Broccoli Cheese Casserole

       After raising four children on a limited budget and later feeding 20 people on a monthly basis for the many birthdays and holidays throughout the year, my grandmother has never been afraid to use short cuts or cook from packaged ingredients. In the past few years, a favourite at holiday gatherings has been Broccoli Cheese casserole, which she has had to double, then triple to have enough to keep everyone happy. With frozen chopped broccoli, cream of mushroom soup, a jar of cheese whiz and minute rice you don't even have to cook ahead of time, this recipe is an excellent example of the labor saving recipes being hocked at housewives during the mid-century. 

     When shopping for the ingredients, we couldn't find any frozen chopped broccoli, so we had to chop some frozen florrets ourselves, which turned out better than I though it would. We mixed the jar of cheez whiz and mushroom soup with onions sauteed in a stick of butter, resulting in a mixture that conjured a unpleasant face from Gabby when she looked at it. After adding the chopped broccoli and raw minute rice, it just had to bake for 30 minutes and was ready. Even though it initially brought strange looks when it was in the goopy cheese soup stage, by the time it was done baking, it smelled like Thanksgiving and the entire casserole dish was eaten in two meals.