Cheesey Spanish Rice Bake

Joe and I love Spanish Rice.  It doesn't matter if it's homemade or Rice-a-Roni, we really enjoy it.  Just now I realized that I never shared my usual Spanish Rice recipe.  Well, we liked this one so much, it might be a while before I make our old favorite! 

Last week, I found this recipe for Spanish Rice Bake on the Betty Crocker website.  It looked easy and the ingredients are so basic that I had them all on hand.  Aside from taste, that's the top factor in deciding if a recipe is a keeper or not! 

The recipe calls for Condensed Tomato Soup.  I wasn't sure how I was going to like that.  I use Condensed Tomato Soup in my Beef Stew, but the soup flavor changes once it's combined with the London Broil and veggies.  In this case, I wondered how it would be without the meat helping to flavor the soup.  But I followed the recipe, only making a few adjustments:  I added celery, a tad bit more oil, left out the cilantro and used less cheese.  The result?  We loved it! 

I originally planned to serve this with some quesadillas during the week.  But I didn't get around to it until the weekend.  We picked up some BBQ Chicken at a community event on Saturday and this rice dish was the perfect side dish! 

Cheesey Spanish Rice Bake

Ingredients: 

• 3 Tbs. Olive Oil
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Spray a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray
• Cook rice, onion, celery and peppers in hot oil until rice is golden and veggies are tender.  Stir often.
• Add corn.  Cook a minute longer. 
• In a bowl, combine the soup, boiling water, chili powder and salt.  Pour into casserole dish. 
• Add the rice mixture. 
• Cover and bake for 20 minutes. 
• Stir in 3/4 cup cheese.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese over the top.
• Bake uncovered for another few minutes, until cheese is melted. 

Notes: 

• You can add the first half of the cheese when combining all of the ingredients in the casserole dish before putting it in the oven (like the original recipe).  My laptop battery died and I was following the recipe by memory at that point! 
• I'm not a huge fan of cheese, I liked the cheese that was melted throughout the casserole, but I could have skipped the cheese on top.  Next time, I'll only sprinkle cheese on the top of half of the casserole. 
• Also, the next time I make this, I'll be adding a cup of black beans to bulk it up a bit and making it a complete (meatless) meal! 
• Adding some pre-cooked diced chicken in the last 30 minutes of cooking would also be a great option for bulking up this recipe.

I'll be sharing this recipe with the following blog carnivals and linky parties: 

• MMMmonday
• My Meatless Mondays
• Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays
• Just Another Meatless Monday
• Homemaker Monday
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays at the Table
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Delectable Tuesday Blog Hop
• Tasty Tuesdays at 33 Shades of Green
• Making a Home
• What's On the Menu Wednesday
• What's On Your Plate?
• It's a Keeper Thursday
• Frugal Food Thursday
• Ultimate Recipe Swap
• Full Plate Thursday
• Recipe Swap
• Tip Day Thursday
• Pennywise Platter
• Creative Juice Thursday
• Thrilling Thursday
• Share Your Sunday Best

hugs,