Broccoli chicken bake

Have I ever mentioned that I used to be quite large? My mom will inevitably get angry at me for writing this and will follow up with a phone call explaining how my body simply matched my "larger than life" personality.

She's my mom. She has to say that. And now that I think about it, I don't even see that as much of a compliment, anyway.

So when I was a freshman in high school, I started a less-intense version of the Atkins diet. It involved a lot of chicken, a lot of broccoli, and a lot of cheese. Mom came up with a broccoli chicken bake that I ate at least once a day. Keep in mind, this is before Atkins was trendy and there were all those fancy schmany "no-carb chocolate bars."

Psshh.

About 25 lbs later, I embraced bread again and have re-made this broccoli chicken bake. It still has the broccoli. It still has the chicken. And it still has the cheese. We've simply thrown in some bread and butter.

Because life without bread and butter is simply no life at all.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen broccoli
• 2 slices of sourdough bread broken into small pieces 
• 2 cooked chicken breasts
• Garlic salt/pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 can cream of broccoli soup
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 Directions:

• Steam the broccoli until tender and place in a 8 x 8 x 1 1/2 in. glass pan
• Cut up thawed chicken and cook on the stove over medium/high heat
• Add the juice of the lemon
• Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper
• Place cooked chicken on top of broccoli
• Mix the milk and soup in a separate bowl
• Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli
• Sprinkle with cheddar cheese
• Drizzle melted butter over bread crumbs in a separate bowl
• Spread bread crumbs on top of broccoli/chicken/soup mixture/cheese
• Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the top is browned. Remember...every oven is different. Keep an eye on it.

Guys, you would not believe how great this stuff smells. When you pull it out of the oven and get that first big whiff, it's like you walked into a Panera that only serves broccoli cheese soup.

I wish there were such a place.

Have a beautiful day, readers! And please, for heaven's sake...

...make this!

Love,
Rachael

Spicy Chicken Fried Rice

Have you ever met someone who you knew would change your life? Someone who, the second you met them, you could feel an undeniable chemistry with?

I've never really felt that, to be honest, but I've come close. I was new at the office, sucked at my job and didn't know anybody. I was just the "new girl" who was always getting in trouble for having a big "X" in the middle of a headline. That was me.

I can't talk about that anymore. It gives me anxiety. Amber understands.

One day, when I'd had just about all I could take, one of my co-workers, Pam, handed me some Tupperware that was filled with this fried rice. After one bite, I was transformed. It was truly the turning point in my job and changed my relationship with Pam. She loves me now. Every time she answers the phone with, "Leave me alone, stalker," I know she says it out of love. And it's all because she gave this to me.

Pam didn't give me the recipe, but after eating it enough times, I think I've figured it out. So I'm sharing this with you in hopes that it will change your life/career/marriage.

I have high hopes for this rice.

Ingredients:

• Half bag rice
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Ginger powder
• Asian hot sauce
• 1 can sliced carrots
• 3 scrambled eggs

Directions:

• Cook the rice as instructed on the package. I've accepted that most of you will use white rice, but in my home, my husband forbids it. Have I mentioned that he's lost over 50 lbs and I've gained 2? Now that is depressing.
• Chop the boneless skinless chicken breasts up into the smallest pieces possible. Without cutting off your finger, of course. The smaller they are, the better they'll blend in with all the fixins.
• Throw it all into a LARGE pan with a little olive oil over high heat.
• Add a few shakes of ginger powder.
• Don't ask me what kind of hot sauce I used. I don't speak Chinese, Vietnamese, or any other "ese." All I know is that it's hot, they sell it at WalMart, and there's a big chicken on the front.
• Now if you've been following me long at all, you know that I'm not huge on measurements, unless it's absolutely necessary. Having said that, you should add as much of this as you can stand. It is quite spicy, but that's the point, right? Oh, and don't be afraid of the consistency of the sauce. It's like ketchup, but it doesn't taste anything like it.
• Keep it on high heat, stirring frequently. You want the chicken to absorb the sauce, if that's even possible. It sure seems possible. You'll see.
• While that's going on, grab a can of sliced carrots, or grab a few fresh ones. Chop 'em up into teeny-tiny pieces and add them to the chicken. Lower it to medium heat.
• Now we're going to scramble the eggs. Stir them up and add a splash of water to make them fluffy.
• Keep them over medium-high heat until they're almost cooked. We want them to be a little wet since they'll be in the big pan with all the other ingredients.
• Add them in with the chicken and carrots.
• Chop up the eggs until they're very small pieces and mix up all 3 ingredients.
• Add the rice to the mixture. This is why we use a BIG pan.
• Mix it up until the rice is an orange shade. If your rice is still light colored, you need to a) mix it up more, and b) add more hot sauce. I did both. And so should you. If I were you, I'd stir this very slowly. I learned that the hard way. 
• Add some olive oil, put it back on high heat, and let it "fry." I left it on the stove for another 10 minutes or so, stirring it every 2 minutes.

