When the weather is bad, especially when it is raining, we try to leave the house as little as possible. This means we also cut way back on eating out, because it’s just not worth braving the weather for restaurant food, messed up orders, long waits, and noisy rude table neighbors.
It doesn’t matter where we go or what we order, almost every other time we eat out, at least one of us has their food come out wrong.
- Sometimes it’s the complete wrong meal
- Sometimes after asking for no cheese, my meal comes covered in cheese
- Sometimes our meals come missing the sides or missing the sauces
- Sometimes a meal is undercooked or overcooked
I know the servers are busy and I know restaurants are often understaffed. Understanding that, we’re always polite, respectful, and understanding — and we tip really, really well… but when your food comes out wrong two or three times, and you’ve already been there for almost an hour, it’s just not worth it.
Needless to say, we’ve been staying home and cooking dinner much more than usual and we’ve been having fun playing with some new appetizer recipe ideas.
Potato Skins Without The Potato Skin
First we made Barbecue Bacon Cheddar Potato Rounds because my daughter was craving potato skins, but didn’t want to eat all of the potato skin. That appetizer recipe was such a hit, that we decided to try the same potato round idea with buffalo sauce, and made Buffalo Chicken Potato Rounds. They were also fantastic and my favorite out of every variation of this appetizer we have made.
The Barbecue Bacon Cheddar and Buffalo Chicken Potato Rounds were both so good, I decided to push the envelope a little further and see if I could get my daughter to eat another version of this appetizer with broccoli on it — Broccoli Parmesan Potato Rounds. Plus, I had broccoli in the refrigerator that needed to be cooked ASAP, so it was a good way to use it up.
Broccoli Parmesan Potato Rounds
The best part of the Broccoli Parmesan Potato Rounds appetizer is that everything but the potato was leftover from another meal. I hate wasting food and this was a delicious and easy way to use up leftovers.
For this appetizer recipe, I preheated the oven to 450 degrees and sliced each potato into 12 slices. Once sliced, I placed the potato rounds on a baking stone, sprayed them with an olive oil spray and sprinkled on salt and pepper. I then flipped the potato rounds over and did the same thing to the other side before putting them in the oven to bake.
While the potato rounds were cooking, I chopped the chicken and the broccoli into small pieces and combined them with the parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper in a small bowl, tossing to mix the ingredients together.
After 20 minutes, I took the potato rounds out of the oven, flipped them over, topped them with barbecue sauce, and piled on the chicken, broccoli, and cheese mixture. The loaded potato rounds then went back in the oven for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
The family gobbled up the Broccoli Parmesan Potato Rounds fast! Just as fast as the Barbecue Bacon Cheddar Potato Rounds and Buffalo Chicken Potato Rounds. They were super yummy and we now have yet another way to get the kids to eat broccoli. Sweet!
A few tips when making the Broccoli Parmesan Potato Rounds:
- The number of potato rounds you get depends on how thick your potato slices are. For a softer, more baked potato like base, cut the potato in thick slices. For a firmer, crispier potato base, cut the potato in thin slices. Just make sure your slices are of uniform thickness so they cook evenly.
- Be sure to dice the chicken into small pieces and to do the same for the broccoli. The hey to getting a lot of the toppings to stay on the potato slices, and to getting the kids to eat them, is to keep the chicken and broccoli pieces small.
- Try adding a little diced red or orange bell pepper to the topping mixture to add a bit of crunch and more color.
Broccoli Parmesan Potato Rounds
Love potato skins but need more veggies in your diet? This is the perfect appetizer for you!
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Ingredients
- 2 large unpeeled potatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup fried chicken, diced
- 1 cup small broccoli pieces
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice potatos into rounds approximately 1/4" thick. You should get about 12 rounds per potato. Arrange potato rounds on a baking sheet or stone, stray with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Flip potato rounds over and repeat. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the potato rounds are baking, chop the chicken and broccoli into small pieces. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the parmesan cheese, diced chicken, broccoli pieces, and a little salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
- Remove cooked potato rounds from the oven, top with barbecue sauce, pile on the topping mixture, and return to the oven for 5 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Notes:
Make about 24 potato rounds.
Do not peel the potato. Leaving the peel on will help maintain the round shape.
Don't want to make fried chicken? Pick up some chicken strips or chicken nuggets from your grocery store deli section.
