Broccoli Bread

While in hot pursuit of a casserole recipe on Sunday I came across a something I had been craving. Broccoli bread. I've been wanting said bread intermittently for the last three months. I wasn't sure where to find a recipe. I never bothered to google it. I didn't even think I might actually have the recipe. And I didn't only have one copy. I had two different copies written in my Grandma's handwriting.

A couple of years ago my aunt shared a stack of my Grandma's recipes with me. I now have copies of everything from corn dip (a crowd favorite), homemade lemon curd, crawfish elegante and chocolate sheath cake. There is even a recipe for Mexican grits. Mmm! It didn't even occur to me that the broccoli bread I'd thought about lately was something Grandma made, but in the middle of digging for an ooey gooey casserole recipe I found the broccoli bread.

Broccoli, believe it or not, is actually one of my favorite foods. It doesn't need much at all (or you can choose to gussie it up). Steam the broccoli and add a little Crazy Jane's - you've got a good (zero-point) side dish. Add some butter and cheese to make it oh-so comforting. A squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper makes it a refreshing side. I even have a broccoli and grits casserole from my great aunt. YUM!!

So this broccoli bread. The minute I saw the recipe I knew I'd be making it this week. It should really be called cheesey, oniony broccoli bread. It calls for 2 cups of sharp cheddar and an entire onion chopped and a box of Jiffy cornbread mix. Of course there are a few other characters in the bowls, but those are your leading ladies. Instead of making them in the pan, I used muffin tins. Self-imposed portion control being my first thought.

I hate to admit it, but I gorged on broccoli bread muffins yesterday. They were divine. Hot out of the oven they needed some salt, but when I allowed them to cool and the flavors to join forces, they were exactly the way I remembered them. I'm sad I didn't associate this flavor with Grandma instantly.

While I type this, my mind is wandering back to a time when my tiny six-year-old bottom would sit on Grandma and Papa's kitchen counter. I had a bird's eye view. Sometimes they were scrambling eggs or making coffee milk for me. Other times Papa made the best grilled cheese sandwich in the whole entire world. Either way I got to watch and to taste.

I'm so glad I made the broccoli bread. It was perfect in taste and in memory. I'm taking my muffins to a friend on Thursday. I hope she likes it. For me, it is sharing much more than a little carb to round out our dinner.