Sausage and Broccoli Bake

Jack's garden operation grows more ambitious every year. The greenhouse, the market sales, the Farm Fund jar that now holds over three hundred dollars. He's 13 and he farms the way some kids play video games — obsessively, joyfully, with the deep understanding that this is not a hobby but a vocation wearing a hobby's clothes.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made cinnamon rolls extra frosting earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

Seed starting continues at the Holloway household — the windowsill green, the grow lights purple, the soil mix precise. The annual miracle of February and March: things grow even when everything says they shouldn't. The growing is the argument against everything.

The hotdish has its Thursday, and this kitchen keeps its rhythm — but not every meal needs to be a tradition to feel like one. After a week of seed trays on the windowsills and the purple glow of grow lights and a boy who farms like it’s a calling, I wanted something that felt as solid as the structure we rely on: a bubbling, savory bake that fills the house with warmth and asks very little in return. This Sausage and Broccoli Bake is that kind of meal — the kind that says the kitchen is steady, the kitchen provides, and everyone at the table knows it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot), casings removed
3 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Cook the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat and transfer sausage to a large mixing bowl.
Sauté the aromatics. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the diced onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add to the bowl with the sausage.
Blanch the broccoli. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli florets and cook for 2 minutes until just tender-crisp. Drain and add to the sausage mixture.
Make the sauce. To the bowl, add cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, milk, 3/4 cup of the cheddar, mozzarella, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine. Fold in the cooked rice.
Assemble and top. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheddar over the top.
Bake. Bake uncovered at 375°F for 30–35 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges are bubbling. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sausage and Broccoli Bake — The Kitchen That Holds Everything Together