January 10th: Cheesy Rice Casserole

I first made this cheesy rice casserole on New Year’s Day for supper. We flew back from Nova Scotia on New Year’s Eve and our flight was delayed 6 hours, so that by the time we landed, all the grocery stores were closed. Having been gone for a week and having just come through Christmas prior to the trip, there was limited selection in the food department at our house. Pulling out all the resources I could think of, I picked up a few basics at Shopper’s Drug Mart, then  defrosted hamburger meat and cooked up tacos with a taco kit I had in the cupboard. We didn’t have lettuce and tomatoes to top the tacos, so I supplemented with celery fried with the meat and shredded carrots to go on top. Luckily we had cheese, and I had bought sour cream and salsa at Shopper’s, forgetting that taco kits include salsa. In any case, it wasn’t bad, all things considered.

I really really wanted to have fresh produce, but given it wasn’t a possibility, I decided to make this cheesy rice casserole to accompany the tacos. It’s a simple casserole where you throw cooked rice, whatever veggies you have on hand, and cheese into a baking dish; include a bit of broth to hold it together and bake. In my case, I used celery, onion and green onion, because that’s what I had. I used a combination of cheddar cheese and a strong hard cheese that didn’t melt, which we didn’t like. The result was so-so.

I decided to try it again this week, when I could play around a bit more with the ingredients. When I made mushroom fried rice on Sunday, I made a huge pot of rice, then put half of it in the fried rice and half in the fridge for this casserole. It was great getting home Tuesday night after work and Olivia’s haircut and knowing that the first part of the supper preparation was already done. For this week’s version, I used 1 cup of carrots (2 carrots), ½ cup each diced celery and onion (1 of each), 1 cup sliced green onions (3) and 2 cups packed baby spinach. Then I loaded on the mozzarella cheese – at least twice as much as the recipe called for. The result was, simply, awesome. I don't see any reason you couldn't throw some meat in there too, and call it a day.


[I didn't take a picture because I thought, oh, I already have a picture from the last time. Silly.]

While it baked away, I took two bone-in pork chops, sliced off and sliced up the meat, and left it to marinate in hoisin and sesame oil. Once the casserole was out, a quick broil of the meat on each side, with some sesame seeds sprinkled on top, and supper was complete. The pork was a variation on the Sesame Pork Bites I made last year, leaving out the green onions and toothpicks. With the casserole in the oven and the pork marinating, Olivia and I had time to snuggle on the couch and talk about babies in bellies, a hot topic at our house these days. A good night.