Recipe: Anders' Casserole

Here's the recipe that Anders asked for supper on his first day of school. My mom made it for me when I was young, and it's now the one that my boys almost always will eat. It's a pretty simple recipe, using stuff that's probably already in your home. It's easily modifiable. And leftovers are good.

Anders' Casserole (basic recipe)
1 lb. ground meat (hamburger or turkey)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup rice
1 can corn

Brown the meat in a saucepan. We typically use ground turkey for less fat, but hamburger is just as good. It can be browned with chopped onion, salt and pepper. I sometimes add Worcestershire sauce. Drain the fat.

Add the rice, soup and corn. Add one can of water. Heat on medium high until it starts boiling, then cover and reduce to low.

When the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, serve it up (about a half hour to 45 minutes).

Variations: You can use different veggies. I often grate carrots into it to add a little extra veggie content. Green beans work. Presumably so do mixed veggies. Different cream soups can also be used. Different types of rice as well.

Any sort of spices can be experimented with. I have tried various mixtures of garlic, turmeric, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, sage, thyme, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Cheese can be added. I've even put in mayo as well as enchilada sauce. My boys often like it with soy sauce.

This can also be done in the oven on 350 for about an hour.