Ranch Roll-Up Snacks

 From: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2007 cookbook

Ingredients:

• 3oz cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz ranch sour cream
• 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 4 slices precooked bacon, chopped
• 5 burrito tortillas

In small bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Beat in dip until well blended. Stir in broccoli, carrot, onion and bacon.

Spread mixture evenly onto each tortilla to edges. Roll up each; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours before serving

To serve, cut each roll into 8 pieces.

Verdict: Thumbs up! Easy to make and these were so yummy to snack on!

What I did differently and what I would do in the future: I couldn't find ranch sour cream, so I bought sour cream and mixed in a packet of ranch dip mix. I would use less onion next time. I love onion but it was a little overwhelming at times with the slices being so small. I did find that the mixture was a little thin at first, so I added more broccoli and carrot until it thickened up some. 

Creamy Broccoli Bake

From: Betty Crocker's Creative Recipes with Bisquick

Verdict: Thumbs up! SO easy and the combination of flavors was perfection! My 10-year of nephew basically made this by himself with me handing him the ingredients. I did use fresh broccoli, and we didn't actually measure the cheese. I probably used more like 3/4 of a cup of cheese. 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

From: Southern Living

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
5 cups water
1 (6.2 ounce) package fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (8 ounce) loaf pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

Saute onion and carrots in a lightly greased Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes.

Add 5 cups water, seasoning packet from rice, broccoli, and chicken. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice; reduce heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes.

Add cheese and soup; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This was a delicious, filling soup. For the rice, I used a package of Uncle Ben's rice that was already cooked. I just threw it in a little later than what the recipe said. I used Velveeta for the cheese product. This was a really simple soup to make and the flavor was incredible. One of our new favorites!

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

From: An old magazine

Ingredients:
1/2 of a 16 oz pkg. linguine
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets
2 Tbsp butter
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into little pieces
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
14 tsp black pepper

Prepare linguine according to package instructions. Add broccoli during last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain linguine and broccoli well in colander.

Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often.

Stir soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture into skillet. Cook until mixture is hot and bubbling.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I love alfredo sauce, and this was incredibly simple to make at home. This recipe is very filling and thick. I'm sure you could add more milk if you wanted to thin the sauce out some, but I enjoyed it like this. I can definitely see throwing some shrimp on top. I will definitely be making this again!

Baked Cheddar-Broccoli Rice Cups

From: Daydream Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 10 – ounce thawed broccoli
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup white rice
• 1/4 cup Ranch Dressing
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup grated cheese (any of your favorite kind)
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper – to taste

1. Boil rice.
2. Move cooked rice to a bowl to cool for a minute.
3. Throw in all the ingredients, but only use 1/2 of the cheese.
4. Grease a 8 cup muffin tray and make balls accordingly, thereafter sprinkling the rest of cheese on top.
5. Put in the oven for 25 minutes and bake at 350 degrees – until golden and crisp.

Sorry, no picture. I made these for Christmas and forgot to snap a picture before they got eaten!

Verdict:
Thumbs up. Yummy snack food, and something I think you can't go wrong with! I'd love to make these again as a side dish or appetizer when I'm having people over!  

Spaghetti with Broccoli and Lemon

From: Real Simple

Ingredients:
12 oz spaghetti
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1-lb package frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 lemon, zest finely grated and juice squeezed
1 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve one cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, red pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the broccoli mixture, lemon juice, Parmesan, and the reserved pasta water to the pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until combined and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and serve.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I made this one night when Stephen was out of town and I just needed something for me and the kids to eat that was quick and I knew would go over well. This definitely fit the bill! It was so delicious and incredibly simple, I highly recommend this for everyone!

Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup

I need some feedback - it takes me a long time to type up recipes, so I was thinking if I can just scan them it would save me a lot of time. How well can you see this recipe when you click to enlarge the picture? I'd like to know if this is something I can do or if I need to just continue posting the recipe. Thank you!

From: Southern Living



What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I love potato soups and to have the added broccoli was just something else yummy! This was such an easy, straight-forward recipe so I definitely recommend it.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

From: ?? (on my computer as a document)

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 minced clove garlic
2 cups broccoli florets
1 potato, diced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, potato, and chicken broth, raise the heat to high, and let come to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the saucepan, and let simmer until the broccoli and potato are softened, about 7 minutes. Let the broccoli mixture cool slightly, then transfer it to a blender. Puree it until smooth.

Return the soup to the saucepan, add 1/4 cup of cheese and buttermilk. Cook the soup over low heat until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with remaining cheese.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I added more potatoes, because I knew they'd be delicious!

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up. It was a bit sweet for some reason, maybe the cheese, but it was very good. Also very easy which is always a thumbs up!

Printable version:

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 minced clove garlic
2 cups broccoli florets
1 potato, diced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, potato, and chicken broth, raise the heat to high, and let come to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the saucepan, and let simmer until the broccoli and potato are softened, about 7 minutes. Let the broccoli mixture cool slightly, then transfer it to a blender. Puree it until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan, add 1/4 cup of cheese and buttermilk. Cook the soup over low heat until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with remaining cheese.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:
6 oz uncooked fettuccine
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
2 Tbsp butter
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/4 tsp pepper

Prepare fettuccine. Add broccoli for last 4 minutes. Drain. Heat butter in a skillet. Add chicken till brown. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper and fettuccine mixture. Cook until heated through.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Instead of fettuccine, I used whole wheat pasta, which I already had on hand. I used Steamfresh broccoli instead of fresh, so I just cooked it and threw it in in the end. And I only used 1 large chicken breast - it was left over from a previous recipe and I was just trying to get rid of it! This whole recipe was centered around that 1 chicken breast. Therefore, I cut everything in half except the cream of mushroom soup, because - yum!

