Lean Paula Deen: Cheesy Broccoli Bake

Vegetables were not my number #1 favorite thing to eat as a child. The solution: smother them in cheese! To this day, I still love to melt some Velveeta cheese over my steamed broccoli. Well, Paula has a wonderful, more "grown-up" way to completely cover this nutritious green veggie in creamy, delicious Velveeta. This side dish is called a Cheesy Broccoli Bake, which I found in the pages of her Lady & Son's Savannah Country Cookbook.


CHEESY BROCCOLI BAKE
Serves  10
2 pounds fresh broccoli, trimmed and cut-up
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
One 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts
One 10-3/4 ounce can condensed HEALTHY REQUEST cream of mushroom soup
1/2 pound 2 % Velveeta
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup grated FAT FREE Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam broccoli for 10 minutes. Saute celery, mushrooms and onion in butter for 10 minutes; drain. Combine broccoli, saute mixture and water chestnuts. Heat soup and Velveeta in saucepan over low heat until cheese melts. Pour over broccoli mixture. Stir in garlic salt and pepper. Place in greased casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle top with grated cheese.


MY SIMPLE SWITCHES:


* Use Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup
* Use 2% Velveeta
* Use 2% or Fat Free grated Cheddar
* Use only 1 Tablespoon of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.(This cuts 11 grams of fat & about 10 grams of saturated fat from the entire dish!)





When I made this dish, I left out the water chestnuts. Our family personally does not care for them, but we still like a little crunch. Instead, crush about 1/2 cup of Reduced-Fat Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top before baking. It adds a little texture to the broccoli bake. Overall, I would say this dish does extremely well when lighter ingredients are substituted. It wasn't missing a thing! I hope you ENJOY!!

NUTRITION FACTS (per serving): 137.2 calories;  5.1g fat;  16.17g carbohydrate; 11.25g protein;  3.4g fiber