef.

Her new book has a bunch of recipes I want to try and this Farfalle with Sausage and Roasted Broccoli was first on the list. It has simple ingredients – sausage, pasta, broccoli – and is fairly easy to throw together after your ingredients are prepped.

Farfalle with Sausage and Roasted Broccoli is not haute cuisine, but it is simple and tasty, and perfect for a weeknight meal.

I halved the recipe, but the only other change I made was adding some leftover porcini mushrooms to the sausage mixture. Next time I might throw some sun dried tomatoes and a touch of red pepper flakes just to spice it up a little.

I’m looking forward to trying some more of the recipes from The Home Cook!

Farfalle with Sausage and roasted broccoli

Farfalle with Sausage and Roasted Broccoli

Yield: 5 - 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Very tasty weeknight meal that the whole family will like!

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 sweet Italian sausages, removed from casings
  • 2 spicy Italian sausages, removed from casings
  • 1 C dry white wine
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 lb dried farfalle pasta
  • 1/4 C freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.  Put a large pot with 6 quarts of water on the stove and bring to a boil while putting together the rest of the recipe.
  2. Put the broccoli in a bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Season with salt.  Arrange the florets in a single layer on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.  Roast until the broccoli is browned on the edges and almost slightly crispy, about 15 minutes, stirring half way through the roasting.  Remove from the oven and set aside.
  3. To cook the sausage, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Add the sausage (casings removed) to the heated skillet, breaking them up into small pieces as you stir them.  Cook, stirring them occasionally until the sausage browns, about 7-8 minutes. 
  4. Add the white wine and oregano, then simmer over medium heat until the wine cooks down, about 5 minutes.  Taste and season if needed.  Turn off the heat.
  5. While the sausage is cooking, add 1/2 cup of salt to the boiling water, then add the pasta.  Stir so the pasta won't stick to the bottom of the pan and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes.  Save 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander.
  6. Finish the dish by adding the broccoli and pasta to the sausage mixture in the skillet and sprinkle with half of the reserved pasta water. 
  7. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the pasta, stir, and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and add more pasta water to desired sauce consistency.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I halved the recipe for us and it made almost 3 servings.  I also added porcini mushrooms.

Next time I will add red pepper flakes and maybe sun dried tomatoes to kick it up some.

Yes, you read correctly.  The original recipe says to add 1/2 C salt to the pasta water.  Make sure and carefully taste before you add additional seasonings to the dish, so that you don't add too much salt.  (Most of it goes down the sink with the pasta water.)

If you don't want to use wine, use chicken or vegetable broth.

It was great served with buttered garlic bread!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 448Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 549mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 16g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Alex Guarnaschelli, The Home Cook: Recipes to Know By Heart
Category: Pasta

Filed Under: All Recipes, Pasta Tagged With: Alex Guarnaschelli, broccoli, farfalle with sausage and roasted broccoli, roasted broccoli, sausage, The Home Cook

Broccoli Cheese Bake

February 13, 2017 by sblades 2 Comments

 
For dinner, I have a tendency to make a protein (chicken, steak, etc.) and slap one or two side vegetables with it, not really using a recipe for the side dishes.

There are so many wonderful recipes for vegetables and side dishes that I’ve really started looking for simple and/or tasty ones to add to dinner.

Sometimes we have just vegetables and no meat (translation of all-vegetable night – forgot to thaw out meat), and that’s where a good vegetable recipe comes in handy.

I found this Broccoli Cheese Bake in a Southern Living cookbook (recipe by Nancy Rumbaugh of the beautiful State of South Carolina) and, even though there was no photo with it, the ingredients looked great.

It almost sounds like a breakfast recipe with the cottage cheese, bacon, and eggs, but it turned out to be a wonderful main dish for our vegetable night dinner. It’s not vegetarian with the bacon, but there are definitely vegetables in it!

The eggs (5 of those little gems) made it into kind of, sort of a frittata, but the cottage cheese, bacon, and broccoli really added a depth of flavor and texture.

I thought it was wonderful and Bret even had two helpings – this coming from a definite anti-frittata man. Here’s a closeup photo of all of those wonderful ingredients put together and baked.

OK, I may have added a bit more shredded cheese on top than called for, but it ended up working well with it.

The hardest part of the recipe was chopping up the broccoli! After taking the stalk off, I just chopped it all up instead of breaking off each broccoli floret. Worked great and we will definitely be having this Broccoli Cheese Bake again on all-vegetable night.

