Zucchini Rice Casserole

By jads8627

From: EatingWell Magazine May/June 2009
We pack extra vegetables into this cheesy baked rice casserole. Plus we substitute brown rice for white, reduce the cheese by half and swap turkey sausage for pork sausage. If you're bringing it to a potluck, plan to reheat it before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice
• 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups diced zucchini , and/or summer squash (about 1 pound)
• 2 red or green bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese, divided
• 1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces turkey sausage, casings removed
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese , (Neufchâtel)
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeños

Details

Preparation time 40mins
Cooking time 120mins
Adapted from eatingwell.com

Preparation

Step 1

NOTE TO DIRECTIONS

precooked the rice in the chicken broth on the stove. Sauteed the onions and peppers in a little drizzle of olive oil. Prepared the cheese sauce mixture, combined all the ingredients in a baking dish, topped it with cheese and baked it for about 15-20 minutes. Saves a lot of time, and it came out great!

Preheat oven to 375 °F. Pour rice into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir hot broth into the rice along with zucchini (and/or squash), bell peppers, onion and salt. Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 35 to 45 minutes more. Meanwhile, whisk milk and flour in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until bubbling and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add 1 1/2 cups Jack cheese and corn and cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage. Cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into small pieces with a spoon, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. When the rice is done, stir in the sausage and cheese sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Jack cheese on top and dollop cream cheese by the teaspoonful over the casserole. Top with jalapenos. Return the casserole to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 5; cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. To finish, bake at 375°F until the casserole is hot and the cheese is melted, about 45 minutes.