This Is Nuts

Am I nuts?



Possibly. I am taking a red-eye flight out tonight from Los Angeles to Tampa. This will put me in the Sunshine State (which ironically is not as sunny as California right now...at least that is what I hear) by 5:46 AM. I will be picked up from the Tampa International airport at 6:00 AM by my lovely, hope-they-won't-hate-me, friends. I will then proceed to gallivant around town with them picking up supplies, food and decorations for the bridal shower we will be hosting the following day. Monday afternoon I will lunch with part of the bridal party from another amazing wedding before hoping back on a plane back to Los Angeles. I live for this crazy stuff.

Yes, it is that time in life. Marriage is in the air. I am the proud proud friend of three very engaged, very beautiful couples.

Chroe - Christy and Joe. Don't you just want to be friends with these people? I mean, look at them. They really look alike, don't they. It seems like they should know exactly what their children will look like.



Jeagan - Jonathan and Meagan. Gorgeous people with big hearts. Meagan is my oldest friend, and you should know her parents dressed up as homeless people to get this shot taken right after he proposed.



Amandike - Amanda and Mikey. This picture says it all. Adventurous, fun, and contemplative. Mikey likes to say things like, "Arranged Marriages...Discuss." I also feel that I should mention they will not be having an arranged marriage; they have been dating for over nine years.



So anyway, this weekend will be nuts. So I have decided to share with you a recipe involving them. I received this recipe through an email recipe exchange. My aunt sent me the original email, I sent an email out to some unsuspecting victims and then I received some fun recipes back. I look forward to making a few of them this year!

Samantha's Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews

1.5 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped, salted (or unsalted) cashews

Place broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cooke for 7 minutes, or until tender but still crsip. Drain (well) and arrange on a serving platter.
While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Tip: For thicker sauce, mix 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch with a little bit of water and add it after the garlic. If you add the cornstarch directly to the sauce without mixing it first with a little water, it tends to clump.



I think this would also be great if you stir fry some chicken with the sauce (you would have to make more) and broccoli and serve it over rice.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I did not grow up in a household of people who liked to cook. I can imagine I will be elaborating on that in a later post (sorry mom!) so I will not say much more on that for now. I bring this up because I would like to mention there were a couple exceptions to our home's no-cooking tendencies. My dad liked to make steamed broccoli. He would steam an entire package of chopped fresh broccoli and put about a cup or two of shredded cheddar cheese on top and let it melt all over. I would eat so much broccoli. I would pile it up on my plate, sometimes eating the whole thing. When I would go to other people's houses for dinner, I noticed most people only ate a couple little trees each. Weird.

I also like chicken. Who doesn't (besides you vegetarians)? It was at a friend's house sometime around the 9th grade that I first learned of a casserole that was essentially a mix of what had become my favorite thing to eat for dinner: chicken, cheese and broccoli (along with some other delicious ingredients that only made it better). This classic casserole is called chicken divan. This is one of the first recipes I ever asked someone for after devouring it for dinner. I made it, I liked it, and I made it again. It was a pleasant surprise to me that I could simply follow a recipe and make something delicious. It was at that point I realized cooking is not hard; it simply takes patience. This recipe is so easy. I like to serve it over brown rice, but if you eat it by itself, it is another dish that you can eat on a low-carb diet. I think there are several variations of this recipe floating around, but this one is pretty much the most basic one you can make.

Why Change a Good Thing Chicken Divan:



Makes a 9" x 13" casserole dish

2 10oz packages of frozen or fresh broccoli (chopped and steamed)
4 or 5 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded - about 6 or 7 C)
2 10oz cans cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
2 1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 C bread crumbs (not seasoned)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 C mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soup, lemon juice, 1 1/2 C shredded cheese, mayo, and curry powder (optional). Mix well.



Spread chopped broccoli down as the bottom layer in the glass casserole dish.
Next, layer the chicken on top of the broccoli.



Pour the soup mixture over the top of the two layers.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs over the top.

Cover the dish with foil, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes (or until cheese starts to bubble.