Spanish Rice Casserole

Here is an easy main dish to feed a small crowd.  We love it and the leftovers too! 

Spanish Rice Casserole 

1½ c. long grain rice

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 c. tomato sauce

1 c. medium or mild salsa

1 c. frozen whole kernel corn

1 c. grated sharp or medium cheddar cheese

Sour cream, optional 

Cook rice.  In a separate pan brown and drain ground beef.  Once beef is cooked through add tomato sauce, salsa and corn.  Simmer for five minutes.  Stir meat mixture into rice.  Place into a 2 quart casserole dish and top with cheese.  “Bake” on high in microwave for 5 minutes.  Serve with sour cream if desired. 

Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

I love this recipe in the heat of the summer too because you don’t have to heat up the kitchen with the oven.

**For freezer cooking make just the meat mixture and freeze.  Add to freshly cooked rice on the day you serve as I find I don’t like the way the texture changes when you freeze rice.  Top with cheese and away you go.

For an easy way to make rice check an earlier post Easy Cooked Rice.