Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

This was going to be chicken divan, but I started substituting ingredients until it turned into something similar, but not really.  Between divan and tetrazzini, it's a chicken and pasta dish in a creamy sauce.

I don't make casseroles much, and especially not since I went reduced-carb.  This made me wish I could have them more often.  Sigh, maybe I'll start sneaking them in every couple of months.  There always seems to be pasta, rice, or potatoes in a casserole, which is what makes them so satisfying.  All that yummy starch fills you up in a food hug.  Maybe I'll do a vegetable kugel to fill that need.

I did manage to make this in one pot, a strainer, stirring spoon, and the baking dish.  That and the measuring cup were all I had to wash.

*1 C small pasta such as shells or macaroni
10-12 oz frozen chopped broccoli or cuts
2 Tb butter or margarine
2 Tb flour
*1-1/2 C milk
*half a container fried onions (little over a cup)
salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
*3 C shredded cooked chicken or 2 cans, drained
*1 C shredded cheddar, or other cheese of choice

1.  In a large saucepan, bring 4 C water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente (2 minutes before "done").  Add frozen broccoli and bring back to a low boil, then turn off the heat.  Drain, do not rinse.  Start preheating the oven to 350º.

2.  Back into the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the flour and stir into a roux.  Cook for about 2 minutes, until it starts to brown.  Add salt, pepper, and paprika.

3.  Add milk to the roux 1/4 cup at a time and stir to thicken.  When all the milk is added, taste to check seasonings.  Add pasta & broccoli, chicken, a handful of the crispy onions, and a handful of the shredded cheese.  Stir to combine.

4.  Pour mixture into an 8x8 casserole and spread evenly.  Bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

5.  Remove casserole from the oven.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with remaining crispy onions.  Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the onions are browned, about 10 minutes.  Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Difficulty rating  π

Tu b'Shevat Seder

I wasn't able to go to my temple's community Tu b'Shevat seder, so I decided to do my own on the actual holiday.  It's a kabbalistic way to celebrate the birthday of trees, and not a formal observance like a Passover seder.  It's basically a snack plate during a wine tasting.

You're supposed to serve the four "seasons" with wine or grape juice.  Still doing a Pantry Challenge, so I made lemonade for the white and added cranberry juice to it for the red.  If I had thought of it before the Challenge started, I would have had those saved in the pantry.

For a family, it's common to put out a platter of fresh fruits.  For just me, I got out dried.  I only needed a few bites in each category.  It's acknowledging the symbolism of the day that's important.  And yes, it's set up on a deviled egg platter.

The first glass of wine is a white, and the fruits are those with inedible casing: Nuts, coconut, bananas, pomegranate, melons

Next, a bit of red is added to the white and the fruits have inedible cores: Apricots or other stone fruits, dates, olives

The third cup adds more red and celebrates wholly edible fruits: Berries, figs, seedless grapes, chocolate

The last cup is all red and represents the tree itself: maple syrup (with challah for dipping)

As an aside, after blowing out my knee last year doing Passover cleaning and never finishing the list, I've decided to give myself two months to do it this year.  I just won't start any of the kitchen or dining room projects until two weeks before.  The point of the cleaning is to rid the house of chometz, and I don't take food out of those two rooms, just to make the process easier.

Sweet Potato Cornbread

Starring, the last jar of sweet potatoes!  I was going to make arepas to go with some sort of "Mexican" black beans, then saw this concept.  The beans became a version of Caribbean Black Bean Curry, to use some condiments and freezer seasonings.

I found a cornbread recipe I liked on Butter Be Ready.  Basically, it used the quantities of ingredients I wanted to put in it.  Only downside of this recipe is it makes three times what I needed.  Knowing that going in, I made it in three mini loaf pans (plus 3 muffins) and froze the other two.  I could have made a dozen muffins instead.  I was in the mood for less crust, so sliceable won.  If I don't have this as a starch for dinner, it could be toasted with butter for breakfast, with a side of cheese for lunch, or as a tea snack.

Like most quick breads, it takes longer to assemble the ingredients than to mix it.  I did a few workarounds to use powdered buttermilk and egg replacer for one of the eggs.  I need to use that stuff more often.  All that liquid vs powder math made it take a wee bit longer than if I had just followed the recipe.  If you're using canned or pre-cooked sweet potatoes, you should be able to mix it in the time it takes for the oven to preheat.

*1 C cornmeal
1 C flour
1/4 C brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, room temperature 
*2 C buttermilk
*1 C mashed sweet potato (or 1 15 oz can, drained and mashed)
6 Tb unsalted butter, melted

1.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Spray or line a 9x9 baking dish, 12 muffin tray, or one loaf pan.  I may have over-sprayed my loaf pans.  The muffins popped right out of the silicone tray.

