Cozy Autumn Rice Bake

Versatile, cozy, easy autumn rice bake with ground turkey, cranberries and mushrooms (gluten-free)

Here's a cozy autumn casserole recipe.

Start with crumbled organic turkey, mushrooms, black olives and tart cranberries. Vegetarians can change out the turkey with gluten-free tempeh, cooked black beans, chick peas, or white kidney beans.

From time to time I become a flexitarian goddess and cook with organic, free-range turkey, beef or buffalo. I chose organic free range turkey for the protein in this family style layered dish, but organic free-range chicken or beef, or even gluten-free tempeh would also work beautifully.

The recipe is an improv, so the measurements are close approximations, but most of you readers are creative cooks who do your own thing and toss together your own improvisations, anyway, right? 

You're my kind of people. 

You can handle it.


Gluten free rice casserole with your choice of protein, cranberries and olives Mediterranean style


Cozy Autumn Rice Bake Recipe

For those like me who must be dairy-free, I added no cheese to this dish. And I didn't miss it one bit. But those of you enjoying dairy could add crumbled goat cheese or feta to this recipe. Go ahead. Sprinkle some in. I won't mind.


Ingredients:

3 cups cooked brown rice
2 pounds organic free-range ground turkey
1 onion, peeled, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green or yellow bell pepper, cored, sliced
2 cups Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
Italian dried herbs, to taste- basil, oregano, thyme, fennel, rosemary
A dash of nutmeg
A dash of any hot spice you like- red pepper, paprika, cumin, etc.
1 14-0z can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup whole cranberries (frozen, thawed are fine)
1/2 cup chopped kalamata black olives
2 tablespoons rinsed capers
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
A splash of good extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a large lasagna-style baking dish. Mine is 10x15-inches.

Heat a large skillet; drizzle a splash of olive oil in it, and cook the turkey, onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms for five to seven minutes. Season generously with Italian dried herbs- basil, oregano, thyme, fennel, rosemary. Add spices to taste. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, cranberries, olives, capers, parsley and mix well. Add sea salt and ground pepper, to taste.

Spoon the cooked rice into the bottom of the baking dish. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to moisten, and fluff the rice a bit. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Add the skillet mixture. (For dairy lovers, add dabs of goat cheese or crumbled feta if you like). I drizzled a good tasting extra virgin olive oil all over the top because I like to kick it up.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for an hour until the center is piping hot. Note- if you have made this ahead of time and chilled it, it will take longer to bake- plan on an additional 20 to 30 minutes.

Serves six.


Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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