Summer Family Meal with Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

It’s summer! Time for backyard grilling and family fun. Steak and Potatoes are a summer favorite in our family. We like to spend hot summer afternoons watching movies together and relaxing. When it’s time to start thinking about dinner, we don’t want to spend a ton of time preparing a meal and the guys in our house don’t really enjoy overcomplicated dished. This meal was really very quick and easy to put together. My husband was on grill duty and I took care of the rest.

For the fresh salad I made Hidden Valley Ranch dressing using the packet mix following the directions included. Using a bag of precut salad mix I added some grape tomatoes, black olives, and sliced Avocado. Pour on a little ranch and it’s perfect! The baked potatoes were scrubbed clean potatoes wrapped in foil and baked for one hour at 350 degrees. Topped with butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, and chives. The steak was seasoned with Natures Seasoning, Salt, Pepper, and Worcestershire before grilling. The Cheesy Broccoli Casserole took the most effort and was totally worth it. That is the recipe I want to share with you today. It’s great any time of year and my family loves it.

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen Broccoli (1 lb or more) ½ brick of Velveeta 1 can of Cream of mushroom soup 1 cup of ready to serve microwave Minute Rice Salt and Pepper to taste ½ Cup Shredded Cheddar cheese 1 sleeve of Ritz Crackers 1 Table spoon of butter melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil the broccoli in a medium sized pot and drain it. I use the directions on the frozen broccoli bag. Put the cooked, drained broccoli in a large bowl.  Microwave the rice cup according to the directions on the package and then pour the rice into the bowl with the broccoli.
Cube the Velveeta and open the can of cream of mushroom soup and add to the bowl of Broccoli. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix these items together. Spray a 9x13 Pyrex dish with cooking spray. I actually used an 11 ¾ X 7 ½ Pyrex backing dish but this will work in either size. Pour the mixture in the prepared baking dish In a separate bowl crush the sleeve of Ritz crackers and pour in the melted butter and mix with a fork until mixed well. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese on top of the broccoli mixture and then cover with the cracker crumbs. . Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. It’s even great the next day. Sometimes, I like to have it cold.
What are some of your favorite summer meals with your family? 
I also want to share with you a new endeavor. I have started designing material on Spoonflower and I have a shop called Holli's Designs. Check it out if you have a chance. I have been designing bunting for decorating for holidays and parties.