Mexican-Style Brown Rice Casserole

Hello, Islanders!

I'm away on a fabulous vacation in lieu of my birthday celebration... That's right, I'm cruisin' the Eastern Caribbean... I'll have some updates during this time but I've also got a treat for all of you!  My sweet friend, Kim of The Healthy Engineer, is going to houseisland sit for me while I'm gone... 

I've watched Kim lose more than 60 lbs over the past year.  She is an AMAZING cook, an awesome workout buddy and currently transitioning to a healthy lifestyle one healthy choice at a time. You are in for a treat... and you're welcome :)  

Again, I've scheduled some minor updates but, don't worry, she's bringing the FABULOUS so you're in great hands.

Take it away, Kim!

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As I have worked harder on my weight loss, I have fallen into the habit of doing meal prep of 2-3 meals a week on Saturday or Sunday. It saves me money as well as keeps me on the straight and narrow - meaning keeps us from going out to eat. I wanted to share a new recipe I found and made this week that is extremely easy to throw together but tastes delicious and has a lot of nutrients.  Casseroles are perfect for a busy family because you can throw it together and bake.  I often have left over rice from the batch I make in the rice cooker so this was a great way to use it up.

I am going to write it out as I prepared it, but you can go to the site for the original recipe.  It has a few mistakes or typos or something so you can take that and play with it as you want.  This is my interpretation.

Mexican-Style Brown Rice Casserole 

Serves 6

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 15 oz Wegman's mild salsa
• 16 oz organic frozen corn
• 1/2 cup organic mild cheddar cheese
• 15 oz can organic refried pinto beans
• 15 oz can black beans
• 1.5 cups cooked brown rice (mine was a combo of short grain and jasmine)
• 10 oz organic frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat a 2 qt glass dish with EVOO.
2. In a medium size bowl combine rice, salsa, and cumin.  Spoon 1/2 of rice mixture into a prepared baking dish and spread to cover the bottom of dish
3. In a large bowl combine refried beans, black beans, corn, cilantro, and chili powder.  Mix well and spread bean mixture on top of the rice layer.  Smooth with rubber spatula.
4. Squeeze excess water from thawed spinach.  Sprinkle evenly over bean layer.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese.  Top with remaining rice mixture and smooth.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
5. Place casserole in the oven and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.  Cut into 6 pieces and serve.  

I served mine with a little salsa on top instead of the suggested sour cream and had a salad on the side.  My husband had his with some roasted veggies we had left over.  This meal is incredibly filling because of all the beans and corn in it.  It's really awesome comfort food.  The serving suggestion is to add more vegetables, but you could easily grab some tortillas and wrap these up as an amazing burrito or have a smaller serving (maybe half of one serving) with a side of eggs for a healthy and different breakfast.  

I also like these types of casseroles because they are very easy to play with to make different variations.  I already have been thinking of making a fajita version that substitutes the spinach with a layer of sauteed peppers and onions.  

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Didn't I tell you she's awesome? I had the privilege of tasting this dish and it is YUM! Go,quick and:

1. Make your variation of this fabulous casserole :)

2. Check out Kim's blog!