Broccoli Cheese and Rice Casserole

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Sweat the onions, garlic and butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, until the onions are translucent.
3. Then add the water, milk, salt and pepper to the saucepan with the onions. Heat it until it comes to a simmer, but don’t boil it.
4. In the meantime, into the bottom of an ungreased 8×8-inch baking dish, add the rice (do not rinse the rice), broccoli and 1 ½ cups of the cheese (the other ½ cup will be used later).
5. Pour the hot liquid over the casserole and gently stir, being sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.
6. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan, just in case the liquid boils over. Place the casserole (on top of the sheet pan) in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. In a small bowl combine the cracker crumbs and the remaining ½ cup of cheese. After 20 minutes of bake time, remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle the cracker mixture evenly over the top of the casserole.
8. Return the casserole to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes; until the rice has cooked and absorbed the liquid.
9. Then remove it from the oven and allow the casserole to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.