Anne Can Cook

Last weekend, my youngest aunt and her family were in town for a preseason football game. They were gracious enough to bring me up some stuff from home.

I suspect my mom got a bit carried away with cleaning out her cookbook cupboard, because she sent me something like twenty editions of Taste of Home Quick Cooking.

But I love Taste of Home, so this is totally okay.

I was on my own for dinner tonight, and so I turned to my latest acquisition for guidance. Sure enough, I had barely flipped through the pages of my random edition before I found something that sounded perfect. The entry is called "Sesame Broccoli," and it was submitted by someone named Myrna Innes for the July/August 2003 edition.

I did add a bit to Myrna's recipe, but not much. I'll note my changes.
"Sesame Broccoli" (with Rice Noodles)
1 cup water (Note: I almost always ignore the amount of water for boiling things. Fill pan with water. Boil things. Done).
1 pound fresh broccoli spears (or, in my case, 1/4 bag of frozen broccoli spears)
*Approximately 1 oz of dry rice sticks
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
*3 cloves garlic, pressed
4 tsp olive or canola oil, divided
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (I used lime juice. It's just what I grabbed first).
1 Tbsp. soy sauce.

*Stuff I added to the original recipe.

In a saucepan, boil the water and add the noodles and broccoli. Boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp. oil in a small skillet. Once hot, add the sesame seeds and saute until brown. This goes surprisingly fast. Don't think you can walk away during this part. It seriously took me about fifteen seconds, tops.
Remove the skillet from the heat. I added some pressed garlic here, since the skillet was still hot enough to cook it a bit.
Add the sugar, lemon (or lime) juice, soy sauce, and the rest of the oil. Mix well, set aside.

Once the broccoli and rice sticks are done, drain them well, then toss with the sesame seed mixture.

I sprinkled some lemon pepper on top, because I've been into it lately.


This had an incredibly homey flavor to it. The progression went something like this for me:
1st few bites: Yeah, this is okay.
Middle of eating: OMG this is soo good. Broccoli! I love broccoli! Pasta! Mmm. Lime in the background! Mmmm! This tastes like something mom would've made!
End of eating: I'm sort of full but I. Can't. Stop.

Ridonk.

We're back!*

Andrew and I have had the Internet for approximately one full hour now. That means posting can continue with some regularity soon!

Until I cook something worth mentioning, I thought it might be fun to share my spices spreadsheet with you all. I feel like I am always plugging Penzeys, and so I thought you might want to see what I have in my spice cabinet and what I like about each one. I am kind of new to Google Docs, but it seems to have uploaded just fine. Here is the link.

Anyway, that's it for the moment. In the meantime, comment here or on my facebook page and tell me what your favorite spices are. Or maybe, if you're not a Penzeys person, tell me about your favorite spice company.

*A Dinosaur's Story.

Aw, the first meal made in our new apartment.
I think I've mentioned on here that Andrew and I have a less than perfect track record when it comes to me cooking for him. I think I'm a pretty decent cook, but when I've cooked things for him, it's never turned out just right.
Consequently, he always seems a bit hesitant to let me cook anything beyond (his favorite) chicken tenders.

We do not have the internet at our place yet, so the other day we sat around and flipped through some of my Taste of Home cookbooks, tagging recipes. This one I pulled out of the Taste of Home Ultimate Chicken Recipe Book. It was quick(ish), easy, and really pretty tasty. I should note that I halved this recipe for the two of us, and we still had enough for seconds AND lunch time leftovers.



Creamy Chicken Angel Hair

"1 pkg angel hair pasta
1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large carrot, diced (I used a handful of baby carrots)
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, diced (I left this out, but I'm sure it would a good addition)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups heavy whipped cream
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 c. Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the chicken, salt and pepper in 2 Tbsp oil until no long pink. Remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, saute carrot in butter and remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the onion, celery and garlic; saute 3-4 minutes or until tender.

Stir in the cream, cooked bacon, lemon juice and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Return the chicken to the pan.

Drain pasta; toss with chicken mixture. Garnish with Parmesan cheese."

Pictures soon! Andrew really liked it, and I have photo proof!

ETA: I told you so!