Roasted Broccoli with Bacon

Last night when making dinner, I found myself staring down a head of broccoli, saying “I think I’d rather eat the bag you are in, then eat you steamed again.”*  We’ve been doing a lot of steamed broccoli as sides lately, mainly because on a typical day it’s one of my favorite foods and it’s healthy. I had this lonely, smallish head of broccoli that I needed to use…so I had the random brainchild “why not add bacon?”

I like other roasted cruciferous veggies (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower,  kohlrabi, etc)…but since I typically love steamed broccoli, I’d never tried roasting it.

The verdict?-Yum.  Plus you can’t go wrong when adding bacon, right? (well…except maybe as far as your arteries are concerned…but I digress). This was quick, easy, & was a perfect way to perk up some broccoli that I would have rather thrown out than eaten steamed last night. The recipe below is based off of 1 head of broccoli and is meant to serve 2. Multiply to your needs. I used thin “freezer bacon” (similar to the Oscar Meyer precooked bacon)…if using thicker bacon you probably want to render/precook that mostly in a skillet so that the bacon will be crispy by the time the broccoli is done.

Roasted Broccoli with Bacon

Prep time- 5 min, cook time- 15-25 min, Serves 2

Ingredients

Bad picture of the ingredient lineup...

• 1 head of broccoli, rinsed, drained, and cut into large florets
• 2-3 strips thin bacon, cut into thin strips
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• dash of lemon juice [optional]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (this dish can be cooked anywhere from 350-425 degrees if you are cooking something else that needs a specific temperature, just adjust your cooking times lower if going hotter than this)

2. Add 1 T. olive oil to a baking dish, add the garlic and heat in the oven for 5 min.

3. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Layer in the broccoli & bacon & stir together. Sprinkle salt & pepper over it. Sprinkle with additional oil if desired.

4. Return baking dish to oven & bake for 10 minutes. Stirring once.

5. Remove the baking dish from the oven. [Optional] Add a few dashes of lemon juice (lightly) over the top of the broccoli.  Stir again and return to the oven.  Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until broccoli is to desired doneness.  A fork should be able to easily pierce the stem-end of a large floret.

6. Serve and enjoy!

I served this with baked chicken breasts
that had been brined in an apple cider brine,
& classic Stovetop Stuffing (quick & easy dinner)

*Yes—I occasionally talk to food when I make it, this particularly applies to whole poultry [hides head in shame]