Soy Sauce Suicide and Broccoli Chicken Casserole

So, as a family (well, the half of the family that we could convince to join us) watched Ramona and Beezus last night. 

I saw strange similarities between the sisters in the movie and my own girls.  It was precious how they were constantly at each other's throats.

That Ramona is a real character.  It was interesting the way her parents looked at each other and shook their heads and smiled when they saw that Ramona had squeezed an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink. 

That Ramona is one lucky girl to have those parents. 

The scene would have been a tad different here in our household!  I know that because I actually have a Ramona in my family!!!  We won't mention any names, but her name starts with an E, and from the moment she entered my womb, she has been a "Ramona," (I still have the misshapen ribcage to prove it).

After the movie, we all sat down to dinner.  Even the truant family members were there.

On the menu:  Rice.  It was actually my beautiful Broccoli Casserole with rice, but my children like to have an enormous pile of plain rice.  And then they like to dredge it with soy sauce until it resembles one of Idaho's giant Buttes that juts up out of the ground, hard and rocky with no vegetation.

And on this night of nights, Ramona--with an E--left the glass bottle of soy sauce too close to the edge of the table and while gesturing grandly with her arm, bumped it and sent it hurtling into space.  It hit the hardwood floor with a black EXPLOSION. 

I originally thought it was her cup of ice water . . . we've dealt with that kind of explosion before.  In fact, we deal with that kind of explosion at our table nightly.

This was a much more sinister explosion.  One in which all surrounding areas were splattered and sprayed with the dark, salty liquid and shattered glass.

There was a moment of disbelief that came before good sense took over. 

I stared at what looked like a black hole on my floor while trying to decide the best method of cleaning up this kind of mess.

My white bathroom towels would be reduced to rags.

I looked toward the paper towel rod.  I saw a brown tube with paper towel fragments randomly sticking to it.  My mind searched for a solution as I tried to hold back the growing panic.

The stash of old, dark-green towels!.  We grabbed a few and started sopping up sauce and glass fragments.  It became a family affair as Emily shook the towels into the trash, James rinsed the towels in the bathtub, I vacuumed up all of the leftover glass, and the little boys hopped from chair to chair safely out of the way vying for the best view of the action.  The others just watched in disbelief, chewing slowly with wide eyes.

A little too late, I realized that I hadn't snapped a photo.  I guess we could reenact the scene.  It couldn't be possible though because now I only buy PLASTIC containers of soy sauce.

So, tonight I will share two recipes with you.  One is my beautiful Broccoli Casserole, and the other is an amazing dish I recently discovered using Soy Sauce.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Broccoli fresh, steamed or frozen, thawed

1tsp Lemon juice

2 C chopped, cooked chicken

2 Cans Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted

3/4 C Mayo

1 C grated cheddar cheese

2 C Bread crumbs or stuffing

Preheat oven to 350.  Layer broccoli, then chicken in a greased, 9x13 casserole dish.  In a separate bowl, mix lemon, soup and mayo.  Layer mixture over chicken and broccoli.  Sprinkle cheese then bread crumbs.

Serve with hot RICE (soy sauce optional)

We had this recipe tonight and it was really amazing.  We did not have rice, however.  It was served with homemade smashed potatoes.

Panko-Parmesan Chicken

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

1 egg

3 tablespoons Kikkoman Soy Sauce

4 chicken breast halves (each about 10 oz.)

Instructions


1. Melt butter in 13 x 9-inch pan in 400°F. oven, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven.
2. Meanwhile, combine Panko and cheese in large plastic food storage bag. Beat egg with soy sauce in shallow dish until well blended.
3. Dip chicken pieces, one at a time, into egg mixture; then add to bag of bread crumbs mixture. Close top and shake bag to coat both sides. Place chicken, skin side down, in prepared baking pan, leaving space between pieces.

4. Bake chicken 20 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until chicken is no longer pink near bone and is golden brown.