Broccolette for Dinner and Le Creuset Giveaway

Thanks to Earthbound Farm and Le Creuset for teaming up with me for this healthy dinner and special giveaway!

“Mom, what is broccolette?” My daughter asked me this when she heard me talking about making it for dinner. She’s a little leery of vegetables that are new. Most kids are, aren’t they? Actually, sometimes grown-ups are, too. We all need a little convincing to eat something new. When I explained that broccolette was like broccoli only more tender and taller, she seemed agreeable.

Earthbound Farm Broccolette really is tastier and more tender than broccoli. It’s actually a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale. Its flavor resembles asparagus – although the ends of the broccolette aren’t chewy like the ends of asparagus can be – when using the entire stalk.

Earthbound Farm Broccolette is also different from regular broccoli because it’s organic and grown by one of my favorite brands. Earthbound Farm’s standards for being kind to the earth, their employees, and the consumer are second to none. Just look for their purple tag like I do!

Remember when I visited Earthbound Farm last year? All of the bloggers present held a bunch of Earthbound Farm Broccolette – and pretended we were holding bouquets of flowers! They’re like bouquets – but rather than flowers, healthy and edible. Well, I guess some flowers are edible but not the entire bouquet.

For this recipe, you can use every part of the broccolette – stems, leaves, and tops. There’s no waste and nothing to discard or compost. Treat the broccolette stems like onions and chop them up and sauté with onions. They’ll end up just right – not mushy like I used to do when my cooking skills involved steaming vegetables to death! The broccolette is left with a nice amount of bite.

While we’re not vegetarians, I do try to make plenty of meat-free, vegetable, and plant-based meals. How do I trick my family? How do I get my meat loving family to devour a vegetarian dinner that leaves them saying, “Wow, that was really good. Is there any more?” The answer,  my friends, is mushrooms. Mushrooms are my secret ingredient that act like meat. Here’s the trick: don’t slice them – chop them up nice and small so they blend in – and act like meat. Sliced mushrooms can be too obvious. Chopped up, no one notices them.

This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Yes, it’s true, anyone can it eat!

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Now, onto the pan. When Le Creuset wanted to know which of their pans I’d like to cook a recipe with, I chose this one. With tall sides and lidded, it’s not like any pans that I own already. We usually cook everything in cast iron – which I absolutely love – so I wasn’t sure how this pan would compare.

This pan retains the heat as well as a cast iron pan and because it holds the heat so well, you can cook at a lower temperature. Everything in this recipe was cooked on medium to low. No need for getting the pan to “smoking hot” with this one. Since cooking this meal, we’ve used the pan to make spaghetti sauce, tomato soup, and mashed potatoes. It’s surprising how much it holds – and the entire thing can go directly into the oven. It’s also easy to clean up – find out how we clean pots and pans at our house – plus, it’s so shiny!

Le Creuset is giving away one of these 3.5 Quart Saucier Pans with lid to one lucky Go Gingham reader! To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below and tell me what’s the first vegetable you’ll cook in this pan!

Details, details, details….

The contest has ended but you can still make the recipe.

By leaving a comment below to enter, you agree to the Official Rules:

• There is no purchase necessary, this is void where prohibited and you must be over the age of 18.
• This contest is open to U.S. residents only – sorry international readers
• The contest starts today and ends December 17, 2014 at 1:00pm PST
• The retail value of the pan is $250.00
• The winner will be chosen by random number generator. Each comment listed below has a unique number.
• You may enter 5 times – with one comment by answering the question below and by sharing this on social media. If you share it on Facebook, Google+, Twitter or Instagram, you must leave a comment below telling me that you did so. In other words, if you share it on all of those channels, that’s great and thank you, but to track your numbered comment below, you must add a comment telling me that you did it.
• The prize is being delivered directly to the winner from Le Creuset. If you haven’t received the prize within three weeks of winning, please let me know.

Want to increase your chances of winning some of this gorgeous cookware? Head over to Earthbound Farm’s Facebook Page – beginning today through December 17, 2014, they’re giving away lots of Le Creuset prizes, Earthbound Farm cookbooks and coupons for Earthbound Farm product! You could win…

• The grand prize: 5 Piece Stainless Steel Set – $550 + cookbook library + product coupons
• Second Place: 3 QT Saute Pan – $200 + cookbook library + product coupons
• Third Place: 2 QT Sauce Pan – $160 + cookbook library + product coupons

Good luck! Here’s your question to answer below…

What’s the first vegetable you’ll cook in this pan?

Go Gingham related links:

Why I cook with dried beans – complete with money saving chart!
Very easy and tasty white bean dip
Vegetarian chili made with dried beans – of course!
Corn and black bean salad – made with dried beans
Spicy hummus – yes, spicy and made from dried beans!

Thank you to Earthbound Farm and Le Creuset for helping me share this post and giveaway. Thank you for supporting brands that help support Go Gingham. As if there were any question, all opinions are my own.