Baked Potatoes with 2 Cheese Sauce, Broccoli and Bacon

This meal is quick and easy. My sister asked me to help her think of what to make for dinner about a week ago and suggested baked potatoes with chicken and cheese sauce. This was my variation on that theme. I have found a way to speed up cooking pasta or vegetables -by the way, it cuts your prep time by a lot if you boil the water in the in the electric kettle and then dump it in the pot. 

Potatoes

6-8 medium potatoes cleaned and stuck with a fork to keep from exploding. If you clean them well with a brush or sponge before baking them then you can eat the skins. They take about 1 hour to cook. The other three ingredients can be done in about 10 minutes (if you have the t-mix).

1 Broccoli- chopped in medium sized pieces and boiled with salt until soft.

Cheese Sauce

• 1/4-1/3 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2-3/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup Swiss cheese
• salt/pepper

Add flour, milk and salt/pepper to the t-mix and cook for 6 minutes temp. 100 C on speed 3. Add 2 cheeses adjust seasonings and add any more milk if it is too thick. Cook for another 2 minutes at the same temp and speed.

Fry bacon until really crispy.

Top potatoes with broccoli, cheese sauce, and bacon. Enjoy

Without and with the cheese sauce

 

    

Coconut Tofu

 

This is all that was left!

I had my first whole conversation with a random person and on various topics in Danish. I went to get tofu at one of the many ethnic shops in Aalborg. She asked what I was looking for and we started talking while she gave me my tofu. She has family in who lives in the US and we talked about that and the different opportunities life in Denmark and the US offers. In Denmark there is equality to get an education but after you graduate she says it is difficult for foreigners to get a job. In the US, its hard to get higher education but once you do there isn’t as much racism to get a job. It was an interesting perspective. She also talked about the problem of corruption in Vietnam. I tell you this was a real conversation, not your typical “hi, my name is…, I’m from…, I’m…”.

Coconut Tofu Rice Noodle

• 1 stalk (not the upper stem) leek 
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2-3 teaspoons sugar
• salt, pepper, squirt of soy
• spices: pinch of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon “tandori masala bbq” seasoning (a mix of cumin, cinnomin, cilantro, oregano, thyme), dash of nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon basil.
• 1 400 gr. (10.5 oz) coconut milk– today I used organic and it was good!
• 1/2 cauliflower
• 125 gr. rice noodles (i used half a package).

Saute leeks and garlic in oil until done. Add cubed tofu, sugar, and spices. After 2 minutes add coconut milk. Leave coconut tofu to simmer. Adjust seasoning if necesary. Add chopped cauliflower to boiling water with salt and cook for 4 minutes. Then add rice noodles and drain after 3. Combine coconut tofu and cauliflower and rice noodles.

Special Chicken Pesto Pasta

Ok, so between Carlos and I tonight we made a great meal! It was great! I was also inspired by a conversation this morning with a Filipino women who had lived in China and was talking about Asian noodles. Anyway, Carlos wanted to cook chicken and then cook the noodles in the broth (an oriental idea). We also want to thank Karl for letting Carlos try his vegetarian pasta one day with dried tomatoes and capers. We have added them to our seasonings thanks to that! Originally we were going to have the noodles with tomato sauce but we decided that would take too long, besides it was a bit boring.  I’m telling you this is good and easy! It is easy, just remember when reading the directions that you are constantly moving between two pans: a noodle/broth pan and saute pan. Ask if you have any questions.

Special Chicken Pesto Pasta

Special Chicken Pesto Pasta

• 1/4 chicken with some skin on it
• 1/4 pound whole wheat spaghetti noodles
• 1 small/medium cauliflower chopped
• 1 medium onion
• 3 medium cloves garlic
• 1/2-1 tablespoon pesto
• 3-4 dried tomatoes (i used the ones in oil)
• olive oil
• capers to taste
• freshly ground pepper
• salt
• fresh basil leaves
• a big squirt of soy sauce 

First, place 1/4 of a small chicken (one thigh, part of a breast) into a small/medium sized sauce pan. This will now be referred to as pan 1.  The chicken should have a little skin on it. Add water to fill about 1/3 of the pan.  Add salt and boil for about 10 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, chop onion and saute in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium/high heat in pan 2. Prepare pressed garlic and cauliflower.  When the chicken is mostly cooked remove it. Add the noodles to the chicken broth in pan 1 and stir. The broth should cover noodles by only a little. Stir to prevent them from sticking.

In pan 2, add 2 crushed garlic cloves and another 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the onions. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Take the chicken meat off the bones and add to the onion and garlic with a tablespoon of pesto concentrate in pan 2. Add 3-4 chopped dried tomatoes. Mix.  

After the noodles have cooked for about half their cooking time (4-5 minutes) add the cauliflower and add a bit of salt to pan 1. Cook for another 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Then, as the water evaporates more, turn the heat off and leave covered. Any remaining water will continue to be evaporated. While the noodles/cauliflower are finishing cooking, turn off the chicken and finish it by adding any salt, a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, capers and fresh basil. The noodles should have absorbed the water by now so finish them by adding a splash of soy sauce, 1 clove crushed garlic, a dash of pepper and salt to taste.  Top the noodles with the chicken pesto mix! It was a winner!