Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

 

Doesn’t this look like comfort food?  It’s so delicious and yet it has 2 POUNDS of vegetables in the 9 x 13!  Yes, I said VEGETABLES.  I got the inspiration for this recipe after eating hash brown casserole leftovers for three days in a row… and I still wasn’t tired of it.  I’ve had the creamed cauliflower at Ruby Tuesday and it’s pretty good.  Last week I had cauliflower au gratin at a restaurant and it was to-die-for.  …and so this recipe was born.  Now I can eat it as often as I darn well please and not feel as guilty.  There are not any potatoes in it at all!

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag of frozen broccoli florets

1 lb. bag of frozen cauliflower

1 can cream of celery soup (98% Fat Free)

1 (8 oz.) container of light sour cream

2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1-2 TBS dehydrated “chopped onion” OR ½ cup fresh chopped onion

            I used 2 TBS dehydrated “chopped onion”

½ cup milk

1 ts salt

½ ts ground black pepper

Topping:

½ stack Ritz crackers, crushed up

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Be sure to buy broccoli florets instead of cut broccoli because the cut broccoli seems to have more stems.

Cook the broccoli and the cauliflower.  I cooked the broccoli in the microwave (COVERED) for 7 minutes. 

I also cooked the cauliflower in the microwave (covered) for 7 minutes.

 Chop up the cooked vegetables so they’re not so chunky.

Mix the next 7 ingredients (soup, sour cream, cheese, onion, milk, salt, and pepper) in a large bowl.

Add the broccoli and the cauliflower to the mixture.  Mix well.  Put in greased 9 x 13” casserole dish.

 Crush ½ stack of Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until heated through.  Enjoy!!

Notes: You can use fresh broccoli and cauliflower, BUT frozen vegetables have at least as many nutrients as fresh vegetables (Google it if you don’t believe me), so more work for you or less work - your choice.  I’m just sayin’.

You can use all broccoli or all cauliflower.  For example, if your family likes high carb comfort food, try using 2 lbs. of cauliflower and no broccoli the first time – that way it will look more appealing to them because it will look more like macaroni and cheese or hash brown casserole – but cauliflower is a VEGETABLE! Yeah!

To cut calories in this dish, I recommend:

Decrease cheese amount to 1 ½ cups

Skip Ritz topping or decrease to ¼ stack

Use fat free sour cream

Use skim milk

 Be sure to stick on label before freezing - of course!

Another great thing about this dish is that it FREEZES well!!  My son and his fiancé tried it after it had been cooked, frozen, thawed, and reheated in the microwave.  They gave it a big thumbs up.

To print out this recipe on one sheet with one photo, click this link:  https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7BIf1kqh0WkYlpwVDhvYXFOM2M

 

… and that’s my 2 cents’ worth, Cheryl

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