Herbed Veggie and Rice Casserole

So sorry it’s been forever since I’ve posted!  I’ve been cooking a bit – but I have this little one attached to my chest at all times, so it’s been hard to find the time.  He’s a great “helper” in the kitchen – he sleeps in the ErgoBaby while I chop and mix and bake.  But I knew it had been too long, so I wanted to get a couple of recipes up on the blog.  This weekend I wanted to cook some simple items that used up ingredients in my fridge.  I had some shredded carrots, some shredded cheese, and some herbs I had purchased for another dish.  Add the farmer’s market, some rice, and the desire for some healthy food, and here you have it!  This was super easy to make and tastes great.  And you can feel free to use different veggies you have lying around, or different cheeses, or use more or less of most of the ingredients.

Here’s what you need:

2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice (or rice of your choice)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion

2 zucchini

1 head greens (I did swiss chard)

1 cup shredded carrots

1 bunch asparagus

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup plain greek yogurt (nonfat is fine)

1 cup shredded cheese (I had gruyere and sharp cheddar in my fridge, so I used that)

2 tablespoons each of the following herbs, chopped:  mint, dill, basil, chives

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 1/2 cups parmesan (or a parmesan/romano/asiago blend)

Here’s what you do:

(1)  Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove.  Set aside.

(2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

(3) Using the grating attachment to your food processor, or using a hand grater, or chopping into smallish pieces, grate the onion.  Heat one tablespoon olive oil over high heat and saute the onion.

(4) While the onion is sauteing, prepare the zucchini using the same technique (I did the grater on my food processer; I was also able to use it for the cheese).  Add the zucchini to the onion after a couple of minutes and continue to cook.

(5) Remove the leaves of the greens from the stems and shred into small pieces.  Add to the zucchini/onion mixture.

(6) Snap the asparagus stalks where they naturally break, and cut the pieces with the tips into bite size pieces. Add to the veggie mixture.

(7) Cook the veggies for about 5-10 minutes, until they are all softened.

(8) Then, in a large bowl, mix together the rice, yogurt, veggies, herbs, salt and shredded cheese (saving the parmesan for later).

(9) Spread the rice mixture into a baking dish, and then sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and then the parmesan cheese.

(10) Bake for about 20-25 minutes until hot and the cheese on top is browned.

Enjoy!