Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

Mike sent me the link to this recipe a few days ago. It looked pretty good so we decided to try it. The original recipe called for way too much time on the rice portion (simmer 1/3 cup of rice and 1 cup of broth for 45 minutes?! Not unless you want to burn the bottom of your pan...not to mention the rice), so I edited it a little bit. The finished product turned out really well!

Brown Rice & Black Bean Casserole

(Adapted from On My Menu's recipe )

1/3 cup brown rice

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium zucchini, chopped or thinly sliced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (canned chicken would work, as well)

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tsp cumin

Salt, to taste

Cayenne Pepper, to taste

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies

1/3 cup carrots, chopped small

2 cups shredded swiss cheese (we used TJ's light Mexican cheese blend)

Mix the rice and chicken broth in pot on stovetop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low,

cover and simmer for 15-ish minutes, or until rice is tender. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a medium-sized casserole dish (we used 9x9) with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, chicken, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned and chicken is heated through. In a large bowl, mix the rice, onion, zucchini, chicken, mushrooms, beans, chilies, carrots, and half of the cheese. Transfer to the baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover casserole dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.