Ringing in the New Year!

This dish has little to do with the New Year, but it's good no matter what year it is, so there's that!

I love broccoli/cheese/rice casserole. But I don't always love it.

Confession time: Sometimes it's kind of mushy slimy gunk.

And other times it's amazing!

So I wanted to come up with one that was amazing and I think that's what I did, but!!!! I started with leftover Alfredo sauce made with cream cheese and Parmesan, so that's where we MUST BEGIN! And I remember taking several photographs but... they do not seem to exist on my devices. A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY!!!!!!

Let's make the cream cheese Alfredo sauce first. I would double or triple these amounts to feed a family, this was downsized for this specific dish.

Melt over low heat:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 block Cream cheese, but up and melted with butter.
1 teaspoon granulated garlic

ADD:

1/2 cup Half-and-Half or Milk or Heavy Cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the milk/half-and-half and chicken broth into the butter cheese mixture. Heat. Add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Heat gently.

Okay, so that's the basic cream cheese recipe for Alfredo sauce. And I tweak it with more garlic and less milk if I want it thicker, but that's a preference thing.

Then add 2 cups of Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese to this and melted it into the cheesy mix.


I used leftover Basmati rice (a strong-grained rice makes a much better casserole) and leftover broccoli from a veggie tray...

2 cups cooked Basmati rice
2 1/2 cups chopped, lightly steamed broccoli

Mix together lightly. Add hot cheese sauce (amount desired, I was making two casseroles so there was extra here.) Mix thoroughly, but not squishing. No squishing broccoli allowed. It's just not nice.

Spray 7" x 11" pan with cooking spray. Spread casserole into pan. Bake at 325 until hot and beginning to "roast" around the edges.

This is a great side dish for any meal and KAV!!!! It's vegetarian-friendly (unless you add cooked, chopped bacon or ham, but I like it without any additions.)

There you have it, a wonderful, picture-less dish that everyone loved. Even a few of the kids loved it. With broccoli in it!!!

SAY WHAT????? :)

But I do have a few other pics to share! My youngest (a true Bumble) came home for the holidays and it was wonderful to see our Lonestar boy!

And these adorable nieces (one missing!) wrapped up a favorite doll to give to Lena for Christmas... Gifts of the heart are the very best, aren't they???

And Xavier found a quiet spot, twinkle lights, a quilt and a kitty....

And on the 27th, a monster-sized flock of birds (starlings, maybe????) invaded the back yard but I only got a quick pic before they moved en masse up the road. The tree shot was minor... there were thousands of them, covering the ground.... HITCHCOCK FRIENDLY!!!!! EEEK!

On the writing side of the beautiful season of remembering Christ's birth, I have just finished "Finding Peace in Wishing Bridge" and I can't wait for readers to get it next month! I hope you all love it! And I'm working on a new proposal for my agent, an absolutely fun group of stories where the past trips the heels of the present but I'm pretty sure that's what's meant to be!

Godspeed and wishing all of us a peace-filled, love-filled New Year!

Multi-published, USA Today Bestselling inspirational author Ruth Logan Herne avoids drama, loves happy endings, thinks everyone should love dogs and babies and she'll stand by that assertion because, well, she loves dogs and babies and little kids and sad teens.... Write her at loganherne@gmail.com, friend her on Facebook, visit her website ruthloganherne.com and she'd love to hear from you... or you can comment below!