![cheez whiz broccoli rice casserole cheez whiz broccoli rice casserole](https://s3.amazonaws.com/supercook-thumbs/5cdb60758b373717e86911dc.jpg)
While the broccoli was draining, I heated the cream of mushroom soup and Velveeta cheese in a large saucepan over medium heat until the cheese melted. I think that broccoli is best when it’s crisp tender. The reason for the minimal cooking of the broccoli at this point is that I can’t stand broccoli when it’s overcooked. Then, I rinsed it with cold water to stop the cooking, and let it drain. As soon as the water started boiling again, I poured the broccoli into a colander. To start, I added the broccoli florets to a pan of salted boiling water. However, I’ve found that using regular cooked long-grain rice works just as well with no changes in the other ingredients. I still use 16 ounces, which means that I need to purchase two packages and use part of one to equal 16 ounces! Now, all that I can find is 12 ounce packages. When I first started making this amazing casserole, I could purchase the frozen broccoli in 16 ounce packages. For the broccoli florets, I made sure that they were actually florets and not just the tough stalks! I used the following ingredients for this delicious casserole: Frozen broccoli florets, cream of mushroom soup, Velveeta cheese, cooked long-grain rice, Cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs and unsalted butter. The casserole was filled with tough chewy pieces of broccoli stalks that just weren’t very appealing. One time, I made the mistake of using frozen broccoli pieces as opposed to the broccoli florets. Frozen broccoli pieces include some of the tender florets and a lot of the more fibrous stalks. The broccoli florets are just that – they are the tender dark green clumps at the end of the broccoli stalks. However, there is a huge difference between using broccoli florets and broccoli pieces. In addition, the frozen broccoli is already cut up and ready to use.
![cheez whiz broccoli rice casserole cheez whiz broccoli rice casserole](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VpX57JBwJoE/TqRZSsRtSzI/AAAAAAAAAU8/fqg4T1GeyjU/s1600/brocolli-425px-web.jpg)
While fresh broccoli would work, I like the consistency and tenderness that frozen broccoli provides. I also use frozen broccoli florets as opposed to fresh broccoli.