"Goodness Gracious! That's Great Broccoli!"

I don't particularly care for broccoli.

My great-grandad's headstone reads: "I tried broccoli and I didn't like it," (and this was before George Bush Sr. said it) so maybe it's genetic.

I don't mind it chopped up very finely in casseroles and mac n' cheese or raw smothered in ranch dressing after all the carrots and tomatoes and celery is gone, but I would never, ever just decide that I wanted some broccoli. So it's come as some surprise that both of my children like it. And since we are trying to eat healthier around the McCall casa, I figured I better find a way to eat broccoli and like it.

A few months ago, I found a recipe that I thought would be good to try. It was a Paula Deen recipe so I figured it couldn't be all that bad. Turns out, it was spectacular! The first night I made it, my children ate it completely up before they ate anything else...and this included cheese biscuits! (I did not eat all my broccoli before I consumed two cheese biscuits because life is just too short.) We've eaten it several times since then and every time, I think, "I should share this recipe with the blog world because it will change their lives." We had it again last night, but it had taken soooo long to post the cupcake post that it just wasn't happening. When Eli asked about it again today, I figured it was high time I shared this recipe.

Balsamic Broccoli (aka Absolutely Amazing Broccoli or The Only Way I'll Eat Steamed Broccoli)

1 head of broccoli, steamed*
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper

Heat vinegar over medium heat until reduced by half in a small saucepan. Add butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper and whisk until butter is melted and it has thickened up a little. Pour over steamed broccoli. Stand back and watch your family gobble this up so fast you can't imagine how they tasted it. :)

* To steam broccoli, chop it up into "smallish" pieces. I do this mostly because I don't like biting into big pieces of broccoli. Place in a microwave-safe bowl and pour about 2 tablespoons of water over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and cut a slit in the top. Microwave 3 minutes. (If you like less crunchy broccoli, microwave 1 minute longer.) I've also used the steam-in-a-bag-broccoli and it works well, too...except the pieces are too big so I prefer to use regular broccoli.

This is a "halved" version of the original recipe. We don't like a lot of leftovers around here and we certainly don't like leftover broccoli (blech!) so I only make this much at a time. There may come a day when I have to make more, but this is enough for the four of us at dinner. I also realize that pouring all this "goop" over steamed broccoli makes it significantly less healthy, but baby-steps on the whole broccoli thing, people! :)