Tasty Tuesdays: Hearty Sausage and Rice Casserole

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend!  We had a wonderful time celebrating our first Christmas with both Mark's family and my family.  The week was full of tasty treats - breakfast at Cafe du Monde, dinners at Domenica and Flaming Torch, tea at the Windsor Court, and brunch at Commanders.  Then, of course, there were the meals shared in our new home.  We hosted Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family.  It was a casual affair where we served chicken and andouille gumbo and several dips.  We also hosted a more formal sit down Christmas night dinner for fourteen.  

I posted our menu HERE last Tuesday, but I decided to change things just a bit.  Rather than the sweet potatoes, I made this Hearty Sausage and Rice Casserole.    It was absolutely scrumptious!!!!!  I doubled the recipe and we went through almost all of it in one night!  The dish was incredibly flavorful and super easy to make.  

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 package (8 ounces) sliced mushrooms
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large red pepper, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves, crushed
• 1 box (6 ounces) seasoned long-grain and wild rice mix
• 1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Stock
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

Directions

Cook the sausage in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.

Add the mushrooms, celery, pepper, onion, thyme, marjoram and seasoning packet from the rice blend to the skillet and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp.

Stir the sausage mixture, stock, soup, rice blend and 1/2 cup cheese in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour or until the sausage is cooked through and the rice is tender. Stir the sausage mixture before serving. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Tip: For an extra-special touch, substitute 1 package (8 ounces) baby portobello mushrooms, sliced, for the sliced mushrooms.