Spanish Rice Bake

I know I promised a lot more holiday recipes, but the time got away from me, and the only other holiday dessert I got around to making was a batch of Andes mint brownies (using this brownie recipe but replacing the chocolate chunks with chopped Andes mints). I did make a couple of holiday dishes, but I didn't take pictures of them and the OCD part of me won't let me post the recipes without pictures. So, sorry. You're just going to have to wait for those!

Anyway. Christmas is over, and it's time for Joe and me to get back to eating normal food in normal quantities. This is another recipe from Betty Crocker's 2009 Dinner Made Easy cookbook, and it was really good. Joe really liked it, and I thought it was quite tasty myself. The rice took about 20 minutes longer to cook than what the recipe indicated, though, and I thought that was pretty annoying. But otherwise, a delicious meal. I'd recommend making this on the weekend, since the prep and cooking time is kind of extensive and not really conducive to weeknight cooking (at least for me). I did add some hot sausage to feed Joe's carnivorous appetite; it would have been good with ground beef or chicken, too.

Spanish Rice Bake

Source: Betty Crocker's Dinner Made Easy cookbook (2009 edition)

2 tablespoons canola oil (I used olive oil)

1 cup uncooked brown long-grain rice

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed, drained (I neither thawed nor drained mine, and it was fine)

1 roll hot sausage, cooked and crumbled

1 can condensed tomato soup

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tablepoon chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 3-quart casserole with cooking spray. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook brown rice, onion and bell pepper in oil 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is light brown and onion is tender. Stir in corn and cooked sausage.

2. Mix remaining ingredients except cheese in casserole. Stir in rice mixture and 1 cup of the cheese.

3. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Stir mixture. Cover and bake about 30 minutes longer or until rice is tender (mine required 20 minutes more). Stir mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.