There ya' go! Remember, this is spicy, but it's one of those "this-is-killing-all-my-taste-buds-but-I-can't-stop-eating-it" type of foods. Very similar to the too-hot latte you consume every morning.

I find this meal very timely since Obama just met with the Chinese president to discuss economics and peace and such. So let's make peace and eat fried rice. That should solve a few problems right there.

Love and China,

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Pepperoni Calzone

Thursdays were always my favorite days growing up. Honestly, they still are. I have the whole weekend just within reach, and I always look forward to Friday, simply because I spend that entire day looking forward to the weekend.

It's complicated. I'm complicated.

But as an innocent, somewhat chunky child, Thursdays were my favorite days because it was pizza day at school. I am hesitant to admit this, but I was always the first in line.

Some things never change.

As an adult, I'm trying to stretch myself and become open to new things. I listen to classical music on occasion, watch the 700 club and read the paper (probably just because I want to impress my boss, the editor of the paper, and my night-editor who knows something about everything),

That's right...I'm talking to you, Amber.

Regardless of my tireless efforts, I cannot stray from my love of pizza, which is why tonight I am preparing its cousin, the calzone.

The beauty of calzones is that they're fancier-like pizza dressing up to go to the prom. Or, depending on how you look at it, it's a glorified hot pocket. You can fill them with whatever you want: chicken, veggies, sauces, etc. I am going forward with my traditional pizza calzone and will be using pizza sauce, cheese, olive oil, pepperoni, and italian herbs. Get creative, though! It's much easier than it looks.

Let's start with the dough. Instead of being repetitive, here's the link to my homemade pizza dough.Just make sure and stop before you start putting on toppings. Just make the super easy dough and then we'll pick up back here.

**As a side note on that pizza dough, this time I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour**

• Roll the dough out into a round shape. It doesn't have to be perfect.
• You're going to need to add the dough to whatever you're going to be baking it on. I used a stone and put a thin layer of corn starch on it.
• Add the pizza sauce to half the dough. Make sure and keep it an inch from the edge.
• Add mozzarella cheese.
• Throw on some pepperoni. This is turkey pepperoni which, P.S., tastes exactly the same and is so much better for you.

• Add more sauce.
• Fold the other half over and pinch the sides together.
• Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Voilà! There ya' go, people. Eat and enjoy!

Xoxoxoxo,
Rachael

Chicken Quesadillas

Today has been a good day. I learned that our rent will not be going up $65 dollars when we re-sign our lease, my workload was somewhat tolerable, my brother is visiting tomorrow morning (haven't seen him in almost a year), and the Bachelor Pad is on. Yes, the spinoff of The Bachelor(ette). For those of you who are in Tim's youth group, stop watching that trash. It's for old married women who sit in a cubicle all day and need to live vicariously through the lives of crazy ladies and gentlemen (terms used loosely).

So, in honor of this special day, I am making what has become a staple in my home: chicken quesadillas. But these are not your grandma's boring cheese and tortilla quesadillas. These are better than...Taco Bell's (GASP!). I made it to use up a few things in my fridge/pantry, and it....is....AMAZING. Please do yourself a favor and make these. This particular recipe is for 2 people.

Ingredients:

• Tortillas
• 2 chicken breasts
• Mexican cheese (I use the bagged kind)
• Taco Bell taco sauce (no, not the salsa...and yes, the kind you buy in the store, not the kind you steal on your next visit)
• Drained can of black beans (or pinto...whichever you prefer)
• Taco seasoning
• Toppings (sour cream, guacamole, etc.)
• You can also choose to put chopped up peppers or other veggies in yours. My palette is extremely limited, as you can tell.
• A quesadilla maker, a George Foreman or a pan and a stove

Directions:

• Now, I'm going to give you options. Easy option: throw the chicken in the crockpot before you leave for work and generously add the taco seasoning. Set it on low and it'll be ready for the next step when you walk in the door. Hard way: thaw chicken, cut up chicken, cook chicken on stove, add taco seasoning...it's your choice.
• I use a George Foreman that has quesadilla plates, so it starlights as a quesadilla maker. I throw the tortilla on the warmed up Foreman, tear up the chicken (which I cooked in the crockpot...or your can use the difficult chicken), add cheese, taco sauce, and drained beans (I love beans).
• Throw on another tortilla and cook the sucker
• When it's ready, top it however you'd like.

I served this with homemade tortilla chips. Cut up a tortilla, warm up some canola oil in a pan over the stove, and throw them in 30 seconds, then flip and leave for another 30 seconds. Top with salt, and there ya' go.

Love and Mexican...again,

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