Rosemary, Spinach, and Brown Rice Casserole

I was hunting around for something healthy to take to our Thanksgiving Potluck at work and came across this recipe from Clean Cuisine.  This was super easy to make and turned out well.  The feedback from my co-workers was good overall, with some saying the recipe could use more salt.  I rarely add salt to anything and even while making it I thought "wow, that seems like a lot of salt".  Apparently it wasn't!  Also, my son said it tasted like nothing..... not sure how to take that.  I personally thought it was pretty good and am considering adding it to the family Thanksgiving meal as a side dish alternative for those wanting to keep their meal a little bit healthier. 

Serves: 6

■3 eggs (the original recipe called for organic eggs, I just used regular eggs)

■1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly patted dry with paper towels

■3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice (I have no idea what this means as I could not find "short-grain" brown rice in the grocery, so I just used the store brand brown minute rice - it didn't say "long grain" on the box like some of the other rice did so maybe it was short grain??)

■1/3 cup plus 1/3 cup raw pecans, divided

■1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

■1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

■1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

■1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8-inch casserole with extra virgin olive oil.

2.Place 1/3 cup pecans and ½ cup water in a high-speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Set “pecan milk” aside. Finely chop the remaining 1/3 cup pecans and set aside.

3.Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl; whisk briefly. Add the spinach. Stir in the rice, pecan “milk”, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

4.Transfer spinach and rice mixture to the prepared casserole. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle on the chopped pecans. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove casserole from the oven, cool on a wire-rack 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

 

In the original recipe it doesn't tell you when/where to add the Worcestershire sauce, so I just mixed it in when I put in the pecan "milk".  I baked this the night before our potluck and then reheated it in the microwave before serving.  Most likely it would best be served immediately after baking as it seemed to dry out a little after microwaving.