Broccoli and Swiss Cheese Bake

This yummy Broccoli and Swiss cheese bake serves 6 - 8 and takes 45 minutes to an hour to prepare and cook. Makes a great side dish for any meat entree. 

Ingredients:

8 cups of broccoli florets
4 tablespoon butter
1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 medium sized garlic clove = 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic)
2 tablespoon flour
1 cup 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese + 2 Tablespoons for top
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a microwave safe bowl add broccoli and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook on high 3 minutes or until al dented and still bright green. Remove, drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan melt 2 tablespoons over medium heat and sauté onions and garlic 3-5 minutes or until onions become translucent. Increase temperature to med/high and add 2 tablespoons butter to melt. Sprinkle in the flour and cook another 2 minutes. Add the 1/2 & 1/2, whisk continuously until thickens then add the thyme, Swiss cheese, the 1/2 cup Parmesan and the salt and pepper, to taste. Cook 2-3 minutes until cheese melts. Remove from heat, add broccoli and toss to coat.

Pour into a 9x11 baking dish, top with panko bread crumbs and the 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Yum Yum! 

I'm serving this with Archer Farms stuffed chicken breast cutlets with garlic herbed butter sauce from Target.


Okay, I've run across something new with this recipe and that's panko bread crumbs. (My Dum Dum showing) I've never heard of this before and wondered why I couldn't use just plain ole bread crumbs???  I think panko bread crumbs would have been better on my Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms. From the kitchn.com:

Panko has a light, airy, and delicate texture that helps it crisp as it cooks. The texture of panko makes it especially wonderful for fried food because it absorbs less oil than breadcrumbs, keeping food more crisp and crunchy.

On its own, panko has little to no flavor. It can be used as a crunchy topping to add texture to baked casseroles, like macaroni and cheese, as a breaded coating for fried foods, or as a binder for meatballs. It's also commonly used in Japanese cooking.

There's quite a noticeable difference in texture between panko and regular store-bought breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs can be made with different varieties of bread and are ground more fine than flakier panko. Of course you can make homemade breadcrumbs that are processed into a larger grain, but they still lack the distinct flaky texture that sets panko apart.

Make your own homemade wheat or white panko bread crumbs:

Makes about 3/4 cups. Preheat oven to 300F. Take 8 slices of wheat or white bread and cut them into strips. (Some recipes suggest that you cut off the crusts) Using the shredder attachment on your food processor, feed the bread into the machine. Lay the crumbs out on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, shaking or tossing every 2 minutes or so. You don't want the brown, just crispy. Once cooled place crumbs in an airtight container and refrigerate for a couple weeks or freeze up to two months