Snowed again this week. Thankfully it was not the 8" they were predicting, but enough to make it look like Christmas. Even the weather is starting the Holiday season early. Poor Halloween...
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South of Malta, Montana
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The Meal Plan
Sat (L) leftover lasagna (S) chicken and wild rice casserole
Sun (L) leftover zucchini soup (S) chicken and wild rice casserole
Mon - tomato soup and grilled cheese
Tues - leftover casserole
Wed - leftover tomato soup and grilled cheese
Thurs (yoga) leftover casserole
Fri - brats and beans
Lunches - Better than takeout Udon Noodles
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (Well Plated blog)
I found myself in need of an extra meal, saw I had saved this on Pinterest, and knew I had everything on hand to make it. Yay!
This can best be described as a Minnesota (or Midwest) Thanksgiving in a casserole. Rice as stuffing, turkey or chicken, squash, onion, thyme and or sage - yup. Reminiscent of Thanksgiving and pretty darn good. I did do some notable alterations. I used:
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leftover cooked turkey, cubed
- all wild rice, cooked ( cup dried = 3 cups cooked)
- dried thyme and some dried sage
Since the turkey was pre-cooked, I was able to skip that part of the recipe (confirming, works great with leftovers or rotisserie). Rice I made ahead in the instant pot so it would be ready when I wanted to make dinner. Assembly goes fairly quickly and it's easy to do clean-up while waiting for the squash to cook and then again while everything bakes.
Serves 6-8
1 cup uncooked wild rice blend (about 3 cups cooked)
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds) peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 cups cubes)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme plus additional for garnish
3/4 cup dried cranberries I prefer the ones with reduced sugar
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese divided (about 2 ounces)
Cook the rice according to package directions. Drain off any excess cooking liquid and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink on the inside, about 6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
With a paper towel, carefully wipe the skillet clean. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. Add the diced squash, onions, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender but still retains some chew, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the thyme, cranberries, reserved chicken, rice, and 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish (my notes: cover with aluminum foil for the first part). Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven (remove foil)and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake 5 additional minutes, until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with additional chopped fresh thyme and serve warm.
Better than Takeout Udon Noodles (Bon Appetit) vegetarian option
I made this for lunches for the week. To be determined if it works. I hope it does. Sure tasted really good as I was assembling. I couldn't keep my fingers out of the noodles!
I deviated from this recipe in several ways, but the base aspects and flavors remain the same. I used regular udon, and cooked according to package directions, then tossed with the sesame oil. I omitted the pork and used 1/2 package of firm tofu and 4 oz mushrooms. I should have used the whole package of tofu and mushrooms. And based off of recommendations on the Great Food Forum (where I found this recipe) I cut back the mirin and soy sauce to 1/4 cup each.
This is kinda a fridge clean-out recipe - use what you've got. Or not. I did pick up some ramen noodles to make round two with later in the week.
As written, serves about 4.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 cups very coarsely chopped green cabbage (from about ¼ medium head)
2 7-ounce packages instant udon noodles, flavor packets discarded
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
8 ounces ground pork
5 scallions, white and pale-green parts coarsely chopped, dark-green parts thinly sliced
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (from a 1-inch knob)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
⅓ cup mirin
⅓ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for serving
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add cabbage and cook, tossing often, until edges are browned, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, tossing often, until thickest parts of cabbage leaves are tender, about 4 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set skillet aside.
Place udon in a large heatproof bowl (or pot if you don’t have one) and cover with 6 cups boiling water. Let sit 1 minute, stirring to break up noodles, then drain in a colander. Transfer noodles back to bowl and toss with sesame oil. Transfer cabbage to bowl with noodles. Wipe out skillet.
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in same skillet over medium-high and add pork, breaking up and spreading across surface of pan with a spatula or tongs. Cook pork, undisturbed, until underside is brown, about 3 minutes. The pork will never brown if you’re fussing with it the whole time, so when we say “undisturbed,” that means keep your paws off it and let the heat of the pan and the pork do their thing. When pork is browned, break up meat into small bits. Cook, tossing, just until there’s no more pink, about 1 minute. Add chopped scallions (the pale parts), ginger, and red pepper. Continue to cook, tossing often, until scallions are softened and bottom of skillet has started to brown, about 1 minute. Add udon mixture, mirin, and soy sauce and cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are coated in sauce (be sure to scrape bottom of skillet to dissolve any browned bits), about 45 seconds. Remove from heat and fold in 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds and dark-green parts of scallions. Top with more sesame seeds before serving.
George’s Creamy Tomato Soup (G. Hirsch Lifestyle)
I caught an episode of G. Hirch Lifestyle the week previous where he made tomato soup and a "fancy" grilled cheese sandwich. I've been looking for a decent tomato soup and this seemed like it might be worth a try. A bit of modification was necessary - I'm not going to find San Marzano Plum tomatoes in my corner of the world, so I picked out a local, hydroponically grown tomato. I have no idea what "sweet butter", used regular. Skipped the basil as I didn't want to pay $3.00 to use four leaves.
This was pretty close to my idea of a good tomato soup. If I were to make it again, I would saute 1 tbsp tomato paste with the onion and garlic. I would probably pull out the blender as well, as the immersion blender didn't get it quite smooth enough. Recommended.
Makes 6-8 servings
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photo from G. Hirsch Lifestyle
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5 large ripe San Marzano Plum tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons sweet butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2-4 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
2- 15 ounce cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme, basil
hot sauce, sea salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 1 cup half-and-half
Pre heat a large 4 quart soup pot.
Add olive oil, onion, garlic and fresh plum tomatoes. Stir and sweat 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the butter and when melted, then add the flour, sir and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the canned San Marzano tomatoes, stir, and simmer 5 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, and dried basil, simmer for 5 minutes.
Add fresh basil and simmer for 5 additional minutes.
Remove bay leaves and take the soup off the stove. For a creamier soup use a food pulser and puree slightly leaving a few chunks of tomatoes. Return back to stove and bring back to a boil, and add the optional half-and-half.
Lower heat and simmer 2 minutes.
Add hot sauce, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Served topped with crunchy croutons and a few drops of olive oil.
Grilled Cheese with Cheddar and Ham (modified from G. Hirsch Lifestyle)
From G. Hirsch:
The recipe is simple, fresh farm house white pullman bread, sliced and brushed with melted butter, sharp farm house cheddar, and cured French ham all toasted on the griddle until the cheese begins to melt. The result ia a cheesy goodness that can be enjoyed any time of day. Today, mini grilled cheese toasties are even being served during cocktail parties as hors d'oeuvres.
The benefit of this recipe is there is no one right or wrong way. Change up the bread, the fillings, or expose your fillings as on open face sandwich and toast it up!
TIP: Butter the bread on the outside when assembling the sandwich before placing on griddle or sauté pan for toastie crisp goodness.
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photo from G.Hirsch Lifestyle
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My Notes: I used sourdough bread, the thinnest ham I could find in the deli that still looked like ham, really thin sharp cheddar cheese slices (for the husband) and cheddar and Swiss cheese on mine. Absolutely YUM! When combined with the tomato soup (assuming they like tomato soup, this is good enough for company. Recommended!
Bloodshot by Cherie Priest
