CrockPot Broccoli Casserole Recipe
Day 226.
I spent some time (three hours!) the other day reading through the archives of Alanna Kellogg's blog, A Veggie Venture. I didn't realize that her Vegetable site started as a year-long project to make something with vegetables everyday. She has so many neat ideas--if you ever find yourself wondering what to do with any kind of veggie, she will have you covered with her A-Z vegetable guide. I'm excited to try out more of her recipes in the crockpot.
The Ingredients.
--2 pounds of fresh broccoli, washed and trimmed (I only really like the florets)
--1/3 cup flour (I used Pamela's)
--1/4 tsp kosher salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 tsp ground mustard
--1 cup low fat or fat free milk
--1 cup chicken broth (but if you're vegetarian that would be wrong, so you should use veggie broth)
--1 cup shredded yummy white cheese (I used Fontina, Alanna used provolone, I think swiss or gouda would be great, too)
--Parmesan cheese--enough to cover the top. I didn't measure this. 1/4 cup? maybe more?
The Directions.
I used a 4 quart round crockpot for this. Everything fit in nicely.
Wash and trim the broccoli and give the trimmings to the guinea pigs. They will squeal in delight.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and dried mustard. Toss the broccoli in the mixture. Dump the broccoli into the crockpot.
Cover with 1 cup of whatever shredded cheese you are going to use. Add the milk and the chicken broth.
Top with Parmesan cheese.
Cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for about 3-4. This is done when the broccoli reaches desired tenderness and begins to brown a bit around the edges.
The Verdict.
My kids loved this. LOVED it. They each ate 3 little plastic bowls for dinner and had more the next day for lunch.
they do like broccoli a lot though... so I don't know if this is enough to sway kids who can't stand broccoli.
but it's very, very good.
We love broccoli in my house!! This sounds so delicious. That veggie blog sounds interesting, too. We have a surplus of zucchini in our house from the garden. I am SOOO sick of my mom making zucchini cake and zucchini bread!! Maybe i'll find some new zucchini recipes for her haha
ReplyDeleteJoanna, bread and cake are the very best ways to eat zucchini! ;-)
ReplyDeleteVeronica, I hope you like it! I ate WAY too much last night.
xox
steph
i like broccoli but that pic looks like a yucky broccoli cereal. does it taste like a cheese sauce on it or was it more of a watery consistency?
ReplyDeletelol, you're right, anon, it kind of does! there is cheese stuck to the broccoli, which makes it creamy, but in the bottom of the crock there will be gathered condensation, which creates the milky-look. I could have strained it to make it look pretty and stuff, but what you see is what you get. :-)
ReplyDeletexox
steph
That looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have heard this by now, but have you read Julie and Julia, about the women who decided to cook through Mastering the Art of French Cooking? It's such a fun read and similar to your venture. :)
That looks so tasty! We love broccoli here too.
ReplyDeleteYou think you could use frozen broccoli?
ReplyDeleteSteph, if kids don't like broccoli sometimes the best way is to introduce it is to give it to them raw.Who can resist eating mini-trees? But sometimes it's because they can taste a chemical that us broccoli lovers can't, so it actually tastes bad to them and then there is no hope. The broccoli here has been looking sad so I broke down and bought frozen today. Thanks for the link, we're doing more veggies so it helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteregards,
Theresa
J, I do!
ReplyDeleteTheresa, that is so interesting, thanks for letting me know.
xox
steph
Broccoli casserole... in a crockpot!? Who would have thought it possible! I will certainly have to try this out, as both my husband and guinea pigs will be wheeking in delight!
ReplyDeleteDoes it need to be lofat milk? Or do you think that whole will cook to the right consistency?
ReplyDeleteAha -- so now you understand how MUCH I understand what you're in the midst of! It's an incredible journey - though I have to laugh that my own Day 226 was a complete failure, one I've now fixed, by the way.
