Mimi’s Broccoli-Cheese Casserole
Creamy, cheesy, broccoli deliciousness (with a gluten-free option) that keeps the family coming home for Thanksgiving.
Confession: I edit and tweaked some parts of this recipe.
What do I do differently?
Rice--I use long grain brown rice instead of white Comet rice. I always cook my rice in chicken broth instead of water. I use the same proportions and my mom (1 C rice to 2 C water/broth). I follow Mama's directions re: order for mixing in the ingredients, so they will be evenly distributed and not clumpy.
Broccoli--I've used chopped, frozen boxed. I've used chopped, fresh steamed. As long as you cook (but not kill) the broccoli and remember to drain it, your recipe should turn out just dandy.
Cheese--I've used Cheez Whiz. I've used Velveeta. I wish I knew of a less processed version of cheesy deliciousness for this recipe, but have not found one. Let me know if you have a recommendation!
Cream of Mushroom soup--I'm trying to move away from overprocessed, additive- and preservative-rich, conventional canned goods as much as possible. Plus, some of our family members eat gluten-free and I needed an alternative. So . . . I searched for a recipe on Allrecipes.com and found this one by Karena: Cream of Mushroom Soup.
My tweak: I substituted gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour. I was happy with the overall taste. Of course this added extra work (love) and time to my Thanksgiving cooking production. BUT I was able to make gluten-free Broccoli-Cheese Casserole for my family. As if that wasn't reward enough, I had plenty of extra soup to freeze and use at a later date. As a bonus, I thought the homemade soup added more depth, enhancing the already yumminess of this (Moore) classic Thanksgiving dish.
Delicious reheated again and again. Good till the last bite (and hopefully not too soon!).
