Broccoli Casserole Recipe

 I have the perfect recipe that would be an excellent side dish  for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Six ingredients is all it takes!

Broccoli Casserole!

 I’ve been making this recipe for over  32 years and can honestly say, it's one of my very favorites. I was given this recipe from an old boyfriend’s sister. I don't remember names anymore, but I can remember this Broccoli Casserole Recipe by heart.

Six easy ingredients is all it takes.

Just cook your broccoli and chop it up, then add the other 5 ingredients. Throw it in a pretty casserole dish and bake it till it’s brown and bubbly.

In the original directions, there was a cracker crumb sprinkled on top. I don't usually do that.

I did it this time because I have been hooked on homemade bread crumbs and thought I would give them a try on this.

Ohhh!, after thought! What about trying French Fried Onions on top? This could/should/would replace that green bean casserole!

Makes for a pretty presentation but I’m back to the plain top. I don’t think it needs anything else, but you be the judge.

Now I’m not a gambling kind of girl, but I bet you could mix it up in the crockpot earlier in the day and cook it slow and low till it’s brown and bubbly. That way it would free up the oven for that turkey and those pies! :)

 

I made little individual ones here but I usually just make one big  casserole. I serve it family style, with love and thanksgiving! Hope you enjoy!

Broccoli Casserole

• 1 bunch broccoli, cooked and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup Cheddar Cheese,
• 1 egg
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl (or crockpot).
2. Place into a lovely dish.
3. Bake at 375, till brown and bubbly!
4. Enjoy!

More Broccoli Recipes!

Company Broccoli-3 cheese bake

Herbed Broccoli Casserole

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Broccoli Onion Casserole

Parmesan Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

The Morel Of The Story!

When I get a thought in my head, it can haunt me. It will perch itself on the edge of my sanity and whisper to me. It can show up in my dreams and dominate my conversations. Sometimes, it even shouts at me and can even follow me on vacation.

Case in point?

These morel mushrooms.

About a month ago or so, I was seeing some chatter about morel mushrooms on Twitter. Knowing these are the rare gems of the mushroom family, I was definitely enchanted. I even thought what a nice addition they would make for this dinner that I hosted on vacation. I checked out Earthy Delights, a great little artisanal/wild/traditional foods company. I exchanged a few tweets with David, the great guy that works at Earthy Delights. That just fueled the mushroom obsession in my head. I tried to leave it behind as I went on vacation.
Damn thoughts!

Fast forward a few days:
While on vacation, my girlfriend and I stop at a little convenient store for a soda. While she went into the store, I stayed outside in the car with the dogs. I noticed a hippy looking guy sitting in a lawn chair on the side of the building. It looked rather strange to me and got my attention. Then a Volkswagen van pulled up and out hopped a woman.

In her hand was a mesh bag full of morel mushrooms.

I almost fell over. I recognized her bounty immediately. She approached the hippy man and they exchanged mushrooms for money. I felt like I was watching a drug deal go down. I had never seen that scenario.

My girlfriend went up to the hippy guy and asked what the deal was. He was there to buy morel mushrooms from the local gatherers for $10.00 a pound. I couldn't believe it. I knew those mushrooms sold for about $40.00lb. But the hippy guy couldn't sale any and couldn't tell us where those mushrooms were headed. He said try the farmers market. We'll I've never seen these mushrooms anywhere and not at any farmers markets I had ever been to. That was just throwing fuel on the mushroom obsession fire going on in my head.

After I got home from vacation, I told David about the hippy guy and the morels. He told me he could of been a guy working for a company like his own. Who knows where those mushrooms were headed or who the hippy guy was working for. I just found the whole exchange very interesting.

After a few more tweets and a phone conversation, David sent me a box of fresh morels and a few other goodies. I was in mushroom heaven. I was so excited I could hardly stand it.
So I started planing a very simple yet delicious dinner. I was going to just go with a big steak and the mushrooms with a side of fresh spring asparagus.

A meal to celebrate Spring with some of it's seasonal bounty.

Then I saw the recipe for asparagus risotto from Recipe Girl and knew that would be my side dish. A simple food perfectly fitting to celebrate the spring season. And I would throw in some sauteed morels and a few fava beans. (Fava beans have been whispering to me as well.)

This risotto went perfect with the morel feast. You can substitute any wild mushroom in this dish or leave them completely out. I recommend you skip the fava beans because they get lost in the dish. They need to be the stars of their own recipe in my opinion.
You can find the recipe here.



Thank you David for the morel feast and the other goodies.
I appreciate it so much!

If you haven't checked out Earthy Delights,
I recommend it!

