Sauteed Broccoli

I know most people in my family aren't fans of broccoli, but when I took it to mom's for Easter dinner, it was gobbled up. Not a single speck of broccoli was left over. I'm not sure whether I guilted them into eating it or if they really liked it, but I thought it was great! We were at the grocery store today, and Dickson, who isn't usually a fan of broccoli, asked if we could get some so I could make "that broccoli" again. He filled to produce bags with it!

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl or pot with half ice and half water. When the water comes to a boil, add the broccoli florets using a strainer with a handle if possible. Allow the broccoli to cook for 1 to 2 minutes until just tender. Immediately remove from the boiling water, using the strainer or draining, and transfer to bowl of ice to stop the cooking process. Immerse the broccoli completely in the ice water for a minute or two. Remove and place in a dish that has been lined with paper towels. This part can be done up to two days in advance.

In a cup or small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese and brown sugar; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Throw in the broccoli and season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the broccoli, then cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and dust with the Parmesan cheese mixture.

1 pound broccoli florets
3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

(Source: www.allrecipes.com)

Cranberry Coffee Cake

I loved this cake (as did the others I shared it with)! I'm not usually a big fan of coffeecakes because I find them to be too dry, but the cranberries on this one really did something great for it.

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter (one cube)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp almond flavoring
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 c. sliced almonds

Glaze:
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 T. water

Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add flour, sour cream, and almond flavoring and mix well. Grease and flour a bundt pan and spoon 1/3 batter into the bottom. Spoon half of the cranberry sauce on top. As well as you can, evenly distribute 1/3 of the batter on top of the cranberries, then layer the remainder of the cranberry sauce, followed by the remaining 1/3 batter. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes. Cool. Gently loosen edges of cake from the pan with a skinny knife or spatula, then invert cake onto serving platter. Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over top of cake.

(Source: www.thesisterscafe.com)

Mango Chicken & Rice

Made this for family dinner on Sunday. It was a hit. (It needed a little more cumin, and maybe some pepper on top, but it was yummy nonetheless.)

4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups mango salsa
Cumin to taste (I suggest to use quite a bit, to give it a little zip.)
Lemon pepper to taste

Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add spices. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.

Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.

Serve over coconut jasmine rice (make jasmine rice with all or part of the cooking liquid coconut milk). Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.

(Source: www.sisterscafe.com)

Aunt Jody's Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 c. grated zucchini

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp.baking powder

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 c. nuts

3 tsp. vanilla

3 tsp. cinnamon

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add oil, sugar, squash, and vanilla. Mix lightly, but well. Add dry ingredients, mix until well blended. Fold in nuts. bake in greased and floured pans. Bake 60 minutes at 350 F.

Butter Garlic Shrimp

10 shell on shrimp, deveined

1 c. flour

2 T. paprika

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 c. clarified butter

1 head (about 10 cloves) garlic, chopped

Mix flour paprika and cayenne. Mix shrimp in flour mixture. Heat pan to med-high heat. Add butter and garlic. Cook shrimp 3 minutes on each side. Serve with white rice.

Orange Glazed Pork

6-8 pork chops or equivalent of pork chunks

15 whole cloves

1/2 tsp. pepper

3/4 tsp. paprika

3 tsp. season salt

1 1/2 c. orange juice

3 T. sugar1/2 tsp. curry powder

corn starch to thicken

Mix together all ingredients except pork and cornstarch at least a few hours before cooking. (The longer the flavors can set, the better it tastes.) Brown pork. Continue to cook on medium heat until almost done. Pour sauce mix over pork and cook until pork is cooked through. Remove pork and thicken sauce with cornstarch. Serve with rice, or mix in with macaroni noodles.