Broccoli Rice and Cheese Casserole

It's New Year's Eve and while most people are getting ready for a night on the town, I'm getting ready for a night in my pjs with a cup of hot chocolate.  We had fun hanging out with old friends last night, so tonight I'm taking it easy. 

I thought I'd share a recipe with you that's perfect for taking to a party or to make as an easy side dish with dinner.  It's really yummy and is always a hit.

BROCCOLI RICE AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

1 small bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 stick butter (or margarine)
1 onion, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked rice (great use for leftovers)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or colby jack)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper
hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, saute the onion in the butter until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the frozen chopped broccoli and stir until thawed (I had florets so I just chopped them up once thawed).

Add the soup and milk and stir well.

Stir in the cheese until melted, then add the rice.  Stir well.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot sauce.  Stir well.

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish and spread evenly.

Top with a little more shredded cheese, if desired.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

This casserole is super easy and super tasty.  If you want to make it completely vegetarian, just substitute cream of broccoli soup for the cream of chicken. 

Whether you are going out tonight or staying in, like me, enjoy your night.  I wish a very Happy and Healthy New Year!  May 2018 be a blessing to us all!

Broccoli Salad

Summer is here in full force!  It is so hot and humid here in South Louisiana that it's hard to go outside at all.  The other morning I foolishly tried to sit outside and drink my coffee.  My hubby walked outside, looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Why?"  I don't know why?  It felt like the air was mad at me.  Like it was physically attacking me.  Time to go inside and stay there.  Til October.

One way to stay cool is to eat cold foods.  Here is a great summer salad recipe that's easy to make and great for a party.  You can make it the day before and it tastes even better the next day.  Plus, it's really delicious.  Leave it to the South to smother healthy broccoli in a mayo dressing, bacon and cheese.  Oh well, as long as you don't eat it everyday you'll be alright.  But it's so darn tasty you just might want to.

BROCCOLI SALAD

4 slices bacon
1 head broccoli, chopped
3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 of a Vidalia onion (any sweet onion), diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp lemon juice


Cook the bacon until crisp.  Drain.  Crumble.


In a large bowl, combine bacon, broccoli, cheese, diced onion, cranberries and sunflower seeds.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, mayo and lemon juice.

Toss the dressing with the broccoli mixture and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

This recipe is so simple, but so good!  It's cool and refreshing, a perfect summer salad.  It will keep for several days in the fridge and goes with just about everything.  This is a great recipe to have on hand.  The next time you have to bring something to a potluck or need a side dish for your BBQ, this is the one to make.  You'll enjoy this cool salad all summer long!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

The other day I got a hankering for broccoli cheese soup.  I called the hubby to see if he would swing by Quiznos and pick some up.  He told me that Quiznos had closed down!  Aw man!  I love their broccoli cheese soup.  What was I to do?  I searched the kitchen and guess what?  I had everything I needed to make it myself.  And boy was it good!

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (shred it yourself)
1 cup shredded Velveeta
1 (12 oz) pkg frozen chopped broccoli
Salt/pepper

Microwave the broccoli according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt butter.  Saute the diced onion in the butter until soft (about 5 minutes).  Sprinkle the flour over the butter.  Let it cook, stirring, for a few minutes.  Salt and pepper (to your taste).  Whisk in the milk.  Bring it to a boil, whisking.  Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until it thickens (it doesn't take long).  Add the chicken broth (to make it totally vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead), then add all of the shredded cheese.

A note about cheese:  Don't use the pre-shredded stuff!  It has some weird stuff on it to keep it from sticking together in the bag and it doesn't melt well.  Shred it yourself.  It's so much better!  And the reason I use cheddar and Velveeta is because cheddar has great flavor and the Velveeta makes it super smooth.  Good combo.

Once the cheese melts, add in the cooked broccoli.  Taste it and see if it needs more salt and/or pepper.  At this point you can leave it as it is (with big chunks of broccoli) or you can use an immersion blender to puree it.  I just got an immersion blender so, of course, I pureed mine.  (I love kitchen gadgets!). But, it's good chunky, too.

Smooth, creamy, cheesy goodness!  Sorry Quiznos, I like mine better.