Broccoli ideas

I am usually quite boring in my Broccoli preparation. I usually just steam it. But I wanted to try something a little different and went to my tried and true allrecipies.com and found these two. They are yummy

Garlic Broccili with Cashews
Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped salted cashews
Directions

Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes, or until tender but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.
While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Garlic Broccoli with Lemon

Ingredients

2 heads broccoli, separated into florets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with the extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic. Spread the broccoli out in an even layer on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until florets are tender enough to pierce the stems with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving for a refreshing, tangy finish.

Two twists on Mashed potatoes

Rosemary Garlic mashed potatoes

I made this up and didn't measure but I am going to guess. You can play around with it with your families taste.

onions or shallots finely diced 1/2 cup
garlic minced 3-4 Tablespoons
Fresh rosemary and oregano minced 2 Tablespoons of each

Saute all the ingredients together in olive oil until fragrant and tender.
Cook potatoes like you would for mashed potatoes normally smash and add butter and milk like normal. Stir in the herb olive oil mixture. I have had a lot of compliments on this and my kids even like it.

Cauliflower Mashed potatoes

Cook mashed potatoes as usual but also boil cauliflower with the potatoes. Smash and add butter, milk and shredded gruyere cheese. My kids don't even know they are eating two vegetables :)

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Our last Bountiful Basket gave us lots of cauliflower to experiment with. I tried this last night and it we liked it a lot.

2 T Olive Oil
2 t. Minced garlic
3 c. cauliflower cut up
pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Place cauliflower in a large ziploc bag with olive oil and garlic and toss till well coated. Put in a shallow baking dish add as much pepper to your taste. Bake at 400 for 20 min sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake two more min or until cheese is melted.

Rice Pilaf

2 T butter
1 cup uncooked rice
1/4 c. minced onion
1/3 c. celery chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 T parsley
1/4 c. slivered almonds (I leave this out sometimes)

melt butter and add onion and celery. When soft add rice and cook till rice is slightly brown. Add broth cover and simmer on low until liquid is absorbed. Add parsley and almonds just before serving.

Mediterranean Style Vegetables

ingredients

2 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups sliced red, yellow, or green sweet peppers
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil or oregano or 1 teaspoon dried basil or oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 medium tomatoes, chopped

combine zucchini, sweet peppers, broccoli, chicken broth, garlic, basil or oregano, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
Simmer, covered, for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes. Makes 6 to 8 side-dish servings.