Check out what my pal Audrey from Melady Cooks had to say about this wonderful recipe:
I modified the recipe I started with by melting the second stick of butter, cubing the Velveeta, and stirring it in a pan until it is melted. Originally you just cubed the cheese and stirred it into the casserole. I ended up stirring it several times as it baked so that I didn’t end up with cheesy pockets. I liked a more uniform blend of cheese, rice, crackers, and broccoli. Melting the cheese before mixing seemed a wise move.
I mean, I don’t know if I’d be all that upset by cheese pockets LOL!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Uncle Ben’s cooked rice (1 cup long grain rice cooked in 2 cups water)
1/2 teaspoon Morton salt
2 sticks margarine; divided
1/2 cup onion; chopped
1 lb broccoli; cut into florets
1 can Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup
1 lb Velveeta; cubed
1 package ritz crackers; crushed (one sleeve or stack or whatever you call it, not the whole box!)
Instructions
Put 2 cups of cold water, 1 cup of long grain rice (not Minute rice) and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a small pan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to lowest setting, cover and set your timer for 15 minutes. When done, fluff with fork and pour into a large bowl. If you have more than 1 1 /2 cups rice, put it all in anyway. The recipe is very forgiving.
Cut broccoli into smaller florets and blanch in boiling water, then into cold water. Drain and add to large bowl.
Saute onion in 1 stick of margarine until translucent and tender. Add to bowl and return pan to heat.
Cube Velveeta into large chunks. Melt 1 stick of butter in pan and add Velveeta chunks, stirring often. It will stick and burn to the bottom of the pan if not closely watched!
Pour melted cheese mixture over ingredients in large bowl. Add canned soup to the bowl.
Break apart Ritz crackers into larger pieces, about 3-4 pieces per cracker. Add them to the large bowl of ingredients and mix well, spreading the cheese throughout the mixture.
Pour into a greased 13″ x 9″ dish. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, stirring halfway through baking. I bake it 1 1/2 hours because I double the recipe and like it browned more.
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Quick Tip: Serve with crusty French bread.
Thank you Melady Cooks for this great recipe.
I cook mine in one pot at one time. I salute the onions in a large sauce pan, then add 4 cups of water and broccoli. I then bring that to a boil and add 2 cups rice. When that comes to a boil, I cover and cut it down to low for 30 minutes. I then pour everything else into it to mix it. After all the cheese is melted. I pour it in a casserole dish. Using one pot is the way to go!