From the web site of Earthy Delights:

Earthy Delights is America's premier supplier of specialty foods to quality conscious American Chefs. We pioneered the use of overnight delivery to get fresh produce from the farm to the kitchen in the shortest time possible. We are leaders in offering wild-harvested and hand-crafted foods from small harvesters and growers to a larger audience. Now we are bringing this same selection of fine products to the adventurous home chef, using the power of the internet.

We offer wild mushrooms and other seasonal wild-harvested items, fresh specialty produce, fine hand-crafted cheese, aged balsamic vinegar, exotic spices and hard-to find ingredients to the professional chef and the at-home culinary artist. As the palate of the American public becomes more sophisticated, our catalog of fine foods is constantly expanding to meet and anticipate the needs of the adventurous professional and at-home chef.

Ina's Onions

Well, ... I don't know what to tell you about these onions. This was the Barefoot Bloggers Challenge picked by Kelly of Baking With The Boys. Herb Roasted Onions was a great pick and I know a lot of the other members really liked these, but they didn't do it for me. And the comment galley in my house was pretty quite about this particular dish. That's a sure sign.

I know I liked the red onions better then the white onion.
I know it was a really easy dish to prepare.
I know I was dissapointed.

I just don't know if I would make them again. I still have some in the fridge.

If you would like to try them yourself, you can find the recipe here.

Thanksgiving Countdown: Cranberry Pineapple Minis

Thanksgiving is about 2 weeks away and I'm getting the craving for some of the traditional foods of Thanksgiving.
Since there is just the three of us, I don't do the whole traditional dinner. I usually do prime rib. It's easier and I don't have all the trimmings to worry about. Besides, I'm the only one who eats the cranberry sauce, the sweet potato souffle, or the dressing. So, I'll just mix in some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes into our regularly scheduled dinners over the next few weeks.
Like this dish.

Simple ingredients that one usually has on hand this time of year, this was as quick as making jello. That's because you are making jello. With a few mix-ins. The original recipe had walnuts in it. I chose macadamia nuts because it sounded good with the pineapple. Pecans would also be good. Add whatever your favorite nut is.

These minis were made in cupcake papers but it would be a lot easier to make one big bowlful. Just not as much fun!

The family's verdict. No one liked them but me. But I thought they were tasty and I would make them for Thanksgiving. If I were making Turkey with all the trimmings.

Cranberry-Pineapple Minis
Recipe by Dole

1 can crushed Pineapple in juice, undrained
1 lg. pkg Raspberry Gelatin
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
2/3 cup walnut pieces
1 apple, chopped

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add water to measure 2 1/2 cups. Bring to a boil. Add to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 minutes untill completely dissolved. stir in pineapple, cranberries, nuts, and apple. Spoon into 24 paper-lined (2 1/2 inch) muffin cups.
Refrigerate 2 1/2 hours or till firm. remove liners.

Enjoy!

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Barefoot Bloggers: Butternut Risotto

The Hubby offered to take me out to dinner for my birthday, but I really wanted to stay home and. make a home cooked dinner. I was excited to try the Barefoot Blogger's challenge picked by Rachel of Rachel Likes To Cook. Butternut Squash Risotto. I was tempted to make it with pumpkin instead of the butternut squash but I knew it would be a hard sell to the little family. No one likes pumpkin in my family the way I like pumpkin. So I figured it was a safer bet to stay with the original recipe.

Although the recipe is a little time consuming, it's totally worth it.

You roast the squash and add it in at the end. I think this is my new favorite vegetable. Just roasted, with a little salt and pepper. But don't tell the Hubby that. He thought it was a little to close to the pumpkin family for comfort. I don't know what is wrong with that man.


It was creamy, dreamy, and just screamed Fall!
I really wanted to serve it with turkey legs but I couldn't find any.
I had to settle for roasted chicken.

It was a fine birthday dinner and I enjoyed every bite.

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What Are The Barefoot Bloggers?
We're an [extra]ordinary group of cookers and bakers with a love of all things Ina. We'll be testing Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) recipes as a group and blogging about them on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.
ht: Tara

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I'll announce the Happy Spoon giveaway winners tonight.

Stay Tuned!

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Autumn Rice Pilaf

I'm not fond of wild rice. In fact, I could do with out it, in my world entirely. I would make the rice following the package directions and serve it. Yuk is the word that came to the dinner table. And I had to agree. We just weren't wild rice fans. Until I came across this recipe. This one had all sorts of good stuff sauteed together and then added to the rice. What a difference that makes. Apples, celery, onions, and a splash of sweetness from the raisins. You could use cranberries instead of raisins for that festive touch. This recipe got its festive touch by adding pomegranate seed. Oh, was it pretty! I think I found my first recipe for the Thanksgiving table.




