Not all cookbooks are created equally. I am super picky about them, but that's for another post. Katie Lee's, It's Not Complicated is a 10/10. I love Broccoli and my kids are finally coming (back) around to it, so I was excited to try this. Dakota said it was the best meal we've ever made (she was a big helper) and when I told McKinley we were eating left over she said ok - which means she liked it too!
Ingredients:
4 heads of broccoli, cut into nice bite size pieces
2 T Olive Oil
8 oz. Sliced Mushrooms, I think I doubled this and I wasn't mad about it
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper
1 tsp. Onion powder
1/4 C. Butter
1/4 C. Flour
2 C. Milk - I used Heavy Whipping Cream
1 C. Crushed Crackers - Ritz all the way baby
1 C. Cheese - who actually measures cheese?
Directions:
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch baking dish
(I skipped this) Bring 1 inch of water to a boil over medium high heat with a steamer basket and lid. Add broccoli to the steamer basket, cover, and steam for 4 to 6 minutes - or until tender, but still crisp. Remove broccoli and place on a plate until later
Heat the oil in large sauce pan. Add mushrooms and cook until they have released their moisture and have started to brown. Add salt, pepper, onion powder and butter. Stir until butter is melted.
Notice the black pepper, it's Penzey's Cracked Pepper - the best!
Sprinkle in the flour and cook until a paste forms. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes,, until the paste is golden brown and has a nutty aroma. Slowly pour the milk into the mixture a little at a time, stirring as you pour. Once the milk is combined, bring to a simmer and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes., until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and add the broccoli, tossing to coat.
Transfer to a greased baking dish.
Put the butter crackers and cheese in a food processor - I used this magic tool from Pampered Chef. Once you have ground the crackers and cheese into a fine crumb mixture, sprinkle on top of broccoli.
Oh.. and side note, do you know how much better cheese is when you grate it yourself? Yes... it's amazing - give it a shot and use this grater from Pampered Chef.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (if you steamed your broccoli) or for 30-35 minutes (if you did not steam your broccoli). Once it's nice brown and bubbly (and you've stabbed a broccoli for a tender check), take it out and let it rest for a few minutes.
Then serve up & enjoy!
Also, I feel like I should say with my two Pampered Chef plugs that I am no way affiliated with them other than being an obsessed customer :)
