Broccoli and Barley Recipe

I’ll write how I made it — way too simple! 🙂

I get 10 pounds of frozen broccoli from Azure Standard almost every month. It comes in two 5 pound bags and it’s cut into fairly small florets with very little stem so they break apart easily. I’m guessing they’re flash frozen in individual pieces so they’re easy to separate. When I get them, I divide it up into 10 bags but I don’t take the time to weigh or measure so it’s approximately 1 pound per bag. I vacuum seal those and put them in the freezer.

I freeze dry onions that I grow and supplement when I find onions on sale but you can also use fresh or the dried chopped onions from the spice aisle.

For the cream of mushroom soup, you can make your own or use canned. I know the make your own is more healthy but I probably use store bought half the time.

I use grated cheddar because it’s what I always have on hand. I do buy the block and grate it myself.

Broccoli and Barley Casserole:

1 lb. broccoli florets
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or homemade)
1/4 cup minced onions
3/4 cup hulled barley (not pearled) (Actually, I don’t know if pearled would work because I have never used it).
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (more if you’d like – I didn’t actually measure so I’m guessing)

Add 2 cups of water to a pot. Add a bit of salt – don’t overdo it here. You can add more later. Bring the water to a boil. Rinse barley and add to the pot. I cook it over high heat with the lid off and watch to be sure it doesn’t boil over or boil dry. When the water starts getting low, check to see if the barley is done. It should have a bit of crunch to the outside of the grain but it should be tender inside. If not, add a bit more water and continue to simmer til it’s done.

In a separate pot, add enough water to cover the broccoli. Bring to a boil. Add a bit of salt – again, not too much. Add the broccoli and boil, the length of time depends on the size of your florets. My little ones take about 4 minutes. You want them almost tender but definitely not mushy.

SAVE ABOUT 1/2 CUP OF THE WATER THE BROCCOLI WAS COOKED IN! Drain broccoli, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Stir together the broccoli, barley, cream of mushroom soup, onions and however much cheese you want. Save back some for adding to the top. Add a bit of the broccoli cooking water if it looks too dry. It will soak up a bit of the liquid while cooking. Taste for salt – add more if needed, add pepper or Cajun seasoning.

Pour into a greased casserole. Bake, uncovered for about 20 minutes at 350.

NOTE: I had a sticky chicken cooking in the oven at 250. Since everything in the casserole was cooked and fairly hot, I stuck it in the oven with the chicken and cooked it for about 35 minutes at 250 and it was great.

Another note: Next time I will add some sliced carrots to the broccoli to boil and then I’ll add sliced Jerusalem artichokes to the dish before baking.