Tuesdays Main Meals: Brown Rice Casserole with Leftover Meat

Got this recipe from my dear friend Miss Words as I call her and as I had a few left-over meats I decided to try it out. When she first told me about the recipe I was all excited about it as not only did it sound good but I love recipes to get rid of leftovers.



Then as I was making it I was hmmm... this does not look so good. I usually like a meal that has color and this was look blahh... light brown, brown, cream, off white... Well I had started it and I had nothing else planned for dinner and there was no way I was about to throw away a perfectly good dinner so I kept on going. Once it came out of the oven, I was hmmmm... It DOES smell good.



As we sat at the table and everyone was served we started digging into the food. My teen started by saying she was not very hungry, not sure if it was true of she thought she would not like the meal. Well she ended up having two servings. I too had two and same with my husband. The toddler was acting up, a little tired already and took forever to have her first bite. She finally did and liked it. So final thoughts? Even though this recipe will not go down in history as one of our absolutely favorite recipes, I will certainly make it again when I have meat leftovers. I was actually amazed that the sausages turned out much less dry then they were and the overall taste was quite good!

INGREDIENTS2 cups cooked Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, one packet

16 oz. mushrooms, washed, thickly sliced, slices cut in half, you can buy them like this

3 tbsp of butter

1 onion, diced into small pieces

2 cups diced leftover meat (I used leftover brats and italian sausages)

1/2 cup stock or broth (I used beef)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup coarsely grated strong cheese: Parmesan, Asiago, Romano or Pepper Jack

1 cup grated low-fat cheese

DIRECTIONSCook brown rice following package directions
Preheat oven to 375F
Wash mushrooms and cut mushrooms into thick slices, then cut slices in half
Heat a hunk of butter in heavy non-stick pan and saute onions until they begin to soften
While that's cooking, cut up the meat and throw it in the pan (you may need to add more butter)
Last, add the mushrooms and stir a little
They'll begin to brown
Turn down the heat
Add the cooked rice
Get a small bowl and whisk together sour cream and broth, then stir in the strong cheese
Gently stir the sour cream mixture into the rice mixture
Spray a flat 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray
Spoon mixture into the casserole and press down to evenly distribute
Bake 25 minutes, or until casserole is slightly bubbling and barely starting to brown
Sprinkle with a cup of grated cheese and broil in low for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly brown
Serve immediately