Recipe Review: Whole Foods Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole

Happy Sunday! I'm not watching Revenge, I don't really care about the SAG awards, or the Pro Bowl... and Downton Abbey is over. So here we are. Bridesmaids is on HBO and I'm blogging about food during that scene... you know the one. Maybe not the best for blogging about food. I'm a trooper though, and I had a great weekend, so let's do this.

This is what I say to myself when I try to budget.

 I have been craving broccoli, rice & cheese casserole, BUT almost every recipe you look for calls for processed cheese. Processed cheese is a cheese product made from regular cheese, and almost always with the addition of whey, emulsifiers, milk, salts, preservatives, and food coloring. We are all familiar with processed cheese (also called "Cheese Product", "Cheese Food", "Process Cheese", and "prepared cheese" since it can't legally be called "cheese".) I downed Kraft Singles as a kid and I'm not sure if I know of a way to make queso that doesn't involve velvetta. Both of these are "Cheese Food." Am I against cheese food? No. But if I can find an alternative to it, I prefer to use that. Then I'll save all of my processed cheese points for when someone wants to make crock pot queso. To be honest, the more processed something is, the less I want to eat it. If there is an alternative that is closer to the actual ingredients, go for that. For more info on the ingredient list for Kraft Singles, see this little blurb from Fooducate.

I did a little google search for "Broccoli cheese casserole without processed cheese" and a few different recipes popped up. One from Whole Foods seemed pretty easy to follow with ingredients I had on hand. As much as I tried not to, I made a few changes to the recipe as I went along. The Whole Foods recipe had 3/5 stars so I figured maybe I should see what could be done. 

The recipe started with toasting a cup of jasmine rice in a pot with a little bit of EV Olive Oil.Then you add in water & salt, bring it to a boil and let it do it's magical rice thing. I like to usually make my rice with chicken stock instead of water, but I didn't have any. After I added in the water I stirred in a teaspoon of better than bouillon chicken to give it a bit of flavor. Before I forget, preheat the oven to 350.

Rice Toasting

Bouillon Stirring

Ready Rice!

 Next I used my fancy little slap chop to make some finely chopped onions. L really enjoyed this whole process and asked for a repeat well after the onion was chopped. Kids. Then I sauteed the onions in a pan with EV Olive Oil.

Props to that Pampered Chef party in 2005. The Slap Chop is still going strong.

Sauteed

 I already had my broccoli prepped and my onions cooked much faster than I anticipated (thanks to all of that slap chopping) so I threw in the broccoli after only a couple of minutes.

2.5 C of Broccoli

Toss the Broccoli in with the onions.

 I looked and looked for a non condensed Cream of Mushroom soup. I found a "Semi Condensed" version and it was better than fully condensed so I went with it.

 I added the rice into the onion and broccoli mixture, followed by the soup, salt, fresh ground pepper, and a teaspoon of garlic powder. The garlic powder is not on the original recipe. 

Last I added the cheese. I probably did 3/4 cups instead of 1/2 cup. It's cheese. I was not having the processed version so I added a little in.

Extreme Close Up

 Because the soup was semi condensed, I added in about 2 tablespoons of water to the bottom of the pan. The casserole was supposed to be "Bubbly" when it was ready and there was not going to be any bubbly at this point. I poured the water in at the corners so it would seep underneath and not screw with the top of the casserole. Tips to live by. 

Casserole in pan

Sprinkled with cheese

In the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

 Then it was done. We had it for dinner tonight with some rotisserie chicken. I thought it was really good. It definitely hit the spot where my craving was concerned, but was not the exact same flavor. Was it something that left me speechless? No. But I would say for a healthier version of a very sinful treat, it was really good. Probably a 4/5 stars. I used Sharp Cheddar instead of regular, because I prefer the extra bit of flavor. Here's an extreme cheese closeup of the finished product.

YUMMMMMM

Full pan casserole pornography.

Like I said, this was a great healthier version of one of my favorite casserole treats. I will definitely make it again. S really liked it too. It was quick, the ingredients are inexpensive, and it was easy. Next time I might try to see if I can do a version with brown rice and make it even a little bit more better for you (and me). I'll report back when I get motivated.

Dinner tomorrow: Rosemary Lobster Tails. We've been there before. I'm excited to go there again. Maybe a side of Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole. The possibilities are endless!

- RT

Whole Foods Broccoli, Rice and Cheese Casserole
(can be made Gluten Free, Wheat Free, and Vegetarian) - I did none of that.This is the original recipe. I added in the Chicken Bouillon, Garlic Powder, and used Sharp Cheddar Cheese. All of that is included above.

Ingredients: 

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
• Salt to taste
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 (15 ounce) can regular or gluten-free ready-to-eat (not condensed) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Method: 

Grease a 7- x 11-inch baking dish with olive oil cooking spray; set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until translucent and toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Set pot aside off of the heat for 5 minutes, then uncover, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add cooked rice, then stir in soup, 1/2 cup of the cheese, salt and pepper.

Transfer rice mixture to prepared baking dish and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over the top. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

 

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:230 calories (120 from fat), 13g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 20mg cholesterol, 680mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 8g protein

Special Diets: 

• Gluten Free
• Vegetarian
• Sugar Conscious
• Wheat Free

Can You Boil Water??

