Delicious dinner (great leftovers!)

This is one of my favorite easy meals during the week to make for dinner. I actually like it even better as leftovers and love taking this for lunch. It basically requires a pot, a 9x13 baking pan, and a big mixing bowl - the clean up is easy! The recipe has been adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.



Spinach Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 cups minced yellow onion
• 2-3 pounds of fresh spinach leaves - torn into pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depends on how much you like spice)
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper (also depends on how much you like spice)
• 2 tsp prepared mustard (yellow is spicier, dijon makes it sweeter - have fun experimenting)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, shelled - divide into two 1/4 cups
• 2 eggs, beaten (optional)
• 1 cup milk (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
• sprinkling of paprika

Directions:

1. Cook the rice - if you already have cooked rice in the frig I recommend heating it up before mixing it in later, the casserole cooks better when the rice is warm to start
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees - grease a 9x13 baking pan (I use cooking spray)
   
3. In a sauce pot heat the oil - add onion and saute until soft approx 5-7 min, add garlic and saute another 2-3 min - stir frequently
4. Add salt, stir into the onions and garlic (approx 1 min)
   
5. Add the torn spinach leaves a couple handfuls at a time - cover the pot to cook down - stir frequently and continue to add until all the spinach has been cooked in
6. In a large mixing bowl start with the optional items - eggs, milk, cheese - I like using 2 egg whites and soy milk - the consistency of the casserole is a little richer, but it is still tasty if you choose to not use the eggs, milk, and/or cheese. For the cheese I have used soy cheese which cooks well, and goat cheese which adds an interesting flavor to the casserole.
7. After mixing (or not) the eggs, milk, and cheese add the rice, spinach mix, nutmeg, peppers, mustard and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds to the bowl - mix well.
8. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking pan - sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds over the surface of the casserole, along with paprika.
9. Bake for 35-40 min until lightly browned on top.

Other options -

• Mushrooms - I have also added mushrooms to this casserole in the spinach mix; I added them after the garlic and with the salt - cooking for approx 5 min to let them brown.
• Green Onions - I have chopped and added these into the mixing bowl - not cooking them ahead of time - they add a nice flavor and slight crunch to the final casserole.

Happy Cooking!!