Baked Broccoli

Today's Pioneer Woman Cooks' post is giving away a yellow Kitchenaid Mixer. Why yellow? Well, it reminds Ree of Spring and several yellow, Spring-y recipes. One was a fresh corn casserole I hadn't seen on her site before, so I hastily clicked over to see more.

The ingredient list was simple: 5 items, including salt and pepper. Lately I've noticed that I really enjoy foods that are simplistic and let the ingredients come into their own. Oven-roasted vegetables have become a bi-weekly thing in our house and it's just veggies, a glug of EVOO and salt and pepper. Absolutely delicious without having to do a lot of prep work!

I didn't have fresh corn on hand, and in leiu of using frozen corn, decided to use fresh broccoli.


First, I washed and cut 3 small heads of broccoli into bite-sized florets. Then I put them in an oven-safe dish and tossed them in about 3/4 cup of fat free half and half (no whipping cream on hand) and salt and pepper with a few pats of butter on top.

Then, I just baked them in a 400° oven for about 30 minutes and creamy, yummy broccoli accompanied our leftover pork chops that I defrosted from the freezer and leftover spanakopita from a local gyro place.


This week's Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) is being hosted by Reeni at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and she chose blueberries!

Michelle's amazing give-away at Lucky Taste Buds continues until July 4th, so if you haven't entered already you should!

And!!!! One of my favorite blogger friends, Amy at What Do I Eat Now? has given me my very first blogger award! I just sat there and giggled like a fool when I saw my name on the list, so thank you Amy, you really made my day!


Now, I'm supposed to pick 7 blogger friends to pass it onto, and I choose:

1) Sarah at No Whey Mama. I was seriously, seriously lost when we discovered J's whey allergy. Searching around the internet for more information, I ran across Sarah's blog and it was the first ray of hope I felt in the allergy journey. I love the way Sarah gets the allergy message across and it's really opened my eyes, not only in Johnny's case, but just in general of how serious food allergies can be, which came in handy working with children this past year.

2) Jenn at Slim Shoppin' because I love her blog message of "eating right starts in the cart." My mom instilled this in me since I was a tiny child and it's just the way I eat and cook personally, so I love to see her recipes and updates. Sometimes I see the pictures and it just feels like home, stuff I'd cook right in my own kitchen.

3) Alisa at One Frugal Foodie who is another wonderful allergy source. I won my first blogger contest over at her site, and received delicious dairy, nut, and egg free cupcakes. She is a wealth of knowledge for allergy information, recipes, and has even written a dairy free cookbook!

4) Sophia at Burp and Slurp~ who I just recently "met" through the BSI competition. I love the candidness she posts with and think she is really a genuine, wonderful person! Sometimes her food combinations surprise the heck out of me, but the creativity she shows in the kitchen makes for some awesome ideas and recipes!

5) Biz at Biggest Diabetic Loser because she makes sure to regularly update her blog, so my reader always has something new! Also, she comes up with some of the best ideas for leftovers and making budget friendly meals. We also watch almost all of the same TV shows, so I love to read her re-caps!

6) Laura at Hey What's for Dinner, Mom? who I will always hold a special place in my heart for because she chose me to host BSI!!! She raises her three sons with much the same mentality that my mom raised my brother and I with - no artificial foods, no junk, no pre-packaged stuff, so her recipes are all trust-worthy and quality delicious!

7) Last but not least, Michelle at Lucky Taste Buds because I want to suck up and win her give-away. hahaha Just kidding! Michelle is a fellow Chicagoland girl, and her personality just SHINES through the writing on her blog. I've really enjoyed getting to know her through her posts and the comments she leaves me.