I subscribe to Yummly, a really neat cooking site. They shoot me stuff about twice a week and I have used a number of their recipes. The thing I like most about Yummly is that most of their recipes are simple – no Bavarian Lentils Seasoned in Rabbit Fat type of stuff. Just simple, easy dishes.
But I rarely follow their recipes to a “T”. There is always room for improvement, I figure, and sometimes I use what I have, not what is called for.
A dish I saw recently and tried was called Broccoli Tots. It looked good, so I made some – with a few changes, naturally. If you like broccoli, this is a great way to prepare what I call Broccoli Cups for family or company.
Here’s how I did it.
Yummly called for mini muffin tins, but I used a regular sized muffin pan, a 6-holer.
I bought two average size broccoli crowns, figuring I’d try the dish first before making a huge batch. Heat the oven to 400; remove the florets and steam in a shallow pan of boiling water for five minutes, until just tender. Remove the florets and let cool and drain on paper towels. It is important to get as much moisture out of the steamed broccoli as possible so it won’t be mushy.
In a separate bowl, add 2 beaten eggs, a half-cup of shredded cheddar cheese and a ½ cup of mozzarella (I used that combination because that’s what I had in the fridge), ¼ cup dried minced onion, ½ cup plain bread crumbs, salt and pepper and the broccoli, which has been finely chopped.
Stuff the broccoli mix into greased muffin cups and pack down firmly with a spoon.
Pop the muffins into the stove for 25 minutes, or until nice and golden on the top. They are really good, allow for two per person
Broccoli Cups
2 Broccoli crowns
2 eggs
¼ C dried minced onion flakes
½ C bread crumbs
Salt and pepper