WINNERS and Some Fabulous Green Side Dishes!

It really is early Tuesday morning, actually 12:44am, regardless of what the post date says above!

What a total surprise to see a whopping 537 comments for my givaway! I had so much fun reading everyone's sweet indulgences. Thank you all for participating, now will you all stick around!!. I used Random.org to pick my 3 random numbers and here's who won!! Congrats to the 3 of you, I'll be sending you an email!

Our LUCKY WINNERS....

Prize #1 goes to Judy who wrote:
I am not a major sweets person but when I do get an urge, I really crave a molten chocolate cake with chocolate chip mint ice cream. Now to be really honest, if I need a quick fix, I will dip a pretzel in melted chocolate. I love all the posts to this!!

Prize #2 goes to The Hammond Family who wrote:
Warm chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk!! Yummy!! Really enjoy your blog, great recipes!

Prize #3 goes to Jolene, who wrote:
I have a big sweet tooth. But if I had to pick just one things, I would say Ice Cream. I have a bowl every night, unless there is something else sweet to eat.

___________________________

Now Onto Some Great Side Dishes!

So, my husband and I went to see the Incredible Hulk this past weekend and loved it! Great summer movie. So in honor of the hulk, I made 2 fabulous green side dishes that you are sure to love! My boys loved the cheesy broccoli, but I’d save the creamed spinach for the adults, it's rich and full of great flavor that the kiddo's can't appreciate yet!

We had my side dishes with my mom’s yummy Shepard’s Pie tonight, what a great combo! I’ll post a great recipe for shepard’s pie soon.

I couldn't resist a bite! Note: Clean the broccoli from under my nail before taking pictures.

Cheesy Bacon Broccoli Almondine

8 Cups broccoli florets steamed for 3 minutes
¼ Cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
6 strips precooked bacon strips, crisped and crumbled
½ Cup slivered almonds

1. Place broccoli into medium pot over medium heat. Sprinkle with cheeses, bacon and almonds. Cover with lid until cheese is melted, about 2-3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

______________________

How good is Creamed Spinach, you've got to try this! Complete heaven, just don't think about the heavy cream ok?! The healthy spinach out weighs the cream anyway, right?!

Caramelized onions, garlic and fennel....Yum!

Creamed Spinach with Caramelized Onions, Garlic and Fennel

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup finely diced onions
2 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fennel
12 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
5 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for 10 minutes, stirring often, until golden brown. Stir in garlic and fennel; cook for 3 minutes then stir in spinach leaves. Season with salt and pepper; cook until wilted down, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream; reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Quick Weeknight Pineapple Sesame Chicken

I hesitated posting this because I didn't like how my picture turned out, but my family loved this dinner so why not pass it on. I first saw the recipe on the blog called Closet Cooking.

Please note, I was supposed to marinate the chicken. However, when everyone's hungry sometimes marinating just doesn't happen in my house. If you make this in advance, follow the directions! It looks so much prettier!

I added a little more pineapple than the original recipe and added broccoli over the rice. This is a great dish I highly recommend trying. Enjoy!

Closet Cooking's Sesame Chicken

4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons ginger (grated)
1 pound chicken (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 teaspoon peanut oil
4 servings cooked rice
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
green onions to garnish

Directions:
1. Mix the soy sauce, pineapple juice, honey, sugar, ginger and chicken in a ziplock bag and marinate in the fridge for about an hour.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the chicken and marinade to the pan and saute until the chicken is cooked and the sauce begins to thicken. (This is where I started the recipe and it tasted delish, if you don't feel like marinating)
4. Serve on cooked rice and garnish with the sesame seeds and green onion.

Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

Phew, what a crazy last few weeks it's been. I hope I'm not the only one who feels like a chicken with her head cut off!

I still haven't made part 2 of my holiday plates, I hope to get to that soon. In the meantime, I managed to whip this up for our Sunday dinner and my family loved it. It's quick, easy and everyone loved it, you would have thought I spent all day on it. It's so nice to throw everything in the crockpot in the morning, and it's done for dinner. I seriously need to use my crockpot more!

Steam some rice and pour the chicken and broccoli over top. It's really tasty and kid friendly! Happy Holidays everyone!! I can't believe we've got just a week left!!

Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1 14oz can cream of chicken soup
1 14 oz can cheddar soup
1 14 oz can chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I used Emeril’s brand)
¼ teaspoon garlic salt seasoning (Lawrys)
1 Cup sour cream
6 Cups broccoli florets, lightly steamed, just fork tender ( I cook it in boiling water for 3-4 minutes)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Place soups, chicken broth, salt, Cajun and garlic seasoning into a crockpot over low heat. Whisk until smooth. Place chicken in, pressing to the bottom. Cover lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

2. When chicken is cooked, use 2 forks to shred into bite size pieces. Stir in sour cream and broccoli.

3. Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cheese.

4-6 servings