Mushroom and Brown Rice Casserole

When I posted my Thanksgiving menu, I asked you wonderful readers to suggest ideas for recipes you wanted to see posted before turkey day. What I meant was anything at all that you might make for Thanksgiving, certainly not limited to what I had planned for my own menu, but nearly all the suggestions made were things from my menu. I certainly did not expect this dish to be the most requested, but you all have great taste.

When I was a little girl and I visited my paternal grandparents, my grandma would always make me brown rice. She was never all that into cooking as I recall, and I don’t remember many things she might have made for me, but I will always remember her brown rice. I would immediately ask for that, along with a glass of apple juice, when I came to visit. Even though I don’t think anyone in my family ever made something exactly like this casserole while I was growing up, it definitely had that homemade with love vibe and it reminded me of my sweet grandma. It’s a very simplistic dish, creamy and comforting. The only change that I will make next time around will be to double the mushrooms, as I felt there were too few compared to the rice and certainly too few to be titled “mushroom casserole”. (I have reflected this change below). We are really looking forward to having this as part of our Thanksgiving table, and many future meals as well. Enjoy!

Yield about 6-8 servings

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. brown mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked brown rice, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup cottage cheese (reduced fat is fine)
½ cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)
½ tsp. coarse salt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Minced fresh herbs, for garnish (optional), such as chives, parsley, etc.

Directions

01
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish. In a large skillet over medium heat sauté the mushrooms in the olive oil, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released most of their liquid, about 5-7 minutes. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add the rice to the skillet and stir to combine.
02
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and salt until smooth. Add in the rice mixture and stir gently until well blended. Sprinkle most of the Parmesan over the top, reserving a bit for finishing. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 20-30 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned. Top with remaining Parmesan and fresh herbs, if desired.

Source

slightly adapted from 101 Cookbooks