mmm.... cheesy rice

I found this recipe while searching the internet for meatless meals I could make in my Crock Pot:

Wild Rice Casserole:

Ingredients


2 onions, finely chopped
3 celery, thinly sliced
2 (6 ounce) packages dry instant long grain and wild rice mix
2 1/2 cups water
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup butter
1/2 pound processed American cheese
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Directions

1.In a slow cooker, place onions, celery, rice mix, water, condensed cream of mushroom soup, butter, American cheese and mushrooms. Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 10 hours or on High 2 to 4 hours.
 
Holy crap. Sounds like a delicious, fattening, comfort food. Let's try it.
 
Onions and celery are excellent. Keep the onions (they are full of vitamin C and antioxidants), and throw in a couple more stalks of celery for added vitamin K and fiber. Don't stop at 1/2 cup of mushrooms, either. Use a whole 8oz package. We want mushroom to be the predominate flavor in this dish, not butter and cheese!Wild rice is a good whole grain, so don't mess it up by combining it with refined white rice which has little nutritional value. Luckily, whole grains are more widely available than ever before and I was able to find packages of brown and wild rice mix which are a much better choice.
 
Now for the soup... find the least offensive condensed soup you possibly can. Low fat, lower sodium, no MSG, etc. I would suggest making your own sauce but that would ruin the point of a crock pot dish, so nevermind.
 
Ok, butter. Tell me exactly what purpose you have in this dish. Are you browning vegetables to help them carmelize and bring out their flavor? Are you contributing to structure? Texture? No, you are not. You have no point except to add 800 CALORIES and 90 GRAMS of FAT to this dish. It's pointless and you must leave it out completely.
 
As for the cheese, it does have the purpose of adding some flavor. However, you can do better than processed "cheese".  Switch to an extra sharp cheddar, where a little will go a long way due to the intense flavor. Try adding 4oz of shredded cheddar at the end of the cooking process and you will save 289 calories and 18 grams of fat, not to mention a bunch of strange additives that usually are found in imitation cheese.
 
Now enjoy your made-over, much-improved comfort food- it's delicious and still super easy.