Foodie Friday - Broccoli Casserole

Welcome to the first post of Foodie Friday* where I post about something I made, where the recipe came from, and if it was a winner or a dud. This may or may not be weekly. Depends on what I cook, when, and if I remember to photograph it.

The first recipe I'm highlighting is Broccoli Casserole from The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy by the late trailblazer Bette Hagman (page. 284).

A Little Background
I have Celiac's Disease, which means that I can't have anything with Gluten in it, so when I was first diagnosed, the Gluten Free Gourmet series was the only thing available to newly diagnosed Celiac's back in the early 2000s (I was officially diagnosed in 2004). We actually now own all of the books in the series, thanks to wedding gifts (thank you if you are reading this!) and frankly, I still find them the most trustworthy cook books (to the point that when someone asked me what flour mix I used, I realized that all of mine are from this series of books. I have yet to buy a GF flour mix). Yes, the recipes can be a lot more complicated than you might like, but I think the results end up being fantastic (mostly).

Broccoli Casserole
I like easy recipes. I was also in the mood for something with broccoli at the beginning of November, so what I did was searched through the books for something. Somehow I stumbled upon the Broccoli Casserole and tried it.

We loved it. I've made it 4-5 times now. With prep time and cook time, the dish can be done in roughly an hour, which is great for me! It could possibly be less if there were a few things you didn't do yourself (like chop the broccoli), but I don't mind those things.

I'm actually posting more about my modifications. For example, if you try this recipe, 3 tablespoons of sugar is just way too much sugar. I also cut the salt to what looks more like 3/4 teaspoon and eyeball the bread crust and broccoli (usually 3 bread slices will work, processed in a small food processor to "crumble" them, and a large broccoli crown).

Before going into the oven.

The first time I made it, it was way too sweet. In the last few versions, I've cut back on the sugar which makes the dish more like a quiche. That makes it perfect for dinner. This also happens to be one of those dishes once it is made, it doesn't last more than 2 days in this home. Hagman mentions in the recipe description that this is great reheated and that is absolutely true, so this is a perfect make for the week dish as the flavor improves and lasts.

Overall, this is a winner and is going into our regular rotation of recipes. Just look at it!

Fresh from the oven! YUM. 9 servings? Um...more like 4.

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*(Any similarity to another blog series of the same name is unintentional. I did not research this name before starting the series).

PS: I'm looking into affiliate programs for books so you can visit a site to check out the book. Any favorites? Any not so favorites? Leave me a comment.

Achievement Unlocked: Quilting - Kitchen Rug!

Happy New Year! I've started the New Year off right: by finishing a craft project that was on the table for TOO LONG.

First, the inspiration from Pinterest: 

Source: sewwequilt.com via LibraryElfDesigns on Pinterest

A lovely quilted kitchen floor mat from SewWeQuilt (links above). Now, the issue at hand was what fabric would I use? How big would mine be? We definitely needed a floor mat by the sink.

I had also gained a bag of upholstery fabric scraps that someone else had in mind for a quilt of some sort ages ago (I think last January). So, I started poking through the pieces and found quite a few that would work wonderfully for my general kitchen theme. I cut them into 5 inch or so squares (might be 5.25 inches) and spent a lot of time trying to decide just how I'd lay them out. After that, I used The Workhorse (my 1950s Singer machine) and put the blocks together, put on a backing (light blue terry cloth fabric I had) and quilted it. Here's before the binding:

Look at how nice that all works, although, I think it is technically upside down in this pic. Notice the egg!
Copyright LibraryElfDesigns

Full disclosure: I have NEVER put a quilt together from start to finish. You may remember the Patriotic Quilt I am/was working on. That's a quilt top so far. Tops I have made...mostly. Not sure I've done any blocking/borders/what-have-you yet. I find the idea of hand quilting not something I want to do. Machine quilting, yes. Hand quilting, not so much. I know the Patriotic Quilt could use something (I'm waiting on something from my stash that'll work).

Anyway, since this was my first time quilting from start to finish, I needed help. This Pinterest Pin, titled "Beginning Quilting Series" in my Pin, proved very, very helpful:

Source: diaryofaquilter.com via LibraryElfDesigns on Pinterest

With the help of the "Binding 101" section, I put the binding onto the rug and ta-da! Finished rug! I only needed a little bit of hand sewing because the one corner was too much for the machine.

TA DA! It is frugal and pretty!
Copyright LibraryElfDesigns

There are a few things I learned from this that I need to make note of for next time. So here are...

Lessons I Learned

• The upholstery fabric was great, but the seams are a bit bumpy so standing on it isn't comfortable (ok. I've only done this for about 5 whole minutes so I could be wrong). Next time, I really should do more than the two layers I chose to do out of laziness.
• Next time, don't start the binding in the corner...
• ...but the binding method from the above pin was the EASIEST binding ever. I thought it would be a very difficult task, but not with that machine binding technique.  
• It needs something on the back to stop it from sliding. I have some ideas, just wanted to get that project off my table to free up room for the craft table.
• I can now say I've done a quilt! Even if it is slightly a cheater quilt. I love feeling frugal and thrifty and having something that looks great.
• I would definitely make another rug like this.