Broccoli Rice Casserole

Broccoli Rice Casserole is a comforting side dish filled with broccoli, rice and cheese and is sure to please even the finicky eaters!

As I sit and write this I am looking at my two cats, Oscars and Olives taking an afternoon nap. Oh, the life a cat leads. On long days like today I envy them, wishing I could snuggle up and take a nap. Unfortunately, that won’t happen today.

I just got home from work (my paying job) and am sitting down to work on my blog (my non-paying job). Don’t get me wrong, I love working on the blog but some days after getting home from work my mind is a bit blank and creativity is hard to come by.

I am also busy canning cucumbers this week. I am making dill pickles and sweet pickle relish. I received the best cucumbers for pickling from The Berry Dairy, the perfect height for pint sized jars and very little seeds, two things I find very important when canning dill pickle spears and relish.

Broccoli Rice Casserole can easily be made gluten free if that is a diet you follow. The cheese sauce used in Broccoli Rice Casserole is extra special because it uses two kinds of cheese, gouda and cheddar cheese. To the cheese sauce you add sauteed broccoli & onion and cooked rice. The casserole is topped with more cheese and baked until its bubbly and brown.

Feel free to serve this dish along side some grilled chicken or pork chops.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Rating: 51

Yield: 6 Servings

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
3 ½ - 4 cups broccoli, chopped into small pieces
3 tbsp. water
1 ½ tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. gluten free flour, or regular flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup half & half
1 cup milk, I used skim
1 cup gouda cheese, divided
¾ cup cheddar cheese divided
1 cup rice, cooked

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the onion. Cook the onion for 6-8 minutes, until the onions turn translucent and start to brown.
Add the broccoli and water to the pan, cook another 5 minutes, until the broccoli turns a bright green. Put the broccoli mixture in a bowl and set aside.
Add the pan back on the burner and add the butter to melt. Lower the temperature to medium and whisk in the flour, let cook for 2-3 minutes, working any lumps out of the mixture. Let the mixture come to a boil and once it is thick, remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in ½ cup of the gouda cheese and ¼ cup of the cheddar cheese.
Stir in the broccoli mixture and the rice. Pour the casserole into a 2.5 quart baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
Cook for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese starts to turn brown. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.

http://www.lovefoodwillshare.com/broccoli-rice-casserole/