Oven Baked Brown Rice
From Sarah Shirk of Redbanks Beef Farm. She recommends, “This savory baked brown rice can be tossed together, stuck in the oven, and left alone until time to eat. It pairs wonderfully with honey mustard chicken thighs and sautéed green beans.”
¾ c. butter, melted
1 ½ c. uncooked brown rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup (note recipe below)
2 c. shredded cheese
Chopped onions, celery, and bell peppers
4 c. bone broth
Rinse brown rice. Mix all ingredients and pour into a buttered glass baking dish. Bake covered, at 350° for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours, or until rice is desired tenderness.
Make It Yourself – Cream Soups
Take cooking from scratch to the next level. From the blog of Mrs. Gina Martin, “Home Joys”, published October 28, 2008 under the miscellaneous recipe section at homejoys.blogspot.com, shared with permission. Gina shares that she’s never bought a can of “cream of” soup! MSG is an ingredient to avoid, often hidden in “added flavors” type language on food packaging. This recipe is so valuable that she has (as do I!) this recipe printed and taped in the cabinet near the stove. She explains, “Any simple white sauce recipe will work (2 T. butter, 2 T. flour, 1 c. milk – is an easy one.) and the ways to personalize the seasonings are unlimited. I’ll share how I make cream soups – plus some ideas for variations.”
Small batch – comparable to one can of purchased soup
2 T oil or butter
¼ c. flour
1 c. milk, water, or chicken broth
Whisk together oil and flour; stir in liquid. Whisk briskly while heating until thick.
Large batch – comparable to two cans of soup – Gina uses this for a creamier casserole; mix same as small batch.
⅓ c. oil or water
½ c. flour
2 c. milk, water, or chicken broth
Seasonings Gina recommends (amounts are for large batch, but she says she rarely measures anything; this is only a guide):
½ t. salt
½ t. onion powder
½ t. garlic powder
pinch of pepper
2 t. Worcestershire sauce (this helps give it the flavor of bought soup)
Variations:
- Sauté a few chopped onions, celery, garlic, or mushrooms (keep fresh frozen slices on hand) in the oil before adding the flour.
- Add ½ tsp. dry mustard, 1 additional c. milk, and 2 c. cheese for cheese sauce for vegetables or mac-n-cheese
- Add 2 t. curry powder and 2 c. cooked chopped chicken, turkey or beef. Heat well and serve over rice.
Four Layer Pistachio Cake
Thanks to Grant Eye for this recipe and photos – festive for St. Patrick’s Day! He uses a yellow cake mix (with added green food coloring baked in) cut in half lengthwise after baked and cooled to make four layers.
Crust
1 c. flour
1/2 c. stick butter, cut into cubes
¼ c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. walnuts, chopped
Cream cheese layer
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. whipped topping
Pudding layer
2 pkgs instant pistachio pudding
3 c. milk
Topping
2 c. whipped topping
½ c. toasted almonds, sliced
Preheat oven to 350 ºF degrees. In a large bowl, use a pastry blender or a fork to combine the flour, butter, and brown sugar until the butter in the mixture looks like small peas. Stir in the walnuts. Press the mixture into a 9×13-inch pan; bake for 20 minutes, then set aside to cool completely to room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then fold in the 1 cup of whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust in the pan. In a large mixing bowl, prepare the pistachio pudding by whisking the pudding mix and milk together until thickened. Spread the pudding over the cream cheese layer. Gently spread the remaining 2 cups of whipped topping over top of the dessert and sprinkle with toasted almonds. Cover the pan and chill the dessert for 2-3 hours, then slice and serve.
