The Stolen Casserole

My co-worker, Ms. Hale from Rio "Dale" shared a great recipe with me a couple of days ago. It was one that included zucchini and that her kids liked. Right up my alley. It involved rice, zucchini (of course) and a home made cheese sauce ( including cheddar, milk and flour, very simple). Michale topped hers with fried okra and mentioned that sausage may be, no forget that, would be, good in it as well. So....knowing we had some type of sausage in our fridge at home, I called John and asked, "is that sausage in our fridge hot or mild?" Turned out it was hot.

So, knowing my kids like ham, I went with that. So here is my modified version of Michale from Rio Dale's recipe:

1 cup of rice...cook in chicken stock ( Michale puts it in layers uncooked in her version and covers the casserole in foil)
2 medium large zucchini's chopped
4 oz baby portobello mushrooms
1/4 oz reconstituted dried chantrel mushrooms
6 oz chopped ham
8 oz jarlsburg cheese
water from soaking dried mushrooms
half and half
garlic powder
(I'm guessing here, because I made it up on a whim and it turned out damn good!)
I cooked the rice. Put a thin layer down at the bottom of the casserole. Covered it with chopped zucchini mushrooms and ham, topped with a layer of rice and another layer of zucchini, ham, and mushrooms. Finally a layer of rice topped with the cheese sauce (Jarlsburg melted in half and half and mushroom water from the dried mushrooms (a 1/4 cup shaken with 2 tblsp of flour and added in for thickening, plus more for the right consistency). After that was poured over the casserole I toped it with Kettle potato ships (salt and pepper flavored) and baked it for 40 mnutes. It turned out great!

I think you could use a "cream o' " soup instead of a cheese sauce and come up with just as yummy of a recipe.
Well off to bed. Happy cooking!