OAMC Brown Rice Casserole Recipe with Leftover Turkey (or chicken), Mushrooms, Sour Cream, Cheese, and Thyme

Brown Rice Casserole Recipe with Leftover Turkey (or chicken), Mushrooms, Sour Cream, Cheese, and Thyme

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving day, and some of you may even be cooking one of my Thanksgiving Recipes in honor of the big feast day. This week I've been giving suggestions for using up leftover turkey, such as Turkey and Guacamole Quesadillas or Turkey and Pinto Bean White Chili. This flavorful casserole with healthy brown rice, turkey, mushrooms, sour cream, cheese, and thyme is another option for something to make with your leftover turkey, or make it with chicken if you're not cooking a turkey this year. It's been months now since I vowed to make more casseroles for the blog, and if you grew up on casseroles like I did, you'll probably like this idea to use your leftover turkey. My casserole is missing the canned soup like the ones mom used to make, and I'm using low-fat sour cream and low-fat cheese, so it's really not as decadent as it looks in the photo.

To make this recipe you'll need 2 cups cooked brown rice. I cooked a batch in my rice cooker and froze the extra rice I didn't need. The rice doesn't need to be cooled, so you can cook it right before you make the casserole if desired.

Wash mushrooms, cut into half slices, and then saute in a small amount of olive oil until the mushrooms are slightly browned and all the liquid has evaporated.

Remove the mushrooms and in the same frying pan, heat a little more olive oil, then saute chopped onion until it's starting to soften. Then add the dried thyme and poultry seasoning and saute a few minutes more.

While onions are cooking, dice up enough leftover turkey (or chicken) to make 1 1/2 - 2 cups diced turkey. I cut it into pieces about 1/2 inch.

Add the mushrooms and diced turkey (or chicken) to the pan and mix with the onion-herb mixture.

Then mix in the rice and gently stir to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and turkey (or chicken) stock, then stir in the coarsely grated parmesan and grated low-fat cheese.

Mix the sour cream mixture into the rice mixture and stir gently to combine. I'm not sure why the picture taking process broke down at this point, but you'll have to imagine there are photos here of putting the casserole mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish, baking 25 minutes, adding the second cup of low-fat cheese, and baking about 15 minutes more!

Brown Rice Casserole with Leftover Turkey (or chicken), Mushrooms, Sour Cream, Cheese, and Thyme
(Makes about 6 generous servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown rice (long grain brown rice is best)
16 oz. mushrooms, washed, thickly sliced, slices cut in half
2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil (or more, depending on your pan)
1 onion, diced into small pieces
2 tsp. ground thyme
1/2 tsp. ground poultry seasoning (see note after the recipe if you don't have it)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 - 2 cups diced leftover turkey or chicken, cut in 1/2 inch dice
1/2 cup turkey stock or chicken stock
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low-fat sour cream, but don't use fat-free)
1/2 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup + 1 cup grated low-fat cheese (I used Four Cheese Mexican Blend, use any type of low-fat cheese that you like the flavor of.)

Instructions:

Cook brown rice following package directions or using a rice cooker and let cool. Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Wash mushrooms and spin dry or dry with paper towels. Cut mushrooms into thick slices, then cut slices in half. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in heavy non-stick pan and saute mushrooms until they're starting to brown and all liquid has evaporated. Remove onions to a dish.

In same frying pan, add 1 tsp. more olive oil and heat, then add onions and saute 3-4 minutes until onions are softened. Add thyme, ground poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, and saute about 2 minutes more.

While onions cook, dice leftover turkey or chicken into 1/2 inch pieces. Add mushrooms and diced turkey into pan with the onion-herb mixture, and stir to combine. Add rice and gently stir until all the meat and vegetables are evenly distributed in the rice.

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and chicken stock, then stir in coarsely grated parmesan cheese and 1 cup grated low-fat cheese. Gently stir the sour cream mixture into the rice mixture.

Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray or olive oil. (I'd use a relatively flat dish without a lid for this casserole.) Spoon rice mixture into the casserole dish and press down to evenly distribute. Bake for 25 minutes, or until casserole is slightly bubbling and barely starting to brown. Sprinkle with second cup of grated low-fat cheese and bake about 15 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

(Note about poultry seasoning: My poultry seasoning from Penzeys has sage, white pepper, red and green bell pepper, lemon peel, savory, rosemary, dill weed, allspice, thyme, marjoram, and ginger. If you don't have it, just use a pinch of what you have.)