ReplyDeleteBut three hours, wow, you must have gotten into the beet recipes! :-)
QUESTION! do you think i could use regular refried beans for your blackbean/goat cheese dip? Im kinda scared to experiment toooo much since i just ruined a beef stew by deciding to put the rest of regular white rice in it and it became completely solid because i didnt measure anything (so now i have enchilada filling) with bean dip? let me know! i would appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteChristina, NO. Don't use whole milk, it will curdle. I've learned that the hard way. :-)
ReplyDeleteAlanna, lol. Yup. I've never had beets, and I'm kind of interested in testing them out. I got an email from Valerie last week about roasted beets, and am intrigued. and a bit scared. :-0 You have a plethora of awesome recipes--you did such a fantastic job!
Talula, yup, you can use regular refried beans in that dip. But you'll need to change the name. ;-)
xoxo
steph
WOW. I am so excited I was told about your site. I have Celiac Disease and must adhere to a GF diet, so this is an awesome resource I will definitely pass on to my Celiac friends. It was also posted on my homeschool loop; it will help tremendously to have dinner ready in the evening after a day of teaching school. Thanks a million for doing this.
ReplyDeleteWith much excitement,
Kim
i have a whole bag of frozen baby pearl onions and i dont feel like making pot roast. any ideas for a meat free dish there?
ReplyDeleteI love broccoli and I love my crockpot so I will definitely be giving this a try! I notice the posts that I have reviewed have all been gluten free. Are all of your recipes gluten free? I have a son that cannot have any gluten so I really appreciate the GF recipes that you have shared.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and just had to give you an award...The "I love your blog" award is on mine for you! Keep up the incredible work!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link about the taste thing...there are more scholarly articles around but this one is easy for anyone to understand. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/columnists/x1816436440/Taste-for-veggies-could-be-genetic
ReplyDeleteregards,
Theresa
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you deleted that creepy guy's comments.
ReplyDeleteyou are doing a great job, keep it up.
Who would have thought to cook broc in the crockpot?? Maybe this will turn my 3 year old into an actual broccoli eater...
ReplyDeleteWhat is the consistency of the broccoli? The picture makes it look like it's cooked to death. While I think your effort to cook something in a crockpot everyday is interesting some things should not be cooked in a crockpot. I think this is one of them. Broccoli shouldn't be cooked for 6 hours it should be cooked lightly to retain the nutrients. Perhaps try cooking just the sauce in a small crock pot and pouring it over steamed vegetables. My kids love broccoli, they would not eat it overcooked like this.
ReplyDeleteI made this yesterday and I loved it. thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteI'm really no trying to promote my blog but you might like this recipe, it's cafe rio pulled pork with cilantro lime dressing. It's oe ofmy favorite recipes ever.
http://kitchencorners.blogspot.com/2008/01/in-honor-of-freecycle.html
what did you serve this with? just curious.
ReplyDeleteoh wow... I love broccoli and I cannot wait to try this! I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, it's like broccoli cheese soup but in all its natural glory (or without being blended). Sounds delish.
ReplyDeleteThis was really good but clearly very fattening with all that cheese (but worth it!). I was wondering if you could add rice and increase the liquid to make it more of a complete meal. Any Suggestions how to do this?
ReplyDeleteI will be making crockpot fried rice to go with this. Half of my children didn't go watch my husband race BMX so they are my ginuea pigs. BTW my rats loved the stems.
ReplyDeletePeace out
Erm...this did not turn out very well for us.
ReplyDeleteI have loved all the recipes I've tried here, but this one was...ugh. Granted, we're not huge broccoli fans here (I was hoping to turn the tide!), but I think there should be a warning about how this will SMELL!! lol I nearly keeled over when I walked in the house, and I'm not sure how I'm going to get the smell out...maybe I'll make apple butter;)!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this was the first thing I made off of your blog, and it really was disgusting, sorry to say. And i really eat anything and I mean anything. I believe I posted a similar comment before and it's been removed, so I really won't be trying much more from the blog if they are censored! Disappointed!!
ReplyDeleteHi MCR, I'm sorry you had this experience. I hate wasting food.
ReplyDeleteI don't censor the comments, but do monitor to weed out the spam. I get a lot of emails/comments each day, and it sometimes takes a few days to get through them.