Dipped Broccoli Casserole

It is my belief that broccoli is the king of the dipping vegetables.  All those florets function as a sponge, so in addition to that healthy does of fiber and micronutrients provided by the broccoli, you get all the wonderful flavor and indulgence of your dip of choice.  One day, I happened to be chopping my way through a few heads of broccoli, and I got to thinking about that, then found myself asking, "but how can I make it something more?"  This is what happens when you watch Food Network too often.  You become dissatisfied with just broccoli and dip, because you aren't actually doing anything with the broccoli.  And so I came up with a dip-flavored casserole (or hot dish, I guess, if you're in the north Midwest).  It's still a bit of a work in progress,  but I'll go ahead and share my first attempt.

Before I get to the recipe, though, I'm gonna take a moment to get nerdy. Broccoli, as countless mothers have told their children, is a very healthy vegetable.  It's loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, and studies suggest it can lower cholesterol.  One of the more interesting components of broccoli, though, is a compound called sulphoraphane, which was discussed a fair amount in a class I took.  (Hence this tidbit.)  Although sulphoraphane is found in other veggies as well, broccoli is just LOADED with it.  Or rather, broccoli is loaded with a precursor.  See, sulphoraphane doesn't normally exist in the plant.  It's only when you damage the cells, by crushing or tearing (like when you chew), that it is produced.  Basically, broccoli is the antioxidant equivalent of a glow stick. Crack those cells open, and a reaction takes place that allows the formation of a powerful compound that is even being used in clinical trials as a cancer therapy.  While it doesn't light up, it's still pretty cool.

And if you'll bear with me a moment longer, I'd like to talk a little about how antioxidants work.  There's some controversy in the scientific community about their effectiveness or what they even are.  I won't go into all that, because it is largely over my head.  But sulphoraphane is what some call an "indirect" antioxidant.  Which means, on a chemistry level, that it is, in fact, NOT an ANTIoxidant at all.  Your cells don't want to be oxidized.  It can kill them.  It causes aging.  It's just not a good thing for them.  But because we breathe oxygen and our energy processes need to oxidize things, oxidation happens.  (note the similarity between those words?)  But our cells are full of components that prevent crazy amounts of oxidation from occurring, these are antioxidants.  Sulphoraphane works by temporarily increasing the amount of oxidation, making the cell go nuts undoing oxidation.  I finally came up with a decent metaphor.  It's like when I (and most students) have deadlines.  We see them coming up.  We know things will be crazy and hectic and frustrating.  But we're a teensy bit lazy, or have more interesting things to do, or… well, things don't get done until, "OH MY GOSH!!!  I should have done this ages ago!!!  There just isn't enough time!"  And we go nuts, and eventually somehow manage to scrape together the paper or whatever it was.  In the cell, sulphoraphane is the beginning of the crazy rush; that last assignment or looming due date. It causes the cell to stop saying, "eh, I'll deal with the oxidation sooner or later" and start actually doing it.

Dipped Broccoli Casserole
Potatoes
1 Head of broccoli
2 Chicken breasts
1 Packet vegetable soup mix
Sour cream
Cream cheese
Milk

     Preheat your oven to 400˚F.
     Wash and chop the potatoes, and put them in a pan with a little bit of the cooking oil of your choice (I used bacon fat-- broccoli's supposed to help lower cholesterol, right?) over medium-high heat.  Add a little salt and pepper, because potatoes are always happier with those, and about 1 Tbsp of the veggie soup mix.  Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pan as well.  Cook everything until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside.
      Add about 1/4 C sour cream and ~2 oz cream cheese (about 1/4 of a block) to the pan, along with another tablespoon of veggie soup mix.  Stir around so everything melts.  If it seems runny, add more cream cheese.  It's more likely it will seem thick or not enough, so add more sour cream as you need to to fix those problems.  If it needs more flavor, add more veggie soup mix, as well as some pepper. (You shouldn't need salt; the soup mix has a bunch).  You'll actually want some extra sauce.
      I combined the broccoli and everything else in the casserole at this point, but I found it a bit undercooked.  So, I will recommend to you that you add the broccoli to the pan at this point.  Stir it around, and cover the pan to let the broccoli cook for a couple minutes.  If you can keep an eye on it, look for it to be bright green or to wilt (whichever comes first).  When it reaches that point, transfer everything to a casserole dish.  Top with dollops of sour cream and cream cheese.  I'm also going to suggest not baking it uncovered as I did, but covering it and baking about 10 minutes, then uncovering it and baking it 5-10 minutes longer, or until lightly browned in places.