2.  In a medium bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  I don't always sift, but in this case it made it easier to get rid of the clumps in the brown sugar and baking powder.

3.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and mashed or puréed sweet potato.  Make sure your melted butter is somewhat cooled, but still pourable.

4.  Add liquid mixture to dry and stir gently until about half combined.  Add butter and finish mixing.  A few small lumps are ok and will bake out.  Just get the big ones.

5.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  This will not rise as much as you think, with so much leavening.  You can fill 3/4 full.  Bake time will depend on choice of pan, so use the toothpick test to be sure.  Muffins, 18-20 minutes, 9x9 35-40 minutes, and loaf pan start checking at 40 minutes.

6.  Let rest in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.  Quick breads often taste better after a day in the fridge.  Wrap before storing.  Can also be frozen once cooled for up to 3 months.

Serves 8-12

Difficulty rating  π

Pantry Challenge 2026 Progress Report

We're almost done with the January Pantry Challenge.  It's time to evaluate my usage, purchases, and what's left.

First, the wins.  I think I've gone through everything shelf-stable past its date.  Doing that in only a few weeks means I am not hoarding food.  I've done my last shop for the month, and have spent $28.16, which is ridiculous.  Not for this week, for the whole month.  It would have been a dollar less, but I wasn't happy with the temperature of the egg case this week and got protein shakes instead of liquid egg whites.  My lists were almost entirely yogurt, eggs, and bananas.  While there are still some home-canned goods older than a year, none are a safety concern.  My rices and legumes are a lot more streamlined.  That makes me very happy.  I have gotten rid of most of the gallon-sized freezer bags in the kitchen freezer, with the new amounts fitting in quarts or even used up.

There may be more in the chest freezer than when I started, which is driving me nuts.  Not taking a photo of that.  I turned some older ingredients into baked goods, then froze them.  Some preservation projects involved repackaging items for the freezer.  I've also cut back my portion sizes at meals to something appropriate for my current metabolism, so "four" servings is more like five or six.  I need to set aside time for exercising.  Those extra lunch-sized portions end up in the freezer.  I'm trying to eat them the following week.  I do still have two months until the great defrost.

What I'm learning is that I have plenty of food on hand.  I'm one person who only needs 1,400-1,700 calories per day.  How little I eat was very evident at Chanukah, when I put what I think of as a week's worth of food on the table for one dinner party.  If the drama of shopping like 2020 happens again, I could make it a month, even the vegetables.  I'm going to do this again in February, primarily to see how long the vegetable situation stays stable.  I do need some items that aren't necessarily food but end up on that bill.  I might be able to keep some categories going until Passover, which will offset the increased cost of KLP items and what I spend on Seder itself.

I've found that my schedule has made me opt for canned or pre-cooked beans most of the time.  I'll can up some more soon.  I also have 3 lbs of chuck roast and a pork butt coming out of the freezer to can next week, when "shredded meat" is on the meal plan for any jars that don't seal.

It has been so hard to keep myself from buying all sorts of groceries for "later".  I make more impulse purchases than I realized.  I talked myself out of b/s chicken breasts for canning, since it turns out I don't use Ugly Chicken, as wonderful as it tastes.  I do use the beef and pork, and mine is far superior to store-bought canned.  I did buy four cans of tuna at 69¢ each.  I could have deducted that $2.76 from my total according to most people's rules.  That's enough for the year unless I really get in a tuna mood.  I refrained from stocking up on anything else.  It took a lot of willpower.  I miss grocery shopping.

Creamy Pomegranate Dressing

This was the dressing for the salad I had alongside the bean dip and crackers.  The salad was to use an overflowing planter box that went bonkers after getting 8 inches of rain in December.  The dressing  attacked the condiments door of the fridge.  I made it creamy instead of a vinaigrette to use mayo.  I do wish Passover mayo came in a smaller jar.

Salad dressing is really a hidden place to save grocery costs.  The ingredients cost a fraction of what Wishbone charges, and you can customize any way you choose.  I like making my own so I'm not stuck with a big bottle.  I can make half a cup at a time to use in a week.  The recipes aren't glamorous, and are very hard to photograph, but I really like them.

*3 Tb pomegranate molasses
*1 Tb date syrup, honey, or maple syrup 
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
*1 tsp white wine vinegar 
*1/4 C mayo

1.  Place all ingredients in a small bowl.  Whisk to combine.  The molasses isn't red, it's more like a burgundy.  With the brown of the date syrup, my dressing came out a light caramel color.

2.  Taste and adjust seasonings and consistency.  A little water or milk can thin it, or add more mayo if you want it thicker and less tangy.  Chill until ready to use.

