Spinach and Brown Rice Casserole

My freezer is stuffed with bags of organic frozen spinach. I usually buy the Whole Foods house brand, but lots of supermarkets carry an organic version now. Regular spinach is pesticide-heavy, so I won't use it anymore. (Better late than never.) And the frozen, organic packages are so convenient.

You can toss spinach into soups or sauces, scrambled eggs, or just defrost and use as is. Bags are convenient because you can use just what you need, and put the rest back into the freezer. Frozen organic spinach has really become a staple in my kitchen and my go-to "convenience" vegetable when I'm running low on fresh items.

Here's a good recipe that uses spinach and rice together. I use it as a side dish, and consider it an easy way to sneak an "extra" vegetable into a meal. But it's certainly satisfying enough to be a vegetarian main dish. The original recipe comes from Cooking Down East which I mentioned here. Of course I had to modify it a bit, using brown rice instead of white rice, and grated Romano instead of (yuk) cheese whiz. I'm also loose with measurements...you really can't hurt a casserole.

Spinach and Brown Rice Casserole

1 16-oz package frozen spinach, thawed
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or shallot*
1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese*
2 tbsp. butter (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.

If I have the time, I'll saute the onion or shallot in a little olive oil or butter. For the cheese, I'll use whatever I have on hand and that suits our taste. I've used Romano, Parmesan, and both regular and low-fat cheddar.

Leftovers are great for lunch the next day, too.