Broccoli & Rice Casserole

After hitting a wall of not being able to consume any more roasted broccoli (Hubby's favorite and pretty much only vegetable) I wanted to try something new with broccoli (we buy broccoli in bulk from CostCo...seriously, we eat A LOT of broccoli) as a side dish to some simple ham steaks. I perused a few of my favorite foodie websites and noticed a lot of broccoli casseroles that were pretty much the same. I decided to take some of the most interesting aspects of each and see what happened with a can of baked beans in the pantry as a back up plan ;-)

Rachael's Broccoli & Rice Casserole

Serves 6

1 lb fresh broccoli

1 cup cooked rice (I used an Uncle Ben's microwave Brown and Wild rice packet)

1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained

1 small onion, diced

1 cup of milk

1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom, whatever you have on hand)

4 oz shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

1 cup dried bread crumbs (or a mixture of bread crumbs and crumbled Ritz crackers)

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 and bring a pot of water up to a boil.
2. Once water is boiling, cook cut up broccoli for about 5 minutes, remove and drain.
3. In a small skillet fry the bacon slices, onion and mushrooms together, remove and put on a paper towel to drain.
4. In large bowl mix together milk, soup, and shredded cheese until combined.
5. Add in the broccoli, rice, bacon, onion and mushrooms and stir to coat.
6. Put the mixture into a casserole dish.
7. In a small bowl mix the melted butter and bread crumbs together and pour onto casserole.
8. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Not so bad...a bit crummy...will still take some more attempts to get the seasoning worked out, but it was a nice break from my standard roasted broccoli...a bit heartier to say the very least.