Great recipe but way more work than needed. I cut up the velveeta into chunks and placed them in my casserole dish. Then I poured in the two cans of soup and 3/4 c. milk. I put the casserole dish in the oven at 350 and let the cheese melt. Once it was melted, I took the casserole dish out of the oven, stirred the contents until well mixed and added the rice, broccoli, and chopped onion..I omitted the celery. I cooked it for about 30 minutes on 350. It was a big hit.
For those complaining that this is bland, 1) IT'S BROCCOLI CHEESE CASSEROLE...not meant to be a symphony of flavors; 2) You see the ingredients. Anyone with half a brain can tell it's going to be bland and anyone with the other half would throw some garlic and/or spices in. There's no excuse for being surprised that it's bland. For those saying this is unsophisticated: IT'S BROCCOLI CHEESE CASSEROLE. Get off your high horse.
Fact is that this is a perfect no-frills recipe that is perfect as-is or dolled up. You can sub wild rice or real cheddar (as I did), add spices, etc. It's a blank canvas; you bring the paint.
I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before trying this dish! My mom and husband are veteran broccoli rice casserole lovers and thought this dish was exactly like it should be. It is a bland dish but that's what broccoli rice casseroles are. The only alteration I made was using milk instead of water and it turned out exactly as it should have. I, too, thought it was a bit runny before baking but Mom said, "it will bake fine," and it did. Personally, I like a more flavorful dish so next time, I will add seasoned salt and maybe some garlic. More traditional broccoli rice casserole lovers will want this recipe as is, though!
Mama
If yours turned out mushy or runny it is because 15 minutes is definitely not long enough to cook it. It is a typo and should read 45 minutes. The correct cook time is noted at the top (Cook Time: 45 Minutes).
Despite several decidedly strident reviews and two rather horrific admissions of forcing the casserole down the throats of family members and threatening an 8 year old child, I still felt this recipe had promise and gave it a try.
It turned out to be a marvelous, homey side dish. I found it easy to prepare and only used two large pots for the preparation and I even doubled the recipe as I was making it for a church function. For those not cooking for a crowd or the starting line up of a professional football team, you will probably want to cut this recipe in half.
I did find the directions to be a little vague. It should have specified that the rice measurement listed was uncooked and will yield 6 cups when prepared. Also the recipe calls for a "bunch" of celery, it should be one stalk, if an entire bunch were used the casserole would be inedible.
The only real change I made was to top the dish with shredded cheddar. I live in the South and a casserole isn't a casserole without a crumb or cheese topping.
This is a recipe that I will definitely make again.
I prepared this recipe specifically because someone commented that it wasn't for the "sophisticated palate". As someone with a sophisticated palate but with a decidedly un-sophisticated budget, I found this recipe to be delicious, easy and worthy of making again. I hope the "sophisticated" person enjoys her lobsters and golf outings and leaves wonderful recipes like this one to those with "taste". :)
I didn't quite understand the reason for all the water and actually didn't use any of it nor did I use the processed cheese. Instead I added the soups right from the cans along with shredded cheddar directly into the rice mixture and gradually added some milk and stirred until it reached a consistancy I was happy with. Along with some seasonings this dish was really good.
I didn't plan on altering this recipe when I decided to make it... But after reading a lot of the reviews I was concerned that the finished product would be bland. So I added fresh minced garlic seasoning salt & paprika. I used 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken & Mushroom (I wasn't even aware that it existed until today! lol) & 1 can of Campbell's Broccoli & Cheese Soup (Next time I'm going to try Cream of Broccoli in place of). In place of the water I used milk. I omitted the celery. And I used 2 pkgs. of 16 oz. frozen broccoli. I sauteed the onion in the butter & in the same pan (on low heat setting after the onion was cooked); Then added the soups milk & seasonings & mixed all together next the cubed velveta stirring until it was all melted I added the dry uncooked rice & broccoli (I heated in the microwave for about 10 min. to soften). Made sure it was all mixed together the put it in the bakind pan (COVERED) for 45 min. Uncovered it & baked additional 10-15 min. My husband loved it! I know a lot of people are against changing the recipe & reviewing it. But I think reviews have a lot to do with sharing tips shortcuts & tweaks to help other cooks & ultimately make the dish even better. What I really like about this recipe is there is a lot of different ways to put this together & you can tweak it & make it your own easily!
Even Mexican-style processed cheese for a little kick and fresh broccoli didn't redeem this bland boring and uninspired dish. Definitely not for the sophisticated palate so it might just be a real kid pleaser or for those placed on a soft and bland diet (in which case stick to the plain cheese). Hubby and I would have much preferred a simple steamed broccoli and a basic rice pilaf. Lots of bother for an unmemorable side dish.
