Ewww … Eat it!

Cooking & Baking, Uncategorized

I remembered a “recipe” that I really liked from a very long time ago.

It’s from the early 1980s — a big decade for processed (and often strangely colored) food. It’s sort of a quick “Shepherd’s Pie,” but I hesitate to use that as a name — I don’t want to offend any shepherds.

In its entirety, the recipe calls for a can of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup mixed into cooked ground beef. A layer of instant mashed potatoes goes on top of that, and a sprinkle of paprika.

Well, I made it a few weeks ago. Predictably, I was not a fan.

You can’t go home again. Even for fake shepherds pie. Gross.


That said, let’s talk about it some decent tasting food. Here’s my recipe for Lemon Garlic Chicken and Cauliflower. I’ve made it several times — it’s a recipe that I made up, based on what was in the refrigerator at the time. It’s super easy and fast! This serves two people, and it’s very easily doubled for four.

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Cauliflower

  • 2 Large Chicken Breasts
  • 1/2 Head Cauliflower
  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • 1/3 Cup Diced Red Onion
  • 2 Cloves Diced Garlic
  • 1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan
  • 1/3 Cup Chicken Broth
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt & Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Thyme

Preheat oven to 425F, and heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil on high in a cast-iron (or other oven safe) pan. When the pan is hot, reduce the burner to medium. (Don’t burn your olive oil.)

While heating the pan, dice onion and garlic and separate/chop cauliflower. I cut my chicken breasts into strips, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Drop in a tablespoon or two of garlic/onion in the pan, add chicken breasts seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, and cook a few minutes until chicken is browned on one side (when the it easily lets go of the pan). Flip it over.

Immediately add the cauliflower and the remaining onion/garlic. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the chicken and cauliflower, sprinkle with thyme.

Turn off the burner, and transfer the whole lot to your 425F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, deglaze pan with 1/3 (ish) cup of chicken broth, sprinkle Parmesan over top of all, and cover for five minutes.

Mmmmm!

Herbs de Provence

Cooking & Baking, Garden

Irritating Gatekeeping Mention — Due to the number of “marketers” liking posts (thereby connecting and leaving their site address), I’ve turned off post “likes.” Comments are still open.

The leaves begin to tumble, the moon rises in the very early evening, and a chill wind blows past creaking wooden shutters and underneath ill-fitting doors.

It’s time to put up the herbs.

Nothing terribly surprising — just basil, thyme, oregano, and sage — but I have a nifty way of saving fresh herbs for the entire year. (At least I think I do. For all I know, everyone else is doing exactly the same thing.)

Sage & Basil ready for their bath

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I set the herbs in piles and pick through everything. (I have indeed taken caterpillars out.) I drop the stems and rejects in a pile on the counter, and I drop the good stuff into a colander in the sink.

After everything is rinsed, it’s food processor time — the basil, thyme, and oregano are wozzed up together nice and small as an herbs de Provence mix.

I tuck the washed-chopped herbs into ice cube trays, cover with water, and freeze. After they’re frozen, I plop ’em in a labeled Ziploc bag and I have ready-to-go chopped fresh herbs all year long — just drop an herb cube into whatever I’m cooking. =)

The scraps and stems can be put into a bottle with warmed olive oil and placed in the sun. Strain the herbs out after a week or two, and you’ll have herb-infused olive oil.

The sage is frozen separately (not chopped) in Ziploc bags by the bunch — filled with water and frozen to wait for Thanksgiving.

Happy Autumn!