A New Thanksgiving Tradition

This Thanksgiving was the first major holiday I've ever spent away from my immediate family, and it was harder than I thought.  I mean, I cried before we even left the house...go figure.  I wanted to drive home and spend the day with my family but holidays are something we'll have to split now, and at least we get Christmas (regularly, fingers crossed).  Jon's family made me feel at home, but it wasn't the same without my mom's deviled eggs...

So in memory of my late Mamaw Josie, and in hopes of taking a piece of home to the Beckwith Thanksgiving table, I made a homemade version of her broccoli rice casserole.  Instead of the canned soup, processed cheese, and frozen veggies, I opted for a homemade version, found here!  She gives microwave instructions as well, but I went all-stovetop since we don't use the microwave very much.

I actually used 3 stalks of celery, a full cup of chopped mushrooms, and always extra fresh chopped garlic!  Once it was all mixed, I transferred to my casserole dish, let it cool, placed it in the fridge.  On Thanksgiving day, I topped it with shredded cheddar cheese and heated at 350 F until bubbly, right before serving.

A view of our Thanksgiving spread, and my casserole on the bottom left corner of the table.  My casserole was a hit!

The recipe was mostly gluten-free aside from the tablespoon of flour, so my mother-in-law especially enjoyed it.  We had lots to give thanks for this year...especially being made so welcome at a new Thanksgiving table with my in-laws.

P.S. Jon and the kitties were busy cheering on napping through the Hokies vs. Syracuse basketball game while I was slaving in the kitchen.