Brown Rice Sausage Pizza Casserole

Getting my family to eat certain healthier foods requires sometimes a bit of creativity. Brown rice is one of those foods. Many people prefer white rice even though brown rice has so much more to offer, nutritionally! So, I have taken to “disguising” food a little. This casserole I made today consists of brown rice, sausage meat and pasta sauce. The rice is cooked in the tomato sauce, and so the whole grain flavour is not noticeable at all. The Italian spices cover it up. This is a great meal for a family weeknight dinner and does not take long at all to prepare. You can spice it up by using hot sausage meat.

Brown Rice Sausage Pizza Casserole

Brown Rice Sausage Pizza Casserole Recipe (serves 4-6)

• oil for the pan
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3-4 Italian sausages, removed from casing
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 3 cups beef, chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Lightly coat a pan with oil. Add the onion and pepper and and sauté for 5 minutes until browned. Add the sausage meat and brown it while breaking it up as small as possible. Add the garlic until it’s fragrant but don’t let it burn. Pour in the stock. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to soften the meat.
Add the pasta sauce and brown rice, cover and cook for another 35 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Sprinkle the cheese on top and cover until melted.
I added some chopped tomatoes and some more sautéed green peppers on top to get the pizza look. Black olives would complete the picture but I didn’t have any on hand.

Brown Rice Sausage Pizza Casserole