Broccoli Casserole

This is a traditional southern casserole: cream of mushroom soup, cheese, butter, mayonnaise, etc.  This is a Paula Dean recipe that I tweaked.

Ingredients:

• 1 (32oz.) bag of broccoli florets, frozen
• ¼ C. (½ stick) butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ½ C. mayonnaise
• ½ C. sour cream
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 eggs, beatened
• 1 C. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 t. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 t. garlic powder
• ½ t. black pepper
• 1 sleeve of Club or Ritz crackers, crushed 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Boil water in a large pot and add the broccoli florets to the boiling water for 5 minutes.
3. Strain the broccoli, allow to cool, and then chop.  Reserve.
4. In a small sauté pan, over medium heat, sauté the onions in 2 T. butter until soft, about 10 minutes.
5. In a large bowl add all of the ingredients, except the crackers and the remaining 2 T. butter, and mix well.
6. Spoon the ingredients into a 13”x 9”x 2” baking dish and cover with the cracker crumbs.
7. Melt the remaining 2 T. butter and pour over the crackers.
8. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until the crackers are browned and the casserole is bubbly.

Tips and Tricks:

• I don’t like chopped broccoli, but if you do, you could use chopped broccoli for this recipe.  I use fresh broccoli sometimes and I use about 1 lb. of broccoli florets, which is about 4 C.
• I use Cream of Celery soup instead of Cream of Mushroom for this recipe.

Cheesy Broccoli, Rice and Chicken Casserole

I like the broccoli rice casserole at Piccadilly. (Yes, I eat at Piccadilly)  This is SOOOO much better than the one at Piccadilly.  The fresh broccoli makes it great!  It  is a wonderful potluck contribution.  It is a "Deep South Dish" recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 small heads of broccoli, cut so that only the florets remain (4 C.)
• 2 T. butter
• ½ C. chopped onion
• ¼ C. chopped celery
• 1 C. mayonnaise
• ½ C. sour cream
• 1 can of cream of celery soup
• ½ lb. of Velveeta, cut into small cubes
• 1 t. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 t. garlic powder
• ½ t. black pepper
• 2 C. cooked rice
• 2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 C. cooked, cubed chicken breast

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Boil water in a large pot and add the broccoli florets to the boiling water for 5 minutes
3. Strain the broccoli, allow to cool, then chop
4. In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, sauté the onions and celery in the butter
5. Add the next 7 ingredients and heat until the Velveeta is melted
6. Add the rice, 1 C. of Cheddar, and chicken
7. Stir well, then transfer to a casserole dish with a lid, that has been sprayed with cooking spray
8. Bake for 20 minutes, covered, then remove from the oven add 1 C. of Cheddar and bake for an additional 10 minutes
9. Serve hot!

 Tips and Tricks:

• I use light sour cream.
• I buy a rotisserie chicken and cut the breast meat into small cubes.  The breast creates about 2 C. of cubed chicken.
• The chicken is not a necessary ingredient to this recipe.  It makes a great one dish meal, but you can skip it and just have a Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole.
• Sam’s sells a 3 lb. bag of broccoli florets in the produce section.  This recipe calls for 4 C.

Mock Oyster Dip

This is an oldie but a goodie.  Perfect served in a chafing dish at a cocktail party.  It calls for frozen chopped broccoli, but I don't like the stems and pieces, so I use broccoli florets and cut them up.

Ingredients:

• 1 (32oz.) bag of frozen broccoli florets
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can of sliced mushrooms, drained
• ½ lb. of Velveeta, cut into small cubes
• 1 t. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 t. garlic powder
• ½ t. black pepper
• 2 T. Crystal hot sauce

 Directions:

1. Boil water in a large pot and add the broccoli florets to the boiling water for 5 minutes
2. Strain the broccoli, allow to cool, then chop
3. In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, sauté the onions in the butter
4. Add the next 7 ingredients and heat until the Velveeta is melted
5. Add the broccoli and cook on low heat for 20 minutes until all ingredients are incorporated and heated
6. Serve in a chafing dish or crock pot with flaky butter crackers

 Tips and Tricks:

• Ritz crackers are good with this dip.
• Some people are put off by the name of this dip.  As you can see by the list of ingredients there are no oysters in the dip.  The mushrooms give the impression of an oyster, hence the name “Mock Oyster Dip”.  If you know someone doesn’t like oysters, call it Broccoli Cheese Dip.

