Here is yet a recipe for a Rice Sausage Casserole that a friend and I used to make in our freezer cooking marathons. It is not my ultimate favorite, but it makes a nice change from the other recipes as it has rice. And since it has rice, my family likes it!
I have made quite a few adaptations to it as we have seven family members, and there is no way one box of rice would be enough! I have included the original recipe, and then I put off to the side in italics what I did.
Rice Sausage Casserole
Ingredients
- •2 packages 7.2 ounces each rice pilaf--I used 4 boxes of Rice-a-Roni, 2 of Rice Pilaf and 2 of Creamy Four Cheese; but any flavors would do. I doubled the rice and carrots, but nothing else.
- •2 pounds bulk pork sausage--I used 2 pounds of turkey smoked sausage.
- •6 celery ribs chopped--I only did 1-2 ribs because I didn't have anymore, and we don't care for celery that much.
- •4 medium carrots sliced--I did 7-8 carrots, chopped
- •1 can 10-3/4 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
- •1 can 10-3/4 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
- •2 teaspoons onion powder
- •1/2 teaspoon garlic powder--I did not use.
- •1/4 teaspoon pepper--I did not use.
Instructions
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Prepare rice mixes according to package directions.
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Chop your carrots and celery. I have a food processor, and I chopped the vegetables rather small as the casserole would be more enticing to the children with small pieces of vegetables rather than big pieces of vegetables.
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Slice your smoked sausage if you are using smoked sausage.
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In a large skillet, cook the sausage, celery and carrots over medium heat until meat is cooked. Drain if necessary; for my smoked sausage, I did not have to drain it.
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In a large bowl, combine the sausage mixture, rice, soups, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Transfer to two greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dishes. (If you do 4 boxes of rice like I did, then use 13-in. x 9-in baking dishes. I put half of the rice in a 13" x 9" pan, then half the meat mixture, half of the cans of soup, and mixed all of it up in the 13" x 9" pan.)
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Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
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To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake as directed. Yield: 2 casseroles (6-8 servings each).
You could use this recipe at Easter or any other time of the year using different holiday M&M’s. Up above, I used mini M&M’s miniature chocoate chips, but I’ve used the regular size too.
Start rolling out the dough. I take the amount of dough I think I will need, roll it out, and place it on the pan. If there is excess, I cut it off with my kitchen shears and use it for the next pizza. When the crust is ready, I place the pan along the edge of my kitchen table. When I am done with the pizzas, they are completely around the outside of my table.