Makes about half a cup

Difficulty rating  π

Garlic and Herb Bean Dip

I know it's soup and stew season, but I got in a Mediterranean mood.  There are so many "healthy" recipes being posted now, since most people are on a diet until Superbowl.  I work in foodservice, I know when resolution willpower dies.  Also, it got warm again, and I was missing the simplicity of a dip dinner.

This is a variation of a tofu "ricotta" that I bookmarked to make after the Pantry Challenge.  I'll need to buy some ingredients.  They're all things I will use, and have had on hand in the past, but currently do not have in stock.  It's kind of like hummus without the tahini, which I tend to make frequently, taste, then realize I forgot to add it.  This is why you should taste recipes along the way.  Instead, I'm going all in with the other flavors to make up for the missing sesame paste.

I did break the Challenge a bit to buy carrots.  I needed a dipper, and only had a handful of ripe cherry tomatoes when I ripped out the plant; it got powdery mildew and whiteflies after the storms.  It was between that and a cucumber.  I realized after everything was on the counter that all I had to go with the dip was Wheat Thins and plantain chips.  That week's grocery total was still $2.95.  Including eggs.

*2 C cooked white beans, such as Great Northern, Navy, or Cannellini (a little over 1 15 oz can)
3 Tb olive oil
*6 cloves garlic, smashed
*1/2 C chopped herbs of choice - I used basil, rosemary, parsley, and cilantro
1 tsp salt, or to taste
pepper to taste, about 1/4 tsp
*Juice of 1 lemon, about 3 Tb
*white wine vinegar to taste, about 1 tsp

1.  If cooking the beans from dry, start with about 2/3 C.  The day before, soak for 8 hours, drain.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 hours, until very tender.  Drain and allow to cool slightly.  Makes a great do-ahead.

2.  Place olive oil, garlic, and herbs in a small saucepan.  Bring to a low boil over medium-low heat.  Technically, you're frying the herbs, but do it low so they don't burn.  Turn off the heat after 10 minutes and allow the mixture to steep another 15.  Can also be a do-ahead.

3.  Place all ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse at first to distribute, then run until everything is broken up and only lightly chunky.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  If thicker than you would like, add cooking/can water from the beans.  I needed a bit more salt and vinegar for my preference.  Resisted the urge to add more garlic, since I knew the flavors in the oil would increase as it aged.

4.  Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Flavors will meld and the dip will thicken.  Serve with crackers and vegetables, garnished with more herbs.

Makes about 2 cups

Difficulty rating  π

Hot Cocoa Mix

I store powdered milk, only buying fresh when I need at least a quart.  I can't go through that much just in my coffee before it goes bad.  While nonfat powdered milk has a very long shelf life, at least a few years, the Nido powdered whole milk doesn't last more than a year.  I also had some cocoa powder that I couldn't remember when I bought.  It's an excellent time of the year for hot chocolate.

This is a super easy recipe that can be multiplied as much as you want.  I'm mixing enough for four mugs because that's my habit.  It's far cheaper than the packets and can be sweetened or altered to your liking.  I'm going easy on the sugar here.

If you're using a flavoring, the amount will depend on what it is.  Cayenne would only be 1/8 tsp.  You aren't supposed to taste it, just have that hint of something.  Other spices or espresso powder can be anywhere from a 1/4 tsp hint to full-blown mocha mix with 1 Tb of espresso.

I'm using granulated sugar.  If you are making this with nonfat milk powder, it helps to use powdered sugar.  The traces of cornstarch in it will help to thicken the final product.

*1 C milk powder
*1/4 C cocoa powder
2 Tb sugar, or to taste
add-ins such as cinnamon, cayenne (Mexican hot chocolate), powdered espresso, or vanilla powder

1.  In a bowl, stir together all ingredients until evenly mixed.  The cocoa powder tends to lump up.  The clumps are easily broken with the back of a spoon.  To give as a gift, layer the ingredients in a jar all the way to the top as a pretty display.  The recipient can mix it up.

2.  Transfer to a storage container with a tight lid.  Keep in a dry, cool place for up to six months.  (Or the exp date on the milk.)

3.  To use, add a generous 1/4 C mix to a mug.  Pour in 1/2 C hot water and stir until it makes a sludge and the lumps are mostly gone.  Thin with more hot water to desired consistency, generally 8-12 ounces.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π

Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce

I don't even know how old the bottle of ketchup in the fridge is.  I can't read the Sell By date anymore.  It isn't moldy, so I'm finding ways to use it this month.

