Broccoli Redeemed

My husband gave me the title of this post the other night at supper. I have been finally trying out some of the recipes I have been pinning on Pintrest and I found two that I really like and one of them apparently has "redeemed broccoli" :).
Here it is:
This recipe is by Barefoot Contessa, and I didn't use 4-5 pounds of broccoli I just used as much as we would eat and adjusted the amounts of everything else, but really you can't mess it up the amounts just give you an idea. Another thing is don't wash your broccoli unless you can dry it completely before you start cooking.

 You preheat the oven to 425.

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli, cut into florets (but relatively big ones.)  

Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. 

Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. 

(She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 

1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, 

but I just eyeballed it.) 

Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too. (The first time I made these I didn't even put in the garlic and they were great but I am sure you could add garlic powder instead.)

Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”

I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

When it’s done, take it out of the oven.

zest a lemon over the broccoli, 

squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, (I didn't have a lemon so I just used bottled lemon juice)

add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 

3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), 

1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. (doesn't have to be fresh parm just try it with what you have)

She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

(pictures from Amateur Gourmet blog)

This broccoli is really GREAT!! Even Nate liked it. It is still broccoli but it has to be the best broccoli I have ever had. 

The other on is a cheese bread recipe and it is amazing too. I can't stop eating it. 

I used my favorite pizza dough recipie even though hers was quite similar, I am just used to mine. 

Pizza Crust (Betty Crocker's Big Red Cookbook)

2 1-2 to 3 cups Flour

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

2 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast

3 tbsp oil (vegetable or olive)

1 cup very warm water (120-130 degrees)

Mix 1 cup of flour and the rest of the dry ingredients in your mix master bowl. Add oil and water and beat with mixer for 3 minutes medium speed, don't forget to scrape the sides. Add enough flour so the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead with your hands for a while until dough feels smooth and springy. (the recipe says 5-8 minutes but I never time myself and don't think I do it that long) Leave on the counter loosely covered with plastic wrap for about 30 minutes. After risen knead again to get air bubbles out and place on pizza pan. 

Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks
yield: 1- 12 inch pie

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons softened salted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 pound grated mozzarella cheese
{salt & pepper, if desired}

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone inside. Or just use a cookie sheet. 
Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside. (I melted my butter to get my garlic evenly mix together and it seemed to make it easier to spread the butter on dough)
Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired. {That step is totally optional!}
Bake 9-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool 1-2 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, with marinara. (This recipe and pictures came from Lauren's Latest blog)

This cheese bread recipe was actually the 3rd recipe I ever pinned and only just tried it. 

So I hope you found something yummy to eat here today. Happy eating!