Broccoli Rice Casserole

 I made this recipe from the "Land O Lakes 75th Anniversary Cookbook" for lunch today, and added ham to make it a main dish as the recipe suggests.  We thought we would also like this without meat as a side dish for pork chops, ham steak, grilled beef or chicken.  I thought this would be an easy side dish for entertaining; everyone will like it and you can finish other preparations while this is baking.

Myrna says she can no longer find 10 ounce paper boxes of frozen vegetables; a convenient size for her family.  I shook mine out of a bulk bag, but I have to weigh it.  I agree that package sizes we used to use are often no longer available, making it harder to use older recipes.  I used thick white sauce** instead of mushroom soup (see below).

                       Broccoli Rice Casserole

  2       tablespoons  butter

     ½   cup  onion -- chopped

     ½   cup  celery -- chopped

  10    ounces  frozen broccoli -- chopped

  2      cups  cooked rice

  1      cup  cheddar cheese -- shredded

  1      can  cream of mushroom soup

Heat oven to 350°.  In 10" skillet, melt butter; add onion and celery.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally; until crisply tender (4 to 5 minutes).  Reduce heat to low, add broccoli.  Cover; continue cooking until broccoli is broken up (10 - 15 minutes.)  Stir in all remaining ingredients.  Pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until heated through.

If desired, ham or cooked chicken could be added to make this a main dish.  Use a 2 quart casserole.

6 Servings

Spring 2011 cost:  $ 3.28 or 55¢ per serving.

Per Serving: 376 Calories; 12g Fat (29.3% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 55g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 31mg Cholesterol; 352mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 3 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.

**3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour to one cup of milk will make a white sauce equal to 1 can of undiluted condensed soup.