Broccoli Cheese Squares

• 3 tbsp butter

• 2 10 ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 4 cups mild shredded cheddar Cheese

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup flour (plain)

• Seasoned salt

• 2 tbsp finely chopped onion

Grease 13x9 baking dish with butter.  Steam broccoli, cool and press dry.  Beat eggs and milk until frothy.  Mix flour baking powder and salt.  Stir into egg mixture and mix well.  Fold in broccoli, cheese and onion.  Spread intop baking dish.  Sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake at 350º for 35 minutes or until set and lightly brown.

*A special note here.  While the recipe calls for frozen chopped broccoli, it is acceptable to use fresh broccoli, or to use broccoli that is frozen, but not chopped. These substitutions yield the same delicious results, with only the slightest impact on convenience.

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Broccoli is pretty divisive. Some people hate it and won’t touch it. Others love it and can’t get enough of it. I really enjoy it and I am fortunate that most of the people in my family are in agreement.   There is a third camp that when asked about their thoughts on broccoli respond by saying, “ I like it when it is covered in cheese sauce.” While I appreciate that people are allowed to like what they like, to manage their own preferences, I don’t think they like broccoli. I think they like cheese sauce.  If you have someone like this in your family, this may be the dish that will convert them. 

While these can be enjoyed in the traditional way– on a plate, with a fork– they can be picked up and enjoyed like a brownie. A delicious cheesy broccoli filled brownie.

In fact, these portable broccoli morsels are a required component of all of our year-end celebration meals. We make it for thanksgiving, for Mom’s Christmas party, and for the Christmas dinner that we invite my father, brother, and niece to.  It doesn’t seem to matter what else we serve, but the broccoli cheese squares must be in the mix. This has been the case for nearly a decade. At our most recent dinner, I remarked to my brother that I didn’t make his favorite butterscotch dessert. He said that since there were broccoli cheese squares, there was no problem at all. 

I don’t have anything by way of a funny story or amusing anecdote about broccoli cheese squares to accompany this post. All I have is the fact that other than a handful of hold-outs, they are universally enjoyed by my entire circle of friends and family.

I also don’t have any suggested modifications for the recipe, other than maybe doubling it to make a larger batch.  They are also really good as leftovers. 

I hope that the lack of a cute tale won’t discourage you from giving these a chance. If you do, let me know if your group enjoys them as much as we do. If you have already tried them, let us know how it went, and if you added any modifications or extra ingredients.

Try the broccoli cheese squares.  I recommend them.