Broccoli Cheese Bake

Broccoli Cheese Bake

Yield: 8 - 9 side servings; 4 - 6 servings as a main dish
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Cheesy, frittata-like dish filled with bacon, cheese and broccoli goodness.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb broccoli, , stemmed and chopped
  • 5 large eggs, , lightly beaten
  • 1 C cottage cheese
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 4 bacon slices, , cooked and crumbled
  • 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese (or more to taste)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Throw broccoli into a pot with boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain broccoli and pat dry. Arrange broccoli evenly in a lightly greased 11 x 7" baking dish.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese, flour, salt, pepper and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour egg mixture over the broccoli, gently moving the broccoli with a spoon so the mixture will sink down to the bottom a little.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese and bake another 5 minutes.
  5. Turn oven to broil and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese (watch carefully). Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:
To lightly grease the dish, I dipped the edge of a paper towel in the bacon drippings and wiped it around the dish.
A little sauteed onion would be good in this, too.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 164Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 539mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 13g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Vegetables/Side Dishes

Filed Under: All Recipes, Casseroles, Vegetables/Side Dishes Tagged With: bacon, broccoli, broccoli bake, broccoli casserole, broccoli cheese, side dish, vegetable night

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

December 29, 2014 by sblades Leave a Comment

 
We had so many sweets during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays that we were ready for some “real” food; i.e., something substantial and savory.

This recipe has been lurking in my to-make file and I had all of the ingredients, so it was the perfect time to make it.  The sound of down-to-earth chicken, noodles and vegetables in a creamy sauce was music to our ears.  

What’s more comforting than a Chicken & Broccoli casserole covered with melted cheese?

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I made quite a few changes to the original Creative Cook’s Kitchen recipe and it came out as a hearty, fairly easy weeknight casserole that took about 35 minutes to prepare.

I had some large wide egg noodles I’ve been wanting to use and they work perfectly as the base to this dish. They end up providing a sort of soft pasta crust to the casserole, almost like a one-layer white sauce lasagna.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole L

Bret suggested substituting mushrooms and fresh spinach for the chicken and broccoli, making a substantial vegetable-friendly option. That would be really good with the from-scratch creamy white sauce. It’s not easy finding a good casserole recipe that doesn’t use canned soup.

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole is exactly what we needed and wanted for a hearty, homemade meal. We even felt a little proud of getting a green vegetable in there!. It’s definitely a delicious, homey casserole.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Yield: 4 - 5
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Cheesy casserole with chunks of chicken and broccoli.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb skinless, , boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme, (or basil)
  • 1 1/2 C chicken broth
  • 3/4 C milk
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 oz wide egg noodles
  • 1 pkg., (10 oz) frozen broccoli
  • 2 C shredded cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 7x11 inch glass baking dish and set aside.
  2. Place the chicken breasts on a microwave-safe plate and microwave until cooked all the way through (5-7 minutes on each side at half power if frozen). Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
  3. While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a large sauce pan and stir in onion powder; stir for about one minute to combine.  Add the flour and thyme (or basil) and stir, then add the broth, milk, salt and pepper.  Stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, until it thickens.
  4. Boil the noodles in a large saucepan for 6 minutes.  Drain the noodles well. Chop the cooled chicken in 1/2" chunks.  Spread the noodles evenly in the baking dish and top with chopped chicken and broccoli.  
  5. Pour the thickened sauce over the top and sprinkle the cheese on as the top layer.  Bake until cheese melts and is lightly browned - about 20 minutes.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

The original recipe called for 1 chopped onion to be sauteed with the butter; I substituted onion powder, but real onion would be good in it.

Next time I will use basil - I just like it better than thyme.

I used cheddar-Monterrey Jack blend cheese, but regular shredded cheddar or muenster would be good.  Use what you have (except blue cheese - don't use blue cheese - ewww).

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 492Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 154mgSodium: 951mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 43g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Casseroles

Filed Under: All Recipes, Casseroles, Chicken/Poultry Tagged With: broccoli, casserole, chicken, chicken casserole, dinner, pasta, pasta casserole

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Welcome!  I’m Susan and I love finding wonderful new recipes.  I hope you’ll find a few new ones here that you and your family will love. Browse around and stay a while!Save

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