Broccoli Casserole

I like inventing recipes.  Sometimes I do it well.  I've been making a vegetable casserole for a couple months.  It has morphed into this, which Husband declares delicious.  Okay, it isn't low calorie, but we ate the whole thing between us last time and broccoli's good for you.  Well...


Broccoli Casserole
2 T. Butter
2 T. All-purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1 shallot, chopped
1 c. low fat Tillamook sour cream
3 T. milk
3 heads of broccoli
5 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 red pepper, roasted
1/2 c. medium cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 c. crushed ritz crackers
1 T. butter melted.

First roast your pepper.  I don't cook with pepper any other way more, because roasting it first is so good. 


Lay it in a flat metal pan and rub it liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with plenty of salt, then broil it until the skin blackens like this. 

Take it out and let it cool enough that you can handle it.  The black skin just rubs off leaving soft and delicious pepper flesh.  Throw away the black. 


Chop the pepper finely.  You end up with something like pimento but with much much more flavor.  I usually do this ahead, so it sits on my cutting board in a little pile to which I add more olive oil and salt. 

Next slice the mushrooms and put them in the same pan with more olive oil and salt.  Back into the broiler until they are sweated and soft.  Don't try to blacken them.  Just a few minutes.


While we are on this subject, I've been watch cooking shows which suggest not washing mushrooms with water!  Instead, they rub them with a clean kitchen towel.  Do you know what mushrooms grow in?  I'm just saying, I wash them well and let them dry on a towel.  I've never had any trouble doing that.  What do you do?  


Next, cook the brocolli in boiling salted water.  With a knife, cut off the central stem, then cut the florettes into bite size pieces.  Once they are cooked, drain the brocolli in a collandar and return to the pan.  

In a large skillet, make the sauce with the butter and flour, salt and sugar, sour cream and sauce.  Add the brocolli and mushrooms and roasted pepper to the sauce and toss.  Turn this mixture into a casserole dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

On top of the casserole, layer grated cheese and crumb mix.  Make the crumb with butter and ritz crackers.


Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly. 

Trust me, its yummy.

Together with a small piece of Tuna.  A good dinner.

This blog post was linked with Kelly the Kitchen Kop - http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/12/real-food-wednesday-12810.html
and
Scrap Addict for Sure - http://www.scrapaddict4sure.com/2010/12/whatcha-makin-wed-dec7-9th.html

and Culinary Bliss -

http://culinarybliss.blogspot.com/2010/12/simple-lives-thursday-21.html

Remember to eat your vegetables.