Day 8 - Sweet Potato-Rice Casserole

The newest item on the menu is Sweet Potato-Rice Casserole! Gary chose this recipe because he had some leftover sweet potatoes from last week, so why not make good use of them?

Right after work, Gary and I got down to business and set up our ingredients on the counter.

Gary is intrigued by the green onions!

... and then we took a break to drive the man of the house to his practice. 

So after our break, Gary and I went back to the drawing board and made ourselves a yummy casserole for supper. Here it is, almost ready to go into the oven:

After popping the meal into the stove, Gary reminded me that I was going to be late for Yoga. So I told Gary to make sure not to overcook the meal and promise to take it out when it was ready.

When I arrived home from Yoga an hour later, I had this wonderful looking meal awaiting for me:

Don't worry, I didn't eat Gary!

Sweet Potato-Rice Casserole

Prep: 30 minutes / Bake: 30 minutes @ 350° F

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Per serving: 378 calories, 15g fat (8g saturated fat), 36 mg cholesterol, 773mg sodium, 48g carbs, 7g fibre, 16g protein

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 & 1/2 cup chopped, peeled sweet potato (1 large)
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (can be omitted)
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 & 1/2 cups frozen shelled* soybeans (edamame), thawed
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese  (4 ounces)
• 1 8-ounce carton sour cream
• 1 4-ounce diced green chile peppers, undrained**
• 1/4 cup green onions (2)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (can be omitted)

*Note: Gary made the mistake of thinking that "shelled" meant inside their shell. Luckily, he came to the conclusion that it would be ridiculous to cook them with a shell, but nonetheless, it took an extra 10-15 minutes to take the beans out of their shells. So make sure to buy the right ones. 

**Note: Gary doesn't particularly like chile peppers so he replaced it by an eye-balled amount of chopped green pepper.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. In a medium saucepan bring the water to a boil. Stir in sweet potato, rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Return to boiling; redut heat. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. 
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine drained black beans, soybeans, 1/2 cup of cheese, sour cream, undrained chile peppers, green onion, flour, sage, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in cooker rice mixture. 
3. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle the remaining of the cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until heated through. 

And it all ended happily ever after. :)