Broccoli Cheese Rice

This is an old recipe. I’m not trying to kid anyone about how long it’s been around or even if it’s changed, but there are some dishes that are good and are hard to improve upon.

I’ve probably been making this dish for 25 years and I never tire of it. I’ve added a tiny bit of personal twist to it but it’s basically the same as when I first was introduced to it. This is a dish that my family, for some weird reason, reserves for the holidays, as in Thanksgiving and Christmas. With those two holidays being 6 weeks apart, it leaves the rest of the year with a gaping hole. I like to make it a few times throughout the year, just because I like the blend of cheese, rice and broccoli. So do my beautiful daughters.

I believe the original recipe calls for Minute Rice, and I used it for many years until my dad gave me a rice cooker and I’ve never looked back. When my girls were small and time was a factor in making a meal, Minute Rice was a life saver and a standard staple. Now that I have the little bit of extra time to flawlessly boil rice, I prefer the “real” deal.

Cook your rice, or Minute Rice, first, so it will be ready when you need it. I only made half of this recipe.

Chop the celery and onion.

Melt butter in a large sauce pan and saute the celery and onion on low until softened, about 15 minutes. You don’t want the vegetables to be burned or crispy, but gently sauteed. 

While the veggies are sautéing, take a package of frozen chopped broccoli and put it in a bowl with a few tablespoons of water. Microwave, covered with either plastic wrap or a paper towel, for about 5-7 minutes on high.

This part is where I veer from the original recipe, just a hair. After the broccoli is thoroughly warmed, drain any remaining water, I put it in my food processor and pulse it a few times until the really big chunks are small. I love broccoli, cooked or raw, but I don’t care for huge globs in this dish. So, I pulse a few times to get the pieces down to about the size of a nickel or dime. 

Here’s another minor deviation. It’s not a big deal and I don’t know why I feel the need to make a recipe uniquely my own, but I do. So...I put the chopped up chopped broccoli in with the celery and onions for the last 5 minutes of sautéing. To me, all the ingredients in this recipe need to be completely cooked and smooth when served. Crunchy vegetables in a salad is good, in this dish, not so good.

Next, use a butter knife to cut off bits of velveeta, to make it easier to melt and spread throughout this gorgeous dish. 

Add the rice to the pan.

The original recipe calls for a can of cream of chicken soup. I like it this way, but I experimented with different cream soups and found the best one to be cream of celery. Cream of broccoli would be good, too. Add this and a little bit of milk to the pan. You want this to look a little runny, but after it cooks all the liquid will be absorbed. Mix this together.

Pour this blend of bliss in a casserole dish.

Cook for 30 minutes on 350. Another plus to this recipe is that you can make this a day in advance and then throw it in the oven 30 minutes before you need it.

I like to stir it after it comes out of the oven so I can make sure the cheese is distributed. I probably use more velveeta than the recipe calls for, but cheese has such great milk value that I justify the addition for the calcium benefits. See, you can make anything work for you.

I used to think it was strange that this recipe doesn’t call for any seasoning, not even salt or pepper, but I think you can make it anyway you want. You could easily add mushrooms to it and add cream of mushroom soup. You could saute jalapenos, but I’ve usually thought of this dish as mellow and not something spicy, but you could. You could omit the celery and onion and use celery salt and onion powder. Why not onion salt? You get it too salty. The soup will have more sodium in it than you think. That’s why sometimes it’s better to use garlic powder than garlic salt. Which brings me to garlic. You could saute it or use the salt or powder form. You could add cauliflower or carrots. You can make this simple but excellent dish any way you see fit, but as always, try the original before making changes and substitutions.  You’re the one in charge. Take this recipe and make it your own. That’s the beauty of cooking at home-you make it the way you want it.

Let me know how you like it or how you changed it. I’m always interested in improving.

Happy Cooking!

Broccoli Cheese Rice

1 Cup Chopped onion and celery

2 Tablespoon Butter

2 Cup rice

10-0z Frozen broccoli

8-10 oz Velveeta cheese

1 can Cream of Celery Soup

1/4 Cup Milk

In a large sauce pan melt the butter and saute the onion and celery. Cook the rice in a rice cooker or make Minute Rice.

Defrost the broccoli in the microwave and then chop in a food processor for a few pulses.

After the vegetables are sauteed, add the broccoli, chunked up Velveeta, cooked rice and milk.

Pour the mixture in a 13X9 pan.

Bake at 350, uncovered, for 30 minutes.