I was consolidating my recipes the other day and I came across this recipe for what I call Rice Casserole. This recipe takes me back to my childhood. My best friend's mom used to make this and I was always so excited when I got to eat dinner at her house and she was serving rice casserole! It was my favorite so I got the recipe and had my mom start making it. When I got married and tried the recipe on my husband, he didn't like it so much, which made me very sad. I stuck the recipe in a book (and in the far reaches of my brain) and haven't made it in years. I have to admit, as I was making this last night I wondered why I liked it so much - it's very simple, which is great, but I don't really like peas and I really don't like bacon bits. Alas, when I took that first bite it all came back to me. YUM! My son turned his nose to it and my husband quickly poured himself a bowl of cereal and tried to make me think he didn't see it sitting on the stove when he got home. When he did finally eat some (probably out of guilt), he even admitted that it wasn't as bad as he remembered. So, try it or not. I love it and could eat the whole pan by myself. I love to make it because it's one of the easiest dishes to make. I'm not sure where it sits on the nutrition scale, but it's got your veggies, protein and carbs, right? haha! The key is the cheese - make sure you have enough cheese! I made this in the Large Round mold and this was another dish that the serving spoon was harder to clean than the mold - I love that!
Rice Casserole (recipe from Bette Gibson)
1 cup long-grain rice
1 cup water
2 cans peas (undrained)
bacon bits (however many you'd like..maybe 1/4 cup)
cheese (cheddar or jack - about 1-2 cups)
Just dump all the ingredients in your mold, stir a little if you'd like. I mixed in some cheese and also topped with cheese before baking.
Bake for 1 hour, uncovered, in 350' oven.