Great! Good job. That means you are well armed for winter cooking. A lot of cooking intimidation comes from not knowing how easy it really is to make something delicious and healthy. My favorite things to eat in the wintertime are made in pots on the stove. Basically, you are boiling water and just throwing things in the pot. Today I'm going to talk about HEALTHY comfort food. Food that makes you feel warm and full, but is great for you and the whole family will love it. One of my personal favorites: Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Soup. 

My cooking adventures began with a last minute decision to try out the new Trader Joe's. I have heard ALL about Trader Joe's from my friends on both coasts, but I forgot that the new Houston location had opened until my Aunt was talking about it on Saturday. I will definitely go back, but I feel that it is a store that is best taken advantage of with a game plan. I had no idea what I was walking into. BUT I have good first impressions. They really do have amazing prices, especially on their organic produce and their flash frozen fish. Cons: I like having a butcher and a seafood monger. Call me old fashioned, I like to interact with people at the store. The staff was super friendly, and the people shopping there were as well, despite the fact that it was SO crowded and everyone was kind of stalled by people just coming in to visit and not shop. I digress... 

Step one in my Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Soup starts the night before. I picked up a big, fat organic boiler to... well to boil. Here is some very important advice if you ever cook with a whole chicken or turkey or any sort of fowl... there is usually a package stuffed inside with the neck and  some organs (liver almost always, heart sometimes). Listen up: TAKE THIS OUT BEFORE YOU COOK THE CHICKEN. 

Ma Trader Joe's Chicken.. Great price for an organic chicken that is this big.

Reach up in that chicken and pull out that packet o' neck and such.

 I took my chicken and rinsed it under some water. Chicken skin really weirds me out for some reason. Just wanted to throw that in there. Then put your chicken in a tall pot and cover it with water. 

Chicken funeral

I figure you know what boiling water looks like. I brought the water to boil and then kept it on somewhat of a low rolling boil, mostly covered, for about 45 minutes. Then I turned off the stove, closed the lid on the top and let the pot come to room temp. THEN I put the whole pot in the refrigerator and didn't look at it again until this morning. This is a weird step, but it helps make this soup much more healthy. You could easily buy a package of chicken breasts and some boxed chicken broth and make a really great soup, but nothing tastes like the broth that comes from boiling a whole chicken. You just have to take an extra step. The next day when you remove your pot from the fridge, a nice layer of fat will have floated to the top and solidified. Get out a skimming spoon and remove it. Toss it out. You won't miss it. Get ready.... this is my Oprah Wagon of Fat moment.

Solid Fat

Once you see this, you won't want to eat it. Especially once you see it in person.

So after I skimmed the fat I removed the chicken and put it on a plate (to be molested at a later date.) When you do this your broth drops down to an alarming level, but don't sweat it. You are about to add TONS of things to the pot, and you won't know if you need add water until you are done adding everything back in. I put the pot with the broth on the stove and turned the heat on medium. Then I got to chopping.

About 3 cups of celery and 3 cups of carrots.

Three zucchini

One VERY large yellow onion. If you have small or medium onions use two.

The carrots went in first, then the celery. I added a couple of teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon for some added flavor and then added in the onion (cut into large chunks) and a cup and a half to two cups of brown and wild rice. I had some leftover so I just dumped the rest in.

Great find courtesy of Mama RT.

While all of that was cooking on a nice low boil with the top of the pot partially covered to keep all of that delicious broth from cooking off, I started my least favorite task.... chicken mutilation. Chicken skin is just.... gross. Unless it's fried, then it's completely fine. Even better than fine. But we are being healthy here, so it has to go. I didn't shred the chicken, because I like getting a good bite of chicken in my soup. I just took it all off of the bone and made sure it was in manageable pieces. I got elbow deep in chicken goo, but I made it through. 

Some chicken goo got on my iphone lens so we've got fuzzy chicken pieces.

Veggies and rice living a happy life.

 I had the veggies and rice on the same low boil for about 30 - 40 minutes and then added the chicken back in and let it boil 10 more minutes. Then I took out a scoop and made sure the veggies were tender and the rice was cooked (they were and it was) then covered the pot and turned the heat off. I don't salt my chicken soup while it cooks just because sometimes I don't want the extra salt and I don't miss it. With something like this people can always salt their bowls to their taste. Easy.  

It was a big hit with Landon, who loved the carrots most of all, but ate all of the veggies and the rice. Right now she is only eating chicken when it's part of Brown Bag Deli chicken salad. I take what I can get. Here is a finished bowl... the one I had for dinner tonight:

MmmmmMMMmmmMMmmmm

Here is the great part: it's filling, it's warm, it tastes amazing and it's just chicken, fresh veggies, brown and wild rice, and a couple of scoops of bouillon. You can add whatever veggies you want. Sometimes I love to take out the zucchini and throw in some broccoli for a little crunch. It's also very easy. If you boil the chicken the night before (so you can scoop off the yucky wagon of fat) all you do the day of is chop, add, molest a chicken, and heat for 45 ish minutes. Really you are just boiling water and taking things in and out. YOU can do this. I know you. It is so possible. 

-RT