Friday Lunch Recipes
On the first Friday of every month, our very own Chandra T volunteers her time to prepare meals for the Freeport Community Services “First Friday Free Lunch Program.” Her meals are so delicious, that we often receive requests for her recipes. Please enjoy!
TURKEY, BROCCOLI, & RICE CASSEROLE
Turkey, Broccoli, & Rice Casserole Recipe (Serves 4-6) I didn’t grow up in a casserole family. My mum leaned more toward Indian cuisine and my dad’s go to meals were grilled cheese and American chopped suey, both of which he makes the best, in my opinion. I’ve always attributed casseroles to the Midwest and confess that I typically scroll past casserole recipes without giving them a second thought because I assume there’s going to be sour cream or cream cheese in the ingredient list, neither of which I always have on hand. Well, you know the saying, “necessity is the mother of invention”, and dinner is a necessity at my house which often puts me in the position of having to invent something. I won’t claim to have invented the dish because I’m positive all I’ve done is reinvent something that already exists, but I since it’s new to me and I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out, I think it’s worth putting it on paper and sharing it with you all. I also can’t believe I’ve waited so long to make something with a cracker crumb topping, have I even been living a life?
Ingredients
- 1 tbs Cooking Oil
- 4 cups Turkey cooked, chopped, or shredded (use what you have, ground turkey or chicken would work)
- 1 Medium Onion, diced
- 1-2 Carrots, diced (depends on the size of your carrots)
- 1-2 Stalks Celery, diced
- 2 cups Rice (I used plain ole white rice, but use what you want)
- 2 cups Chicken Broth (or veggie, or beef, or water)(also, 2 cups might not be the right measurement for your rice, so follow the instructions on the package)
- 2 cans Cream Of Something Soup ( I used cream of mushroom, but go crazy and mix your cream-of-somethings up)
- 4 cups Broccoli Florets cut into bite sized pieces (fresh or frozen)
- 1-2 tbs Poultry Seasoning (I’m heavy handed with my seasonings, so season to your taste)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For Topping - 3 tbs Melted Butter
- 1 cup Crackers (crushed, any kind, but I used Ritz and doubled down on the buttery-ness of the topping)
Method
1) Preheat your oven to 375°F.
2) In a large pot over medium high heat, add your oil, onions, carrots, and celery. Sautee until softened, about 5 minutes.
3) Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and reduce to low. Basically, follow the instructions on the rice package, but I highly recommend using stock over water for added flavor.
4) Cook your broccoli until tender crisp. You could throw it in your pot towards the end of the cook time on the rice, microwave it, whatever, just get it cooked.
5) Once the rice is cooked, into the same pot add your cream of something soup, seasonings, and turkey and stir until all ingredients are well combined. Taste the mixture and adjust your seasoning if needed. Spread into a greased 9×13 pan.
6) Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over casserole and bake 20-25 minutes or until hot & bubbly and lightly browned.
Notes
This casserole would be just as tasty with noodles if you don’t have rice.
As always, play with your ingredients and seasoning. Add and subtract to your heart’s content; it’s your casserole, make it how you like it.
You know what else would be good as a topping? Those crispy fried onions or crispy fried jalapenos you can buy at the store. I wouldn’t even substitute for the cracker crumb topping, I’d add them in addition to, but that’s just me.