Broccoli Rice Casserole - Cooking with Alicia & Annie Contest

This is my first entry into the Cooking with Alicia & Annie Contest -Feb. edition.

It's a simple side dish made with rice, broccoli and Velveeta cheese. I don't normally have Velveeta on hand but I happen to buy a big box of it for a Superbowl dip, so this dish was a perfect way for me to use up some of the leftovers. I would make this again. This would also travel well if you were in need of a side dish for a party.

You can find the original recipe here.

My version is below. The only thing I did differently was to leave out the onion and celery. To me, it would be out of place in this recipe. Everything else stayed the same. At the end of the cooking time, I stuck the dish under the broiler for two minutes to brown it a bit--this step is optional.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's Cream of Broccoli Soup
1/4 c. milk
1 c. diced pasteurized process cheese spread
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
2 c. cooked rice

Instructions

1. In saucepan, in hot oil, cook celery and onion until
tender-crisp.

2. Combine soup and milk; stir in celery-onion mixture,
cheese, broccoli and rice. Pour into 10x6 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle with paprika.

3. Conventional: Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes or
until hot, or microwave: Microwave on high 10 minutes or
until hot, rotating dish halfway through cooking.

Serves 8.

Are you ready?!? Here we go, Steelers!!

You can't help but get pumped up listening to these songs and watching these videos!
Courtesy of YouTube

Here we go! 2008 - 09

On the road to Sixburgh

Game winning touchdown! (video) by #43 taking us on to Superbowl 43!


Don't Quit

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how
close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you're
hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst
that you mustn't quit

Ben Roethlisberger keeps one copy of the poem
folded in the console of his car. He keeps another
framed above the desk in his house. He had a third
laminated for the inside of his locker, just in case he
ever needs to recite a line before wind sprints.

One more for the Steelers fans - Troy Polamalu’s new Coke ad (video)

Do you remember the "Mean Joe" Coke commercials from way back when?

Well, hold onto your hat because Troy is set to debut his new Coke Zero commercial that is supposed to replicate Mean Joe's commercial--only with a twist!

Check it out!

While you're there, take a look at the old commercial again...it brought tears to my eyes! (Ok...I'm a sap!!)

GO STEELERS!

We are proudly wearing our Black & Gold this weekend so I thought that it was fitting that my blog should wear the colors, too!

I love talking with all of the fans who have stopped by to say hi to me!

My friend Sharon, from View from my treehouse, said that she thought of me when she read this:

Our Father,
Who Art in Pittsburgh,
Football Be Thy Game.
The Kingdom Come,
5 Super Bowls Won,
On Earth as it is in Heinz Field.
Give us this Day a Superbowl Victory,
And forgive us our penalties,
As we defeat those who play against us.
But lead us into a victory,
And deliver us to Tampa!
A-Ben

Go STEELERS!!




LET'S MAKE IT SIX!!


FANS PICK MIKE TOMLIN AS NFL COACH OF THE YEAR!
Way to go, coach!!



IMO, choosing Bruce Springsteen to play for the half-time show, was the worst choice they could've made! Did anyone happen to watch his interview on ESPN yesterday? OMG! the man is so full of himself! He started out by proclaiming that he knows nothing about football and that the only reason he agreed to do the half-time show was because they have a new album out. What a pompous a$$! I'll find something else to do during those 15 minutes!

And now on to the food..........

When I asked my kids what they would like for me to make for snacks for the game, they both said "Chips and dip". hahaha! Gotta luv them! So that's what they're getting. Saves me time and everyone is happy!

I might try this recipe for Chicken Cigars (hate that name!) from Rachel Ray. My hubby will like these.

I'm keeping it simple for dinner, too. I think (not set in stone yet) that I'm going to make Greek chicken pitas and baked mac n cheese.

I have to come up with something for dessert this time. I have no clue yet so if anyone has a suggestion, please let me know! Something simple that can be made ahead of time.

That's it for now....

Keep waving those Terrible Towels!!!

Tami

Recipes for Playoff food

We enjoyed the food that I made. Not everything went as planned but that was ok.

Brown sugar smokies
1 (16 ounce) package little smokie sausages
1 pound bacon
1 1/2 C cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350

Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage.

Stick a toothpick through each sausage to secure the bacon.

Add 1/2 C. brown sugar to a dish. Dredge each sausage through
the brown sugar, coating well.

Arrange the sausages on a baking sheet and sprinkle them liberally
with the remaining brown sugar.

Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.

You can keep these warm in a crockpot set on low or warm.



Pepperoni rolls --flopped
I made a new bread machine Italian bread recipe and it turned out too sticky. The bread never did rise right so I tossed it.


Crockpot Chicago Style Beef Sandwiches
I definitely didn't stick to a regular Chicago style recipe. Instead, I added my own flare to it and the results were delicious!

3 lb beef roast
1C. beef broth
4 TBSP hot pepper relish
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 of a medium onion sliced into thin strips --more if you like a lot of onions
1/2 jar of marinate mushrooms, chopped fine (use other 1/2 in pasta salad)

Add meat to crockpot and top with garlic powder. Pour in beef broth. Top with hot pepper relish and onions. Cover and cook on high for approximately 6 hrs or until the meat can be shredded with 2 forks. Remove meat from juices and shred completely. Add the meat back to into the juices. Turn the crockpot to low or warm until ready to eat.

For the sandwich topping:
Finely chop up 1/2 C. Italian Giardiniera and add to a small bowl. Add 1/4 to 1/2 C. hot pepper relish and the chopped marinated mushrooms. Mix well.

Fill Italian subs with meat and top with pepper relish mix.



Antipasto pasta salad
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente
1/2 lb Genoa salami
1/2 lb sandwich pepperoni
1/3 lb provolone cheese --will use fresh moz. cheese the next time
fresh Basil
1/2 jar of marinated mushrooms, drained and chopped
3 TBSP hot pepper relish (I would've used roasted red peppers but I forgot to buy them!)

Slice salami, pepperoni and cheese into thin strips. Coarsely chop fresh basil.
Mix all ingredients in a large container and top with red wine vinegar dressing. (below)

Red wine vinegar dressing
1/2 C. olive oil
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
2 tsp spicy brown mustard
2 tsp Italian seasonings
2 tsp minced garlic

Add all ingredients to a shaker or jar with a screw on lid. Shake well.

Pour over pasta salad and mix well.

Chill pasta salad for at least 4 hours before eating.




We snacked on M&Ms and other candies for dessert.


No plans for Superbowl Sunday just yet.

GO STEELERS!!!!