Broccoli Swiss Cheese Casserole

I like cottage cheese ..... I like it a lot, but I put off making this recipe a long, long time because I couldn't wrap my mind around the texture of cottage cheese and how it was going to work in a casserole. It was a Big Mistake not to try it sooner and I ended up depriving myself of a great recipe for years.

"Who knew" that cottage cheese, when put in a blender and whirled around for a minute or two, turns into an absolutely creamy, wonderful base for a casserole with a corn pudding-like texture. Not only does it taste good after it bakes, but the top of the casserole becomes a beautiful golden brown color with bits of green broccoli peeping out here and there so it is visually very attractive. To really top it all off, there's crumbled bacon on the top and what's not to like with the addition of bacon?

This recipe is a winner on a lot of fronts and a favorite. My only problem is that despite the broccoli, bacon and Swiss cheese, it is very similar to corn pudding and it does have some corn in it. We rarely miss having a corn pudding at family holiday gatherings so this casserole, being a bit redundant, gets left unmade way too often.  Maybe next time I get assigned the corn pudding for a family get-together, I'm going to take a walk on the wild side and show up with this casserole instead .............. 

I have posted some notes at the end of the recipe - call them "helpful hints" or "lessons learned the hard way", but they might make your life a little easier if you are making this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups freshly chopped broccoli
• 1 (24 oz.) carton of cottage cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup of butter or margarine, melted
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 (8-3/4 ounce) can of whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 drops hot sauce
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

1. Cook the broccoli, covered, in a small amount of boiling water until tender (about 10 minutes).
2. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, butter, and flour in the container of an electric blender and process until smooth. Set aside.
3. Combine broccoli, corn, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl and stir in the cottage cheese mixture.
4. Spoon everything into a lightly greased 12 x 8 x 2 casserole or baking dish.
5. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon on the top of the casserole.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Notes:

• Broccoli - don't kill yourself with using fresh broccoli unless you really want to & maybe have fresh broccoli from your own garden. Use two 16-oz. bags of frozen broccoli florets .... the florets make a much better casserole than the packages of broccoli 'cuts' that include the stems. Cook the frozen broccoli per the package directions until just slightly undercooked (you don't want them to be mush before you bake the casserole) or get the steam-in bags and following the cooking directions - again, don't cook the broccoli until it is too soft.

• Cottage cheese vs. your blender. I found out the hard way that you do NOT want to put everything, as in a whole 24 oz. carton of cottage cheese, in your blender all at once. Put in maybe a cup and get it going, then gradually add the rest of the cottage cheese  1/3 to  1/2 cup at a time. After the entire carton has been added to the blender and has achieved a smooth/creamy texture, add the eggs, butter & gradually add the flour so you don't end up with flour 'clumps' in your sauce.

• Large bowl for the final mixing of the casserole is underlined for a reason!

• You can use a 9 x 13 pan instead of the size given in the recipe and actually, I prefer it.