Easy Broccoli Casserole & Our Holiday Traditions

Every year my family gets together and shares the traditions of Christmas.  We are a family of planners so traditions come very naturally to us.  They are our routine.  I didn’t realize until I was an adult how much I loved our traditions and the consistency they bring to the holiday season.  From what we eat Christmas day for dinner, like the easy broccoli casserole I’m showing you today, our family is rooted in our traditions.

Now that I have kids of my own, we enjoy the same traditions I had as a child as well as starting our own.  As entire family we attend church on Christmas eve and my boys dress up.  Sometimes they match if I can find matching suits, sometimes they don’t.  But most importantly to us, is instilling in them the true reason for Christmas.

If there is snow, we make sure to enjoy it with family.  Everyone is together and everyone is excited for time to hang out together without working on any family projects.  My brother fixed up old snowmobiles and purchased a sleigh so the kids could enjoy the outdoors with us on Christmas if we’re lucky enough for snow that day!

My mom always sets a beautiful table for Christmas dinner.  We usually enjoy it after we’ve opened our Christmas gifts – which takes hours.  We open gifts one at a time taking turns which stretches out the time but also allows us to enjoy and see what each person received and gave.  My parents have been a big part of keeping our traditions alive during the season of celebration.

This year is my first year hosting the Christmas dinner in our new farmhouse.  I’m very excited about it.  And because we have the exact same dinner every single year as part of tradition, creating the menu will not be hard.  We always have ham, cucumber salad, hash brown potato casserole and other recipes I’ve already shared with you. However, there is one family favorite I’ve yet to showcase and that’s the broccoli casserole.

Oh my.  So good.  And best yet it is super simple to make because you can make it the night before Christmas.

To make the broccoli casserole you will need:

30 oz of Green Giant Broccoli Florets, thawed
2 TB of butter
6 – 8 slices of cheese
1 1/2 bags of small croutons
1 1/2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of water

This recipe will literally take you five minutes to throw together.  Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Add the broccoli florets to the pan.  Add enough to almost fill your pan.  You want really good quality broccoli florets and not the bits.  That’s why I buy the Green Giant brand.

For 150 years General Mills which includes Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and check have been a part of making food the people like my family love.  It inspires our holiday traditions year after year!

Spread 1 1/2 cans of cream of mushroom soup on top of the broccoli.  On top the soup, add slices of cheese.  I use cheese product, because it’s Christmas and no calories exist.  I used six slices for the deeper dish I was using but you might need 8 if you use a traditional 9×13 pan.

Mix 1/2 warm water to 2 TB of melted butter.  In a bowl add your croutons and mix the water and butter together and the pour into the croutons.  Toss the croutons.  The croutons will not be soggy but will have a bit of moisture to them.

Layer the croutons on top and pop it into an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes, check to see if the croutons are browning too much.  If they are, top with foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.  (With different types of pans, baking time will vary.)

The cheese and soup will melt into the broccoli creating a delicious casserole that has a crunch with the croutons.  Like I said, you can make this the night before and just bake it Christmas morning making this dish so easy!

This Christmas season we will enjoy all our traditions and quite possibly create new ones since I’ll be the one serving the broccoli casserole this year.

What are your favorite traditions?

This year, General Mills wants to celebrate the people that make the season so special by encouraging fans to share nostalgic holiday photos and stories to celebrate their tradition keepers using #HolidayTraditions across Twitter and Instagram.  You can submit your own holiday traditions at http://www.generalmills.com/holidaytraditions.  Share your #HolidayTraditions by posting a comment below AND sharing on social for your chance to win a Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook and a $25 Visa gift card.

-> Share your holiday traditions by uploading your photos here or by using #holidaytraditions and tagging @GeneralMills on Twitter or Instagram!

 

Compensation was provided by General Mills.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of General Mills.

 

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