Creamy Mushroom Casserole

Dear Readers,

I love mushrooms. But, what's weird is I am picky about what kind of mushrooms. I adore white button, cremini and portobellos--your standard grocery store mushrooms. This recipe has all three. I am not a fan of the shiitake, porcini, chanterelle or any other wild fungi. Also, I will only eat mushrooms that are perfectly fresh. Any signs of browning or smell creep me out. I hate raw mushrooms or undercooked mushrooms. I love them sauteed just perfectly so they are soft and melt in my mouth. That's my tangent about mushrooms. Thanks for listening.

This recipe has more dairy that I'd typically eat but I was feeling inspired for a rich creamy casserole tonight. Portland has been blessed by unseasonably warm Spring weather throughout January & February. Today it was cold, rainy, windy, dark and down right dreary. It felt like Winter again and that made me crave a substantial hearty casserole. It seemed the perfect night to create this recipe. 3 types of mushrooms mingle with wild rice and brown rice. The sour cream adds a stroganoff-ish flavor. The casserole is topped with bread crumbs browned in butter & lemon zest. This recipe takes about an hour to bake after you are done with all the prep, so probably 2 hours total. That means it's not a quick week night supper. Better to do when you can futz around the kitchen doing other things while it cooks. But what I love about casseroles is they make many servings. And for a single eater this means leftover meals all week. Or you can freeze portions to enjoy later on when you are really hungry and don't feel like cooking. Take it to your next potluck and tell them the recipe came from my blog.

I absolutely love the bread crumbs in this recipe. When I have extra bread (which I don't have around anymore since I drastically reduced my gluten intake) I chop it up, toast it in the oven for a minutes until browned, then freeze it for later use as bread crumbs. It is way better than any store bought packaged bread crumbs. In this recipe I saute the bread crumbs in butter and lemon zest until they are saturated and browned. The aroma is heavenly and they taste amazing.

Hope you enjoy the recipe. And, hey, if you are out there reading...I really have no idea if anyone ever reads my blog! Drop me a comment once and a while so I know I have some readership. I'd appreciate the encouragement. I know my book deal or HGTV show is out there somewhere. Help me find it. I love hearing from you. Thank you people.

In Health, ,
Miss Jolie Ann

Creamy Mushroom Casserole
6-8 servings

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup wild rice
4 cups water
bay leaf
1 tbsp butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms-white button & cremini
1 portobello mushroom
sea salt
black pepper
pinch each of nutmeg
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 shredded asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Rinse well the wild rice. Combine wild rice, brown rice, bay leaf and 4 cups of water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a low and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside covered for 5 minutes. Remove cover, discard bay leaf and fluff with fork.
2. While the rice cooks prepare the bread crumbs. In a skillet warm 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, lemon zest, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for about 5 minutes until the bread crumbs have saturated the butter and have browned up nice and crispy. Set aside.
3. In the same pan warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want the mushrooms to be soft and their liquid to have absorbed. Add the garlic, nutmeg, sage, tarragon, and rosemary. Saute for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked rice, the mushroom mixture, eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and asiago cheese. Stir until well mixed.
5. Grease a 13x9x2 baking dish with butter or olive oil. Spread the casserole into the pan. Cover with foil. Bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 45 minutes remove the foil, spread the bread crumbs on top of the casserole and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes until the top is toasted. Done. Enjoy the creamy goodness Gina Drew.