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1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
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2. Sweat the onions, garlic and butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, until the onions are translucent.
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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.
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4. In the meantime, into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8-inch baking dish, add the rice (do not rinse the rice), broccoli and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese (the other 1/2 cup will be used later).
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5. Pour the hot liquid over the casserole and gently stir, being sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.
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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.
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7. In a small bowl combine the cracker crumbs and the remaining 1/2 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.
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8. Return the casserole to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes; until the rice has cooked and absorbed the liquid.
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9. Then remove it from the oven and allow the casserole to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
