Here’s a question for you: I have several pounds (read: a BIG bag) of frozen broccoli in the freezer. It’s not very good frozen broccoli. It’s pretty gross to just eat it cooked. Is there any way to make it good? I can’t even really hide it in things because the flavor just over powers other things. Why is it that sometimes frozen broccoli is fine and other times it’s disgusting?
Pretty straight forward menu here this week. Salmon would be the only interesting item. We don’t eat much fish because it’s not a local meat but the kids kind of hate it (except tuna salad) so I want to serve it occasionally so they learn to like something besides beef and chicken. It’s high time I work on expanding their palates.
Oh wait, another question! Do any of you have a good rice pilaf recipe? Maybe we just don’t like pilafs but every time I try making one, they are just kind of bland. I’m probably grocery shopping on Thursday so if you have any recipes that might call for ingredients I need to buy, let me know before then. Thanks 
Monday: Mushroom Cream Sauce over Fettuccine, Salad with this dressing
Tuesday: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday: Chicken and Veggie Soup
Thursday: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks, Pickles Beets, Apple Sauce
Friday: Salmon, Rice (perhaps pilaf?), Green Beans
Saturday: Pepper and Onion Pizza, Cole Slaw
Sunday: Beef Burrito Casserole, Corn, Green Beans
Desserts: Egg Custard, Pumpkin Pie
Do you have Extending the Table? Have you ever made Bang Bang Chicken before? I use frozen broccoli in that. The sauce has lots of flavor (I often double the sauce portion of the recipe because it’s so good). That’s how I’d use it!:-) If you don’t have the cookbook, you can look it up on my blog.
I need a new butternut squash recipe since I still have a lot of them in storage. Any ideas, Zoë?
I’ll look that recipe up…I do have the cookbook!
Butternut squash…have you tried the pumpkin sausage pasta in Simply in Season? Or my harvest stew (I blogged it a few months back). That one is actually from Extending the Table, though I adapted it. Hmm, there’s always pumpkin pie! Or Winter Squash Bars (Simply in Season and I blogged it). Pumpkin Chiffon Cake (blogged that one WAY back…takes a bunch of eggs, too).
Or, my favorite way…roasted, scooped out of the shell, and then sprinkled with salt and a pat of butter. Mmm, I could eat half a squash that way!
I don’t really make pilafs, I guess. If I want rice to be more like a side dish, I saute it in butter first (maybe some mushrooms or onions here too) and use part broth as the liquid.
As for the frozen broccoli, I would definitely use some of it to make cream of broccoli soup – the recipe in More with Less is good (here’s my blog post: http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-to-do-with-leftover-steamed.html)
Do you have Fix-it and Forget-it Vegetarian? Broccoli and Quinoa with Hoisin Sauce is one of our favorite ways to use broccoli and it’s in there (but I can email you the recipe instead if you want). Also, if you are pesto eaters, just throw some florets in with the pasta as it cooks and then coat the whole shebang with pesto after you drain it. And my word, you can hide almost anything in vegetable soup. I really like the Savory Grain and Bean Pot in More with Less – lots of herbs, which further dresses up humble or strange ingredients. Good luck!
Good ideas on the rice. Thanks!
I’ve tried broccoli soup with this broccoli and we weren’t fans. I do have the vegetarian cookbook. I’ll look up that recipe. The pesto idea sounds good! I’ve done that with peas but didn’t think to try broccoli. Thanks!
To piggy-back on the broccoli/pasta ideas…not sure what you’re mushroom sauce is like (no doubt delicious, though), but you could probably toss some in your dish tonight. I’ve somethign similar that has chopped chicken and some sort cream sauce. I also have a recipe pinned for a balsamic sauce. They use it over penne and asparagus, but I’m sure broccoli would be great too. What about sitr fry?
I do often throw it in stir fry. It will take a ton of stir fry to use it all up
your broccoli sounds like the stuff I grow. I wish I knew why my soil grows such strong flavored broccoli. I’ve gotten away with it in my version of Chicken Divan which I will give to you if interested.
Did you try the Mayan hot chocolate recipe that I sent you awhile ago? It uses cooked butternut squash and I’m wishing I had more left because I like it so much. Maybe you should try it and then write about it. “Jane” from an earlier comment may be interested.
It’s weird! It was delicious fresh but gross frozen! It’s not always like that.
I’d be interested in your Chicken Divan recipe.
I did not try that Mayan hot chocolate. I like the sound of it but I just don’t love hot drinks so I haven’t been all that tempted. Jane, if you read this comment, here’s the link to it:
http://learningandyearning.com/2013/01/03/creamy-mayan-hot-chocolate/
Hi Zoe- The Pilaf we like is in the LMS cookbook and is called Indian Pilaf.
They bake it but it can be done on top too. I use oil instead of margarine and use more veggies -like shredded carrots and greens-kale or chard ,and I use more spices then called for. We reallly like curry and turmeric – not sure your little ones would. We had a meal with some Afgani friends and she even added raisens which was very good!
Hi Marty! I don’t have the LMS cookbook. I think I’d like the Indian version but I’m not sure about my husband
I actually made the salmon and rice tonight because we ended up going to the grocery store last night. I didn’t want the fish sitting in the fridge too long so I moved that meal idea up a few days. I ended up making a pilaf like what Margo (above) suggested. I also added roasted red pepper and a bit of cheese. It was delicious! I snapped a picture of the leftovers in the pot so I’ll probably blog it eventually!
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