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up. At first it seemed like something was missing, but I think it just took a couple of bites to get used to the whole wheat pasta. It was actually very good and such a simple recipe!

Printable version:

Ingredients:
6 oz uncooked fettuccine
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
2 Tbsp butter
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/4 tsp pepper

Prepare fettuccine. Add broccoli for last 4 minutes. Drain. Heat butter in a skillet. Add chicken till brown. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper and fettuccine mixture. Cook until heated through.

Beef and Broccoli

I did a lot of things differently from how this recipe specified them to be done. I'll make side notes in italics for parts of this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 2 cloves minced)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (I used 1 Tbsp ground ginger; we love the flavor)
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 lb flank steak, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced across the grain (I used one pound of venison stew)
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp dry sherry (I used 3 Tbsp orange juice)
1 tsp sugar
3 tsp sesame oil (I used 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp vegetable oil as we don't like the flavor of sesame oil that much)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
1 1/2 lbs broccoli (I used two 9-oz packages of frozen broccoli)

Prepare rice as label directs. In a medium bowl, combine garlic, ginger, and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Add beef; toss gently to coat. Set aside.

In small bowl, combine broth, sherry, sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and remaining soy sauce. In another small bowl, combine cornstarch and water.

Cut broccoli florets into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Trim and peel broccoli stems; cut into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal slices. (I didn't do this step because I used frozen broccoli florets instead. Yay timesaver!) In skillet, heat 1/2 inch water to boiling on medium-high. Add broccoli. Cook 3 minutes or until tender-crisp; drain and set aside. Wipe skillet dry. In same skillet, heat remaining 2 tsp sesame oil on medium-high until hot. Add half of beef mixture; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until beef just loses its pink color throughout; stirring. Transfer beef to plate; cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining beef mixture. (With just one pound of meat I easily cooked it all at one time rather than splitting it up.) Add broth mixture to skillet; heat to boiling. Add cornstarch mixture and return to boiling; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly; stirring. Add broccoli; heat through. Remove from heat and stir in beef. Serve over rice.

What I did differently from the recipe:
You can see I changed several things just to tweak it. At the end I also put the venison back in with the broccoli and sauce just so everything would be mixed together.

What I'll do differently next time:
Same things.

Verdict:
Thumbs up!! We were gobbling this up. It was really good and very easy to make. Had a good flavor but not too much of any one thing. Definitely a keeper!

Printable version:

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 lb flank steak, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced across the grain
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp dry sherry
1 tsp sugar
3 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
1 1/2 lbs broccoli

Prepare rice as label directs. In medium bowl, combine garlic, ginger, and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Add beef; toss gently to coat. Set aside. In small bowl, combine broth, sherry, sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and remaining soy sauce. In another small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Cut broccoli florets into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Trim and peel broccoli stems; cut into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal slices. In skillet, heat 1/2 inch water to boiling on medium-high. Add broccoli. Cook 3 minutes or until tender-crisp; drain and set aside. Wipe skillet dry. In same skillet, heat remaining 2 tsp sesame oil on medium-high until hot. Add half of beef mixture; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until beef just loses its pink color throughout; stirring. Transfer beef to plate; cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining beef mixture. Add broth mixture to skillet; heat to boiling. Add cornstarch mixture and return to boiling; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly; stirring. Add broccoli; heat through. Remove from heat and stir in beef. Serve over rice.

Cheesy Broccoli Rigatoni

Ingredients:
12 oz uncooked rigatoni
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups milk
5 cups broccoli florets
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the garlic in butter over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and salt until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; set aside.

Drain pasta and toss with oil; set aside. Add 1 inch of water to a large saucepan; add broccoli. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer 1 cup white sauce, half of the pasta and broccoli and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

What I did differently from the recipe:
We ended up not using any oil, but I doubt that made a difference. We had to add more flour to the sauce than the recipe stated - I didn't think it was thick enough. I probably added about 1/8 more cup, and could have easily added 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup depending on how fast it thickened. We also sprinkled some shredded Parmesan on top, because - YUM!

What I'll do differently next time:
Same with the flour.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This was really quick and easy, and so good. I love casseroles more than I used to. They have a bad rep, but this proves they can be delish!

Printable version:

Ingredients:
12 oz uncooked rigatoni
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups milk
5 cups broccoli florets
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the garlic in butter over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and salt until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; set aside. Drain pasta and toss with oil; set aside. Add 1 inch of water to a large saucepan; add broccoli. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer 1 cup white sauce, half of the pasta and broccoli and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 10-oz package frozen broccoli florets, thawed
2 cloves minced garlic
12 oz angel hair pasta
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add chicken. Cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through - about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels (or just set aside).

Heat remaining oil in skillet. Begin heating water for pasta. Add carrot to skillet; cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add broccoli and garlic to skillet; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes longer.

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, add chicken broth, basil, and Parmesan to skillet. Stir to combine. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes.

Drain pasta. Place in a bowl. Top with chicken and vegetable mixture. Serve immediately.

What I did differently from the recipe:
This is a classic recipe that we love around here. I usually stick to the recipe because there's really nothing I want to change. But I normally do more chicken and veggies than is in the recipe. I usually do between 1.5 and 2 pounds of chicken, at least 3 or 4 carrots, and between 10 and 12 ounces of broccoli. I chop everything into really small pieces to spread it out more. Tonight I used regular spaghetti because I didn't have angel hair on hand. If you use something other than angel hair, you may want to start the pasta cooking a bit earlier - angel hair cooks in just about 4-5 minutes. Also, I'm sure I use more Parmesan because I just heave it on there!

What I'll do differently next time:
Who knows?

Verdict:
Thumbs up! One of our favorites, and really easy to make!