Week 21 - Green Rice Casserole

 Green Rice Casserole

Recipe 21 of 52

Vegetarian Entree #3

This recipe is based on a recipe for a side dish called Green Rice in The Cookbook LIbrary's Casserole Cookbook published in 1962. I used riced cauliflower in lieu of rice. You could try it with brown rice or maybe even couscous. To make this more substantial, add one cup cubed, cooked tofu or paneer cheese. If you add the tofu/paneer cheese, you'll definitely want to use the larger 2-quart casserole dish, as the recipe below fits perfectly in the 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. I was rather surprised how much I liked this made with the cauliflower and would make this again. It would be easy to make this vegan, by using plant based cheese and vegan milk replacement. If you are a meat eater, add 1 cup cubed, cooked chicken and use that larger dish. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (I used a 12oz bag frozen, riced cauliflower; cooked )

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar (I used shredded colby-jack)

1 cup milk (I would use 1/2 cup if making this with riced cauliflower)

3/4 cup mixture of minced parsley/spinach/chives (I used a 12oz bag frozen, spinach; cooked and 1/4 cup chives)

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 onion chopped

salt to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon salt-free seasoning)

red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except 1/2 cup of cheese, in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the casserole. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes. Cool and serve with additional parsley as garnish if desired. Sprinkle with red chili flakes if desired. 

Green Rice Casserole

Zucchini Patties

 Zucchini Patties

    This recipe comes to us from The Jubilee "of our many blessings" Cookbook by the United Methodist Women of Highland Park United Methodist Church, printed in 1991. This church is located in Dallas, Texas. It is not my church, but I pass by quite often.  It is a beautiful building. 

    In my last poll, the contestants were carrots and zucchini.  Zucchini won with about 56% of the 16 votes.  When I do polls, I already have recipes picked out and I'm ready for whichever main ingredient is declared is the winner.  I usually will make the runner-up the following week; next week's recipe will be Sweet and Sour Carrots. The recipe for this week's winning ingredient, zucchini, was submitted by the cookbook committee, not an individual member.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (this was about 1 1/2 zucchinis)

2 tablespoons grated onion

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

    I used the smaller grate side of a cheese grater for my zucchini which I had washed, dried and removed the ends of.  I forgot to pat dry the zucchini between towels before I put the shreds in my mixing bowl, but I did pat the mound of shreds with paper towels to get as much moisture as possible.  After shredding the zucchini, I melted butter in a large skillet on medium-low, because I didn't want the butter to burn.  Into my bowl of zucchini shreds, I added the rest of the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper.  I didn't end up adding salt or pepper. I didn't have plain oregano, so I used Italian Seasoning.  I used powered Parmesan cheese, but you could used freshly grated Parmesan if you can find it. It was perfectly fine with the powdered kind. I used a brand of mayo called Duke's Mayonnaise, which I've never used, but seems to have quite a following, so I'd thought I would try it. Mix your ingredients until well mixed.

    The recipe says to shape the mixture into six patties and while I did end up with six decent sized patties, the batter is too soft to shape and lay into the skillet.  I dropped mounds of the batter in the skillet, which I then spread into patty shapes. Cook until browned on both sides and serve plain or with tomato sauce and grated cheese or with sour cream and chives.  I did sour cream this time and didn't have chives, so I sprinkled parsley flakes on top and it looked quite pretty and it tasted good.  

  The verdict? I liked this recipe.  It wasn't difficult and did not take too long to make.  As a time saver, you could prep your onion and zucchini the night before and then just combine the ingredients and cook the next night.  This recipe is vegetarian. I bet you could make it vegan, if you know of vegan substitutes for the dairy products. 

Let me know if you try this and what you think about it.