Autumn Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
Juice from 2 large POM Wonderful
Pomegranates,* or 1/2 cup POM
Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
1/2 cup arils from 1 large POM Wonderful
Pomegranate
1 6-oz. package long grain and wild rice mix
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 medium apple, cored and chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds


Directions:
1. Score 1 fresh pomegranate and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate underwater to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.)

2. Prepare fresh pomegranate juice.*


3. Prepare wild rice mix according to package directions.


4. Place oil in a medium skillet and heat until hot. Sauté apples, celery and onions for 3 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.


5. Stir in raisins and almonds; cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat.


6. When rice is done, stir in sautéed mixture, the pomegranate juice and reserved arils.


7. Serve immediately as a rice pilaf, or use mixture to stuff a 5 to 7 pound roasting hen, two 3 1/2-pound roasting chickens, or an 8-pound turkey.



*For 1 cup of juice, cut 2-3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.

Note: Recipe can be doubled.

Suggested Uses: Serve as a rice pilaf or use to stuff poultry.

Nutrients Per Serving (4.3 oz): 194 calories, 5g protein, 35g carbohydrate, 5g total fat (.5g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 307mg sodium.
HT:Pom Wonderful

The Gems Of Fall

My friend Sue gave me a few pomegranates. I couldn't resist a few pictures. I broke one open to reveal those ruby red jewels. I was taking pictures while popping those gems into my mouth. I had them rolling on the floor and spilling out of my little glass. Everywhere was red little streaks from where a seed would roll.
I was having such fun playing with my food. But what should I make? I'm thinking of Roasted Chicken with a pomegranate glaze. Or, or maybe an apple and pomegranate relish to serve with roasted pork. (HeeHee) I'm giddy with excitement.

But, how do you get all those little gems out of that orb with minimum staining of everything? Here's one way. I suggest you do the following but when you break it open, do it in a bowl of water. The seeds fall to the bottom and the membranes float. Skin off the membrane and rinse your seeds.

How to peel a pomegranate
To peel a pomegranate, first cut off the crown and gently scoop out some of the center core without disturbing the seeds. With a sharp knife, score just through the outer rind around the fruit in quarters. Put your thumb in the core center and gently pull apart the sections. Peel away the inner white papery skin covering the seeds and discard. Gently invert the skin inside out and the seeds will pop out to be easily removed without bruising. HT:About.com

To eat the inner seed or not to eat the inner seed? That is the question! Its really personal preference. It's all totally edible and in fact, the seed is where all the fiber is.

Halloween Couscous

I don't have to have a party to try and make food fun friendly. I have a kid and that's all I need. I was making dinner with what was in the pantry and I fell into a Funtastic All Hallows Eve Dinner.




I made couscous and when I was done, Hubby says, "It looks like Halloween couscous." It had yellow from the pineapple, red from the red pepper and black from the raisins. We had teriyaki chicken with it and I was thinking, "flesh on a stick". You could chunk it or cut it in long strips and skewer it.





Halloween Couscous

1 shallot
1/2 cup red pepper-chopped
1 clove garlic-chopped
1 cup pineapple (fresh if you have it,canned if you don't.)
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup couscous (cooked with one cup water)
1 Tbsp oil

Saute shallot and red pepper in oil over med heat, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and pineapple and saute a minute more. Add raisins and turn heat to low. Add cooked couscous. Warm through.

The couscous was revived from the dark depths of boredom and came alive
with flavor. A sprinkling of fresh parsley could of helped keep the phantoms away and the flesh, I mean the chicken was moist and tender. Like that of a Hoot owl.

Blackened Shrimp and Mango Couscous

Were off to Bodega Bay! I thought our send off meal should be grand. I went with the blackened shrimp which was in my opinion- a little warm. I should have measured the spice but I happily sprinkled what my little heart desired. O-MAN! Next time I will measure! The couscous was wonderful. It was sweet, hot, and delicious. Next time though, I'll use half the jalapeno. I didn't know I was such a wimp. We cut the heat with an ice cold bottle of Riesling.


Mango Couscous by Marcus Samuelsson

INGREDIENTS
1 cup couscous
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeño chili, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 ripe tomato, chopped
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
1/4 cup cilantro sprigs, chopped
1/4 cup parsley sprigs, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

Prepare couscous according to package directions. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add garlic, mango and jalapeño. Sauté until mango begins to color, about 1 minute.

Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, couscous, raisins, tomato, lime juice, cilantro and parsley and toss to heat through, about 1 minute. Season with salt. Serve hot or at room temperature.