Mr. Food Test Kitchen: Jan 29, 2013 Mushroom RIce Bake

Today we're making a dish that's so versatile, it's sure to become one of your everyday favorite staples. First of all, it's easy. Second, it pairs well with just about everything. And last, but not least, many of the ingredients are probably right in your pantry. And here's what we do. We combine some long whole-grain rice with a chopped onion, some fresh mushrooms (we can even buy those sliced), pour in some condensed beef broth, a can of cream of mushroom soup, along with some melted butter and a bit of black pepper. And we're going to give that a good mix, and we'll pour that into a casserole dish that's sprayed with cooking spray. That'll make clean up a lot easier.  And for variety, you can add other veggies if you want ... maybe frozen peas or chopped peppers to make it your very own. Or add in some rotisserie or leftover chicken to make it a meal in itself ... whatever works for you. Then into the oven it goes until the rice is tender and it's all hot and bubbly. Maybe sprinkle on some paprika and a few scallions to really dress it up.  And when we serve this tasty, all-in-one-dish side that'll team with just about any of our favorite main-dishes, talk about pure comfort! We know you're going to want the recipe for this "Mushroom Rice Bake" so it's online waiting for you to make it your very own. I do need to warn you about a couple of things: besides it being very hot when it comes out of the oven, it's also addictive (in a good way). Well, that's because as we say around here ..."OOH IT'S SO GOOD!"