Best Broccoli

2-3 Large bunches of Broccoli
2 TB Butter
Drizzle of Olive Oil
2 TB minced Garlic (I buy a lg bottle in grocers section at Walmart)
1/2 c. hot water
1 TB chicken bouillon powder

Cut into florets, I like to leave the stems long. Melt butter in olive oil then saute garlic a little before adding in the broccoli, stir and saute broccoli. Then dissolve chicken bouillon in water and add to hot pan. cover and let steam until broccoli is tender.

I LOVE the broccoli from Carraba's Italian Grill and decided to try it myself. Now I can't make broccoli any other way!!!! Try it you'll love it. You can adjust the amount of garlic and bouillon for your taste. At Carraba's they add a little chopped red bell pepper, but I don't usually have that on hand.

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatos

15-20 small russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup or 1 Lg family size can
1c. milk
2 Lg handfuls of grated cheese( I buy a big bag from costco)
1/2c. sliced onion
Salt, Pepper, Garlic

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking dish, cover tight with foil. I bake this at 350 for about 1.5 hrs or until tender.

This is a family favorite so much so that I don't even have the recipe written down anywhere. It is easy to eyeball the amounts as well you can't get it wrong! This goes great with a lot of dishes! Sometimes I will bake this at the same time I am baking meatloaf 275 for three hours while we are at church and when we get home, it's perfect!!! Delicious!

Sunday Meatloaf

2.5 lb Hamburger
1 loaf of white bread, wet and squeeze out excess water.
3 eggs
1 envelope Onion soup mix
a handful of Oats
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Worcestershire Sauce, douse generously
2/3c. Milk
Topping:
Ketchup or BBQ Sauce

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and smoosh together. Do not over mix, I like to leave the bread so that chunks are still visible. form loaf meat mixture in a 9x13 pan or fill one to sides a little smaller, mine measures 7x10. Pat the meat so top is smoothed. Spread a layer of either Ketchup or BBQ over the top. I Bake this in the oven at 275 for three hours while we are at church and when we get home it is perfect.

With this I usually bake a pan of cheesy au gratin potatoes (for the same amount of time at the same temp)and then when we get home all I have to do is warm up a vegetable and maybe slice up some french bread.