Aunt Crissy's Broccoli Casserole

You can expect to see many posts from me about food!  I love to eat LOL.  My mom gave me a wonderful gift and that is the ability to cook.  With working and raising kids its hard to have time.  I try to cook real food as often as possible.  This week my niece, Brittney, told me someone asked her what her favorite food is and she replied "Aunt Crissy's broccoli casserole".  It made me laugh and smile!  The problem is people want to know how to make it...well I'm not good with recipes.  You use some broccoli and I prefer frozen Birdeyes florrets.  How much well it depends on how many people are eating.  4 bags is usually good for a family event.  I cook some rice.  I start with one less cups of rice than bags of broccoli.  In this case I'd cook 3 cups of rice.  Once the broccoli is done I chop it up a bit and pour into a 9x13 pan.  I stir in the rice until it seems like a good balance.  Now for the challenging part.  I melt Velvetta cheese. How much, well it depends.  For 4 bags of broccoli about a half of block of Velvetta is good. Melting the cheese is the tricky part if you are not patient.  You never do it fast or it will burn.  I add a few pads of butter and some milk. I stir most of the time and melt on medium heat.  Once it is melted I pour over the broccoli/rice mixture.  I mix it all up so the cheese is spread throughout.  Finally I throw a stick of butter in the cheese pan and melt it.  I take 2 rows of Ritz crackers and crush them.  Once the butter is melted I pour the crushed Ritz into the butter pan and stir.  Spread the buttery Ritz on top.  I like to let it sit for 20 mins or so before eating so it is firm.  To be honest I love it cold the next day.

For me playing with measurements is the key to the food we like.  You have to alter to your tastes.  The broccoli casserole is always a crowd favorite.  To make a smaller batch just add less of everything.

A great main course for this is "Fried Chicken".  I do not like chicken breasts because they are too thick and I worry about them cooking.  I buy a package of chicken tenderloins, fine 2!  The boys love this!  I prefer fresh from the store chicken and not thawed.  Dip the chicken into a bowl of milk, then roll in shredded cheese, then roll in crushed Ritz crackers.  Please each piece into a 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.  It is moist and delicious!

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This was a horribly unhealthy meal.  ALL CARBS.  This shows the fried chicken and broccoli casserole

 

How do you cook?  With recipes?  Without?

 

What is your favorite thing to cook?