broccoli cheese & cracker casserole

Amidst the frenzy that was our Thanksgiving dinner, I got a mere one shot of the feast. Had I attempted to hold back my siblings for even a minute more, Lord knows I would have lost an arm...or at least a finger. However, despite the lack of pictures, I still felt it imperative that I share this particular recipe with you. Everything we had on Thanksgiving was good. But this Broccoli Cheese & Cracker Casserole? Well, you can't really go wrong when there is Velveeta involved.

Yes, this is one of those totally unhealthy but totally addictive vegetable dishes. I'm fairly certain that the virtue of eating broccoli is completely ruined by the copious amounts of Velveeta, heavy cream, and crackers that go into this casserole. And that's fine. This is definitely a special occasion/holiday dish. Don't go eating this every night and you'll be golden. But just know that you may be tempted to dive head first into a pan of this. I halved the original recipe (reflected in the recipe below), but you may just want to double this sucker. You can thank me later. :)

Broccoli Cheese & Cracker Casserole

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into florets
1 pound Velveeta
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp heavy cream
salt and black pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more for more spice)
1 1/2 sleeves club crackers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place crackers into a large ziploc bag and crush slightly, leaving some large chunks. Set aside.

Plunge broccoli into boiling water and allow to boil for 1 minute. Strain and set aside.

Cut Velveeta into chunks. Throw into a large pot with milk, cream, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Melt, stirring occasionally, until totally smooth.

Add broccoli to cheese sauce, then add half the cracker crumbs. Stir to combine, then pour mixture into a buttered baking dish. Top with remaining cracker crumbs, then sprinkle the top generously with black pepper.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown and casserole is bubbly.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Source: The Pioneer Woman