Broccoli Salad

My co-worker, Nina made a broccoli salad for our Thanksgiving Feast.  This is "almost" her recipe.  I combined the one she uses and one of Paula Deen's.  I like the kick that the red onion gives the salad, but it is not necessary if you aren't a onion fan. 

 Ingredients:

• 2 small heads of broccoli, cut so that only the florets remain (4 C.)
• ½ lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• ½ C. golden raisins
• 1 C. sunflower seed kernels
• ½ lb. of Colby Jack cheese, cut into very small squares
• ½ C. red onion, chopped very fine
• ½ C. mayonnaise
• ½ C. sour cream
• ¼ C. sugar
• 3 T. apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Put ice cubes and water in large bowl to create an ice bath
2. Boil water in a large pot and add the broccoli florets to the boiling water for 2 minutes
3. Quickly remove the broccoli and plunge into the ice bath
4. Drain the broccoli and dry with a towel
5. Cut the broccoli into small bite size pieces and place in a large bowl with a cover
6. Add the next 5 ingredients to the bowl and stir well
7. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, sugar, and vinegar
8. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well
9. Refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours
10. Serve cold

Tips and Tricks:

• I use light sour cream.
• I cook the bacon in the microwave on a plate lined with 4 paper towels.  Cook for about 4 minutes to create crispy pieces of bacon that you can crumble.
• If you want the bacon to remain crisp, wait to add the bacon when serving the salad.  I like the bacon flavor to incorporate into the salad, so I add it before I let it “marry” in the fridge.
• Sam’s sells a 3 lb. bag of broccoli florets in the produce section.  I use 1/3 of the bag for this recipe.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

When Gabby had her jaw surgery, we ate a lot of soup.  This is a combination of a few recipes I found thanks to Food Network.  I tweaked it a few times, but it is really yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped fine
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ stick of butter
• 1 t. of fresh thyme, chopped fine
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. white pepper
• A pinch of fresh nutmeg
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1/3 C. flour
• 6 C. chicken stock
• 2 (16 oz.) chopped broccoli
• 1 pint of half and half
• 2 C. sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
• 1 lb. of Velveeta, cubed

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté onions and celery in butter, until limp
2. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute
3. Add flour and cook for 3 minutes
4. Slowly add the chicken stock while whisking constantly
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the stock thickens, about 5 minutes
6. Add broccoli and cook for 10 minutes
7. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is the consistency you like
8. Add the half and half, then the cheese
9. Heat until all the cheese is melted and serve

Tips and Tricks:

• Making your own chicken stock for this recipe is cheaper and tastes better.  Follow my link to find out how I make mine.
• You can use heavy cream in the place of the half and half if you want a thicker soup.
• The fresh thyme really makes a big difference in this soup.

Broccoli Italiano

Easy, yummy!  The broccoli becomes almost nutty tasting after roasting it.  The other ingredients don't hurt the flavor either.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of broccoli
• 2 T. olive oil
• ¼ C. parmesan cheese        
• ¼ C. bread crumbs
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t. salt
• ½ t. black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Steam broccoli for 5 minutes, then place in a baking dish in a single layer
3. Pour oil then sprinkle cheese, bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and pepper over broccoli
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is browned

Tips and Tricks:

• Steaming the broccoli is not necessary, but I have baked it and it has remained very crunchy.  I like broccoli more on the soft side.  If you like crunchy broccoli, don’t steam it.