Cornbread with Broccoli and Cheese

Here’s a recipe that Mr. D. and I really like. I make it often when we have chili, as a way to expand the meal, when we are having chili the second time around. This is a moist cornbread with a slightly sweet corn flavor and can be served as a side dish with any meat entrée. Adding the broccoli is a good way to get picky eaters to eat some veggies, and the cheddar cheese just seals the deal in my opinion.

The original recipe for this dish calls for cottage cheese, but I had a small amount of ricotta cheese to use up so I used that instead. The texture of the cornbread was moist and creamy, but could be cut into squares. The dish you see here in my pictures contains only half a recipe (9″-square pan), but the full recipe makes a 13 x 9″ pan.

CORNBREAD WITH BROCCOLI AND CHEESE

Yield: serves 12

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage cheese ( or substitute ricotta cheese)
3/4 cup butter, melted (for half recipe use 4 Tablespoons)
4 eggs
2 ( 8.5-ounce) packages corn muffin mix
1 ( 10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry.
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided**

** If you would like to off-set the sweetness of the cornbread, go with an extra sharp cheddar.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Whisk cottage cheese, butter and eggs in a large bowl. Stir corn muffin mix into the mixture just until moistened. Fold in broccoli, onion, and 1 cup cheese. Pour into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.