My Great Aunt's Broccoli Casserole Mixed With Leftovers Was A Hidious Meal

A most distasteful memory

The “Not on the menu” Vocal Challenge brought back the smell and taste of a hideous meal I hadn’t thought about in 50 years. I certainly hope this distasteful recipe would not be found on any restaurant menu.

I tried this meal for the first and last time in 1976 when I began my winter semester in college; My grandmother’s sister was the chef who suggested I stay with her to make it easier to attend classes.

We lived in the county, and my grandmother paid people to drive me to the city where I caught a downtown bus to school. I would ride the bus back downtown when classes were over, catch another one to the Greyhound station, and ride home.

Great Aunt Gladys said if I stayed with her I could catch a bus on the corner and ride directly to the Junior College. My Aunt was an excellent cook, and I loved her meals and desserts except for one.

Broccoli and whatever casserole

Whenever she fried chicken or baked a turkey, she also had broccoli. To keep from wasting food, she would make a casserole with whatever was leftover. I believe some foods are best eaten alone and not mixed with anything else.

The ingredients were always changing. One day it might be broccoli with rice pudding, peas, and mashed potatoes. The next time, chicken, carrots, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and rice might be in the casserole. She would also add bacon, eggs, or sausage leftovers from breakfast.

Some of these combinations of extras alone probably enhanced the flavor of the casserole, but all together the smell and taste were not to my liking. It reminded me of my grandma putting all the leftovers and scraps in the dog’s bowl.

A stomach-turning meal

When the casserole came out of the oven, it looked nasty and smelled bad, and knowing what was inside, turned my stomach. Many times I watched in fascination and horror as my Great Aunt Gladys concocted her brew. I would gag and leave the room.

She would simply dump whatever remained from breakfast and dinner into the casserole dish, singing church hymns along the way. This meal might also include crumbled rolls, biscuits or cornbread. Once I saw her include letover fish. She would add a little butter, water, and milk and stir.

My Auntie popped this dish into the oven, and when it came out, it would be dinner the following day. Out of respect, I never told my aunt I hated her casserole.

I would put the casserole on my plate, then throw it in the trash when she was not looking. Sometimes I allowed her Doberman, Runt, to eat from my plate, but there were days, depending on the ingredients, that he would sniff the plate and run away.

Smelling the casserole as it was cooking was difficult because I was a finicky eater, and the scent made me lose my appetite. Just thinking about this mixture turns my stomach today, five decades later.

No restaurant should serve this dish

I watched my Uncle James and my cousins eat the broccoli casserole and wondered if something were wrong with me, but my brothers did not enjoy this dish either when they visited our aunt and uncle.

I don’t know of any restaurant that would lump all the leftovers together and make a casserole. I feel certain that my Great Aunt’s recipe is not on any public eatery’s menu.

Ironically, today I enjoy broccoli mixed with veggies, cheese, and rice. The thought of combining these ingredients and everything left over from other meals in a casserole dish is a turnoff.

The smell and taste of my aunt’s concoction have scarred me for life. This meal should not be on the menu at any public or private eating spot.