Mainely Dish: Spinach-Rice Casserole
— By Alex Gayton, Assistant EFNEP Coordinator & Social Media Coordinator, Expanded Food Nutrition and Education Program (EFNEP), University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Visit EFNEP’s recipe website for the Spinach-Rice Casserole recipe and recipe video.
Casserole recipes are great because usually, all you have to do is add all the ingredients in a casserole dish or baking pan and then get it in the oven to bake. This Spinach-Rice Casserole is filling and easy to make. Writing this blog inspired me to make this recipe again, so I decided to add it to my lunch meal plan this week. I used the leftover fresh kale I had frozen last fall and was able to quickly make this dish on Sunday night for lunch on Monday. I will admit, I didn’t plan ahead and had to wait for the rice to cook, but while the rice was cooking I prepped the rest of the ingredients and had it ready to go when the rice was done cooking. This recipe is composed of simple ingredients and it’s quick to prepare. I had all the items on hand for this casserole so I didn’t need to go shopping for anything. The casserole takes on the flavor of the leafy greens you choose. I prefer the taste of spinach over kale so I will plan to use spinach next time or try a new leafy green like bok choy or Swiss chard because I haven’t tried those greens yet. My daughter and husband smelled the butter, onion, and garlic cooking and were immediately interested in what I was making, it did smell great!
If you don’t cook rice very often you might find this helpful. In general, 1 cup of uncooked rice will make about 3 cups of cooked rice. For this recipe (and to keep the math simple), I recommend cooking 2 cups of uncooked rice to equal about 6 cups of cooked rice and freezing the extra in a freezer-grade container or zip-top bag for future use. The amount of liquid required can change depending on the rice you use, so refer to the rice package or read the recommendations in this article All About Cooking Rice (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension).