There are certain things that easily lend themselves to this - it's easy to whip up a batch of pasta or start something in the crock pot in the morning and have it ready by dinner time. Casseroles can be premade as well and frozen - to be simply reheated and served.
Or you can just combine already cooked ingredients and make the casserole fresh. Like this rice casserole.
Rice is one of those great foods that you can make a bunch of at once (how hard is it to boil water, add rice, reduce to simmer, cover and let cook) and then just reheat as needed. It is the perfect base for this casserole I made with some leftover ground turkey used for making tacos. The casserole is based on this chicken rice casserole recipe I found surfing the web. What's nice about this dish is it's versatility - the base ingredients are cooked rice (whichever you prefer), some sort of GFCF broth, and CF sour cream. After that, it's up to your imagination, or whatever you have on hand. You can use white rice, or brwon rice, or wild rice. You can do what I did and add ground turkey. You can use cooked chicken, like in the linked recipe, or beef strips even. You can use carrots like I did, or mushrooms like in the linked recipe, or other veggies you like. If you want a vegan version, just use some sort of vegetable or mushroom broth and add your favorite beans. Or lentils. Or just veggies. You can stick with thyme and paprika like I did, or use your own favorite herbs and spices, even kick it up with some chili powder or hot sauce. The possibilities truly are endless.
Most important of all, it comes together quickly and easily and is delicious. My children devoured the entire casserole practically by themselves.
This one will defintiely be made more often.
GROUND TURKEY AND RICE CASSEROLE
Adapted from a recipe found on the blog Bay Area Bites
Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice ( I used white rice)
1 1/2 - 2 cups GFCF chicken broth
1/2 cup CF sour cream (I used Tofutti)
2 cups cooked ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
1 - 2 carrots, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp CF butter (I used Earthbalance Buttery Sticks)
1 Tbsp GF flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 - 1 cup GF breadcrumbs (I used the end pieces from a loaf of Rudis GF multigrain bread, processed in a food chopper)
Add the oil to a large saucepan that's been heated over medium heat. Add the carrots and saute until they begin to soften. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften. Incorporate the butter, then add the turkey, flour, thyme and paprika. Once those have been combined, add the chicken broth. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
While the mixture is simmering, preheat the oven to 400 °.
After 10 minutes, incorporate the sour cream into the mixture and add the rice. Stir to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
If your saucepan is oven-safe, you can just cover the top of the mixture in the saucepan with the bread crumbs. If not, the transfer the misture to a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray, then cover the mixture with bread crumbs.
Place the dish in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes at 400°. Serve immediately.
NOTE One thing I would recommend (and I didn't do), is to start by using 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth. After simmering and adding the sour cream and rice, if the mixture seems to thick then add additional chicken broth until the desired consistency is reached. I added 2 cups from the beginning and had to add in some additional rice to thicken. Either way, it was still delicious!
0 comments:
Post a Comment