I’m someone who will put together a list of 15 different things and expect to get them all done in one evening after I get home from work. Realistically, I get about four things done and it’s usually 8:30 or 9 o’clock when I realize we’ve have nothing planned for dinner. I’ve been working on making bigger dinners one to two days a week, so we can have left overs instead of having to cook every night. When I’m really on a role, I double recipes, eat one and freeze the other for later.
I love this meal because is easy, delicious and makes a lot! My husband always used to say he hates kale but he loves it in this recipe.
Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Kale
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Yields: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 tablespoon butter
2 large white onions, thinly sliced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 large bunches of Kale, leaves torn and stems removed
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable broth
¼ cup heavy cream
4 cups cooked wild rice
2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F and butter a large casserole dish (I used a 9×13 baking dish) and set aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter, then add the onions. Stir to coat the onions with butter. Continue to cook the onions while you do everything else in the recipe, turning down the heat if needed to keep the onions from burning and drying out. Stir every 5 minutes or so.
In another large pot, the biggest you have, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, spreading to cover the entire bottom of the pot, and do not stir for about 3 minutes. Stir to get a new layer of mushrooms on the bottom, and cook for another 3 minutes without stirring.
Add the olive oil if the mushrooms have become dry, along with the garlic, oregano, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine, and cook for 30 seconds before adding the torn kale leaves.
Cook the kale leaves with the mushrooms until the kale is fully wilted. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stir to fully incorporate, and then add the milk and vegetable broth.
Cook, while stirring, until the mixture thickens — about 3 minutes after boiling. Add the cream, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Stir the wild rice in with the mushroom mixture, along with 1 cup of the grated cheese. At this point your onions should be caramelized and golden — cook them until they are, and then add to the mushroom mixture.
Pour the mixture into your prepared pan, and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and the casserole is bubbling. Serve hot!
Notes
This meal can be frozen. Defrost it in the refrigerator. In a oven preheated to 375°F, bake it for 40 minutes.
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