I did a sweet & sour sauce recipe the first year of this blog, and another for canning.  Those were the chunky kind, with chopped onion and bell pepper in them.  I wanted a smooth sauce - just the goo - to drizzle on a bowl of rice, kimchi, and canned tuna.  I bought the tuna a couple of years ago for a very good price, but you had to buy 10 to get that price.  It was something crazy cheap like 50¢ a can.  Low enough that I sighed and put two years of tuna in my cart.  I want to finish it this year, even though the date is 2028.  Yes, canned meats last a very long time.

This sauce comes together in less than five minutes.  Bring half the ingredients to a boil, stir in the other half, and serve once it thickens.  Any leftovers will turn into a gel in the fridge, but you can remelt them if necessary.

*1/3 C pineapple juice
1 Tb cornstarch
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C white vinegar
*3 Tb ketchup
1 tsp soy sauce
water to thin

1.  Stir together pineapple juice and cornstarch.  Set aside.

2.  In a small saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and soy sauce.  Bring to a low boil and stir until uniform.

3.  Stir in pineapple slurry.  Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.  If desired, thin with water to desired consistency.  Serve hot.

Makes about a cup, depending on thickness 

Difficulty rating  π

Lima Bean-Thickened Cabbage Soup

This may not be my highest rated recipe post, but it sure is comforting on a winter day.

I semi-cheated on the Pantry Challenge and bought the cabbage in December.  Cabbages keep in the fridge for weeks, and they were on sale for 49¢ a pound.  I was originally going to use it in a tuna bowl, then decided to use up the kimchi with that and the cabbage on a soup.

Somehow, I missed a can of tomato paste running past its date, and used all of it in here instead of part tomato sauce.  A can of cream corn was getting close; that went in instead of evaporated or coconut milk.

Alton Brown recently did one of his Saturday YouTube shows on his soup theory.  I more or less agree with it, even though some is traditional French culinary practice, and I like to think I've evolved past that.  The reason I'm linking the video is because I'm stealing his use of ground sumac as a finishing touch.

*1 C dry lima beans
1 Tb olive oil
*1 onion (I used half a red and half a yellow), diced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 small cabbage, about 2 lbs, cored and thinly sliced 
*1 15 oz can cream-style corn
* one 6oz can tomato paste
*3 C broth of choice
salt and pepper to taste
*1/2 tsp ground sumac

1.  The night before, or early in the day, sort and rinse the beans.  Soak in water to cover by two inches.  Drain and rinse.  These are getting mashed, so I spent about ten minutes taking off most of the skins.  They also rise to the top as the beans are cooked and can be skimmed off.  Or, you can leave them on and they will disappear in the finished soup.  Add soaked beans to a saucepan with fresh water to cover.  Bring to a low boil, then simmer until very tender, about 90 minutes.

2.  Drizzle oil into bottom of a soup pot.  Heat over medium and add the diced onion.  Cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes.  Sprinkle in the turmeric so it can bloom.

3.  Add sliced cabbage and tomato paste to the pot.  I did it one quarter cabbage at a time, so it could wilt enough that the full cabbage fit in the 6 qt pot.  Cook until cabbage starts to wilt and tomato paste is caramelized.  Stir frequently to avoid scorching.

4.  Add broth to the pot.  It will only come up about halfway.  Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover.  Stir every ten minutes or so.  Cook until cabbage is fully wilted, about half an hour.  Stir in the creamed corn.

5.  Meanwhile, drain the beans and discard any stray skins if desired.  Mash with a fork or potato masher into a slurry.  Stir into the soup, where it will add to the creaminess.

6.  Taste soup and add salt and pepper to taste.  All broths are different, so I'm not giving amounts.  Sprinkle in the sumac as a finishing touch, and serve hot.

Serves 6-8

Difficulty rating  :)

Repurposing Leftovers

A big part of this year's Pantry Challenge is just getting through random stuff in the freezer.  It's usually because I didn't get quantities right when I was cooking the original meal.  Other times, I went a little overboard and knew it, but that's how much you end up with when there's an egg in the recipe.  That sort of thing.  

Half the zaalouk was still there after Chanukah dinner.  I was using it as a sauce alongside the chicken, so not a surprise.  There was also more of it than I had expected.  I stuck it in the freezer, to figure out a purpose in January.

What I decided to do with it was use it as a curry starter.  It would have made an equally good pasta sauce.  There was an extra potato I never made into latkes, so in it went.  I increased the spices a bit to compensate for the dulling effect of potato.  In went a can of chickpeas for protein, a cup of heavy cream because it needed to be used, and some basmati to serve it on.

I believe in not wasting food.  It's important to preserve excess or make something new out of it.  The most expensive item at the grocery store is the one that is never eaten.  Also, this was a delicious, quick meal that stayed in my Mediterranean diet.  I have three months to clean up my a1C before my next physical.  Definitely went overboard on sugar during the holidays.