I have a hard time getting my daily intake of veggies. I crave carbs constantly, like chips, popcorn, crackers and pasta. I always make sure I get my fruits and veggies, but I get tired of all the common ways to eat them. I won’t, for example, ever buy and orange and peel it and eat it like most people normally eat an orange. I’m also a bit turned off by salads because Mama served them with almost every meal as a kid. She was always telling us to “eat something green.” I tend to eat things like asparagus as a side dish, or make a stir-fry with lots of bell peppers. I also really enjoy beans of any kind. I make a lot of fruit smoothies, so I get my servings of fruit that way.

One vegetable I don’t buy often but that I really enjoy is broccoli, which is incredibly good for you (I have been told the darker green the vegetable, the better it is for you. Not sure if that’s true). I am always looking for new and innovative ways to make myself eat more veggies, so when I stumbled up a recipe for slow cooker broccoli, I was all over it. However, this may be because the recipe involved a lot of cheese. Cheesy Broccoli Casserole does sound delicious. I think this recipe is meant to be a side dish, but I take it as my lunch, and it acts as a full meal. It’s incredibly easy, has a bit of a kick, and is a great way to get a healthy serving of veggies.

In true Julia fashion, I made a few changes. I omitted the celery seed because a) I couldn’t find it, and b) I didn’t think I’d miss it. I also added a bit more cheese than the recipe required, and used light cream of celery soup (totally contradictory, I know. They just cancel each other out, I’m sure.) I also used way more than one teaspoon of hot sauce and way more than a teaspoon of paprika (which is my very favourite spice… I use it all the time!) And I chose to use saltines instead of potato chips, and I’m glad I did. I find my slow cooker to be pretty powerful, so I’d shave an hour off the cooking time. You can tell when the broccoli is done and the cheese is melted. This is a relatively unexciting recipe, but a neat lunch or side dish idea, and it truly is delicious.