Mushroom & Wild Rice Casserole

(10-12 servings)

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving, instead of stuffing. It calls for a 13 x 9 baking dish, but I used my 14 inch cast iron skillet to minimize cleanup. 

You could leave out the mushrooms, if you don't like them--cubed firm tofu or uncooked, cubed chicken would be good substitutes--but the mushrooms are great in this dish.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 12 oz package sliced cremini (baby portabella) mushrooms
1 cup wild rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup brown rice (uncooked)
4 cups water
1 can beef broth
8 slices bacon
1/2 slivered almonds
 1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 cup cold water
additional salt & pepper, to taste

Directions
 
Place water, butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium sauce pan and bring to boil. Add wild rice, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 40 minutes and then stir in brown rice. Cover, cooking for another 20-30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, put oven rack in center and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and put a shallow cooking rack in pan. Place the 8 bacon strips on the pan and bake for 12 minutes. Carefully turn bacon and cook for another 4-7 minutes, or until just crisped. Remove pan from oven.

While bacon is cooking, chop onion and peppers. Use bacon drippings (enough to lightly coat a large skillet) to cook onion, peppers and mushrooms with celery seed. Salt and pepper to help the veggies cook down. Once veggies are tender, add beef broth and bring to boil.

Stir corn starch into cold water until smooth and add to mixture. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Drain cooked rice and add to mixture. Crumble bacon and fold in with almonds.

Lower oven rack down from center. If using cast iron skillet, place directly in oven. If not using heat-proof skillet, transfer mixture to a 13 x 9 baking dish. Cover and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.

This is rich, so you'll have plenty of leftovers for the next day. :)