Sometimes You Have To Go The Extra Mile

It seems we have all been going in a lot of directions around our house lately.  The boys have been having a few school adventures that I have missed because I've been at work.  Dean has been scooting off to Saskatoon, having P.A. rehearsals, and Skyping with some musician friends from Edmonton, working on a variety of music projects that are pretty interesting.  I have been immersed in my own work responsibilities, working some challenging days.  Dean and Andrew are currently at Band Camp.  The boys and Dean had a Boys Sleepover at youth on the weekend.  My garden has sent me a "you've neglected me" text.  My sinuses and allergies aren't allowing me to step foot outside.  We've had an unusual amount of supper company in the past few months.  At least one of us has been in Saskatoon almost every week since April. 

I am looking forward to a more peaceful week.  Think I'll find it?  Hard to say!

This isn't about the Dynna family and the demands on their time, though.  We're ALL busy, and it's mostly of our own choosing.

But sometimes, to accomplish your own goals, you have to go the extra mile.  We want to succeed in our careers, so we have to put the time in to do that.  Hey, we have to pay our bills, so we have to work, right?  We want our kids involved in healthy activities, and that takes effort and even takes time away from family time.  We want to develop and nurture friendships, so we invite people into our home so that we can do that. 

It all requires us to go the extra mile.

I was whining to my mom awhile ago about some things that I was tired of.  While she was understanding in what I was saying, she also reminded me that sometimes we simply have to "endure" things because you just can't quit everything that occasionally pushes you beyond your limit.

I have a wise mom.

The recipe that I want to talk about today is one that I have made 3 times (I think) with varying degrees of success.  It is "Broccoli Chicken Lasagna".  The first time I made it, it was for a group of people who were coming here for a potluck of sorts, and I was trying to feed a large-ish group on a budget so was reasonably satisfied with the results, because I pulled it off without too much money invested and was happy with an alternative lasagna option that stood apart from the usual hamburger/tomato sauce lasagna thing.

The next time I tried it, I think I cheaped out on pretty much everything and the results were SO disappointing.  That time, it turned into a bland bunch of noodley goo.  Terribly disappointing.

This time, we were having company and I wanted something that I could make ahead in the day, it had to be chicken or pork, and I wanted leftovers to assist us into the coming week so I pulled the recipe out again and told myself that failure really was optional and that I could absolutely opt for this to be better than it was before.  So I kicked it up a couple of notches (just small changes really) and decided to "go the extra mile".  The two things that kicked it up for me were:
          1.  Basil pesto - I am working my way through my first jar and have enjoyed it so far
          2.  So sorry to say this - but I used pre-grated cheese.  SORRY!!!!  I am not a fan of that.  I think it is expensive and perhaps not as fresh or nutritional as block cheese.  I don't mind grating cheese.  Grating cheese is cheaper.  BUT, I was on a time constraint that day and I grabbed the bag and plopped it into my cart and decided not to examine that move any further.  The end result, though, was that the 3 or 4 cheese combination in the lasagna was a real winner and took the cheesy part beyond the usual (somewhat mundane) mozzarella.

So, for your dining pleasure, here is:

Broccoli Chicken Lasagna

4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
3 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh, please!)

Lasagna noodles (recommend oven-ready - why would you willingly add work to lasagna???)

2 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
2 chicken breasts, cubed
2-3 Tbsp basil pesto
2 cups broccoli, chopped

2-3 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, mixed, whatever floats your boat)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Sauce:  Melt butter, stir in flour.  Add milk and cook, whisking until smooth and thickening.  Add broth and continue to stir until thick.  Beat eggs in separate bowl; add a small amount of sauce to eggs to temper, then add entire egg mixture to white sauce.  Go the extra mile and do the tempering eggs thing.  If you don't, you may end up with scrambled eggs in a white sauce.  Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, s and p to taste.

Saute chicken in butter with onion and garlic.  Stir in basil pesto and toss.  Stir in broccoli and cook 5 minutes longer or until broccoli is tender.  S and P to taste.

Layer in a 9 x 13 pan - sauce, grated cheese (mozzarella or mixed), noodles, chicken.  Repeat.  Finish with cheese.

Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Remove foil to brown a bit if desired.  (What do I mean "IF desired"?  What is better than lightly browned cheesy goodness?  Brown it, for heaven sake!)

Go the extra mile on this one.  If you don't want to buy basil pesto, it will still turn out good, but the basil pesto completely enhanced the recipe.  I am sure you could saute the chicken with fresh or dried basil and get satisfying results as well.  But the chicken, with only onion and garlic for flavoring, was bland on my previous attempts.

If you want this to be good......
  • Don't be stingy on the chicken; if 2 breasts looks like too little, use 3 breasts.
  • Don't be stingy on the broccoli either. 
  • Don't be stingy on cheese either.  That will NEVER do.
  • Don't be stingy on the salt and pepper either.  You have to be careful with this, for sure, but under-seasoned food doesn't cut it.
Don't be stingy.  Share with friends.  Amen.

Comments

Popular Posts