Saturday, June 10, 2017

Treasures from the Freezer

When we have leftover cooked rice, I stash it in the freezer for when I want to serve a simple casserole for dinner.

Also in the freezer are roasted poblanos, organic corn, and bags of diced zucchini from last summer's over-enthusiastic vegetable garden. This year's zucchini plants are starting to flower, so the pressure is on.

Fortunately, all these ingredients combined into a fabulous casserole. Some aged cheddar on top added the finishing deliciousness.

I combined leftover white take-out rice and leftover brown rice, just because those were the first two containers I found. Freshly cooked rice would be great too, of course.

I used 4 poblanos for a very spicy casserole. You can cut back the heat by using fewer poblanos if you like. Also, you could use fresh poblanos and skip the roasting, just dicing and adding to the skillet. But the roasting does add a yumminess. (See how I do it here.)

Poblano and Zucchini Rice Casserole
1 tbsp oil
1 cup corn, defrosted
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 poblanos, roasted and peeled and diced
3 cups diced zucchini (from 4 medium zucchini)
4 cups cooked rice
aged cheddar

Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the corn for a few minutes until it starts to brown, stirring regularly so it doesn't burn. Add the onions, garlic and poblanos. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until the zucchini is tender.

Stir into the cooked rice. Pour into a large casserole dish and top with a few slices of cheese.

Bake at 350°F 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything has melded well.

Serves 6

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