Zucchini Rice Casserole

Helmut and Paul made this Zucchini Rice Casserole adapted from Cooking Light.  This recipe serves 8.  You may halve the recipe easily.  For solo dining, you may filled this in 1-cup ramekins and freeze them just before the baking process.  This way, you can bake the individual servings when needed.  Otherwise, you can bake it first and portion them into single serving plastic containers and freeze for later consumption.  You just have to reheat them in the microwave.

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The Zucchini Rice Casserole is creamy and rich and I’ll bet your kids will love this comfort food. They will not even noticed that it’s made with healthy zucchini.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 1/2 pounds)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 cup (4-oz) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup fat-free sour cream (or use 1/2 cup sour cream plus 1/2 cup cottage cheese)
  • 1/4 cup (1-oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

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P/S: missing ingredients from this photo: eggs, brown rice, Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs, chicken broth, salt and pepper.

Instructions

Zucchini-Rice-Casserole-13-300x200Preheat the oven to 350F.

Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish or a spring form pan with vegetable oil.

Zucchini-Rice-Casserole-12-300x200Combine the slice zucchini, onion and chicken broth in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the zucchini is tender.  Drain, partially mash the zucchini with a potato masher.
Zucchini-Rice-Casserole-11-300x200In a bowl, combine rice, cheddar cheese, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, salt , pepper and eggs.  Mix well.
Zucchini-Rice-Casserole-14-300x200Gently stir the rice mixture and mash zucchini to combine.
Zucchini-Rice-Casserole-15-300x200Spoon the mixture into the greased baking dish; level the mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the preheated 350F oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  If desired, broil for a minute or until the top is lightly browned.

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