This is a fantastic week-night recipe that’s sure to please the whole family!
Recipe
Serves 6-8
- 1 lb ground sausage, browned (this is another ingredient that can be cooked in large quantities and frozen for later!)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large red or orange pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3 cups white rice, cooked
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook rice as desired (an Instant Pot is a great, low-maintenance way to cook a large batch of rice!).
In large frying pan, heat olive oil and sautee sausage until browned. Remove meat from pan, leaving oil and drippings.
Add onions and pepper to pan and sautee until soft and fragrant. Add sausage back to pan, and stir to combine.
Pour sausage and meat mixture into rice pot, and mix well. Sprinkle with cumin and salt and pepper to taste, combining evenly. Stir in cheese.
Spread mixture evenly into greased 9×13″ casserole. Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired. If you are freezing the dish for later, cover tightly and freeze up to 3 months.
If you are planning to enjoy it now, bake the mixture in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until just barely browned on top.
Notes
This recipe is inexpensive, easy to make with just a couple of pans, and it’s comfort food at its best. Plus, this dish freezes well, so feel free to make it on a good day and put it away in the freezer for a day when you need an easy meal! Simply pull it out a few hours ahead to thaw, and bake in the oven until warmed through.
The casserole is designed to be gluten free, but if you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, make sure you double check your sausage and spices, especially, for gluten. As always, make sure the food wasn’t cross-contaminated or processed on equipment that handles gluten.
If you are dairy free, this recipe could be made without cheese, or with vegan shredded cheese. I haven’t tried it, but I think it would also taste amazing with crumbled goat cheese! If you are making it without cheese, you may want to increase the cumin to roughly 1 1/2 tsp for added flavor, or consider adding some additional ingredients to boost the flavor (salsa, chili powder, taco seasoning, or something along those lines would pair well with this recipe).
If chopping vegetables is challenging or tiring for you, consider buying onions that are pre-chopped in the frozen food section. Sometimes you can find chopped peppers in the freezer section too. If not, there are some appliances that will make your life much easier: a food processor, chop wizard, or a slap-chop. They will do all the work for you, as long as you can wash your pepper, remove the seeds, and cut it into large chunks to begin with.
Enjoy!
Photo credit: Unsplash- Jude Infantini
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