Broccoli Casserole

Growing up, one of our holiday dishes was my mom's broccoli casserole. The casserole only made an appearance once a year at our Thanksgiving meal. I assumed my mom avoided it because it was difficult to make. Then she sent me the recipe: frozen broccoli, a can of this, a can of that and Velveeta cheese. Nope, not bad at all! Of course, I don't really do "canned" anything so I "fixed" it.

I decided to leave in the Velveeta cheese. After thirty plus years of eating this casserole, I have definite opinions as to how it should taste and part of that expectation is Velveeta cheese. But, I will probably play around with it later and try out cheddar cheese and brown rice to make it even healthier.

Mom's Broccoli Casserole
1 small onion, diced
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons four
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup evaporated milk (or 6 Tablespoons dried milk and 1/3 cup water)
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, diced
1 cup cooked rice
2, 10 oz bags of frozen chopped broccoli
Cracker crumbs (about 1-2 cups, usually Ritz-type)

Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Add onion and cook until translucent. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and then stock, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Stir in melted butter and evaporated milk. Add in Velveeta cheese and stir until melted. Stir in rice and broccoli. Stir to combine.

(If making prior to cooking, put in to a gallon bag and freeze. Thaw before proceeding.)

Put mixture in to a 2 quart baking dish. Top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.