Enchilada Rice Casserole

Sorry that I don’t have a better title for this—I just knew I wanted a comforting casserole with rice and veggies and cheese and a little kick, so I put this together. I appreciate that this was just one skillet and a casserole dish and will make wonderful left overs for work all week. If you can’t find home style Mexican beans, just use black beans or whatever bean you like.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)

1 small green pepper, diced (about 1 ½ cups)

2 cups long grain rice (uncooked)

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 (15 ounce) can Mexican home-style beans (like La Preferida), drained

1 (19 ounce) red enchilada sauce, divided

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles, drained

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained

1 ½  cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Spray a good size casserole dish (about 2.5 or 3 quarts) with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and green pepper and cook about 5 minutes until the veggies are soft and fragrant, but not brown. Add in the rice and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to toast the rice.

Add in the tomatoes with liquid, beans, 1 ½ cups of the enchilada sauce, green chiles and veggie stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the cover from the rice mixture and add in the corn and ripe olives. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and top with the remaining enchilada sauce and then layer on the cheddar cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.