Festive Holiday Rice Casserole

I was sent some Uncle Ben's rice products to create a custom recipe with for the AllRecipes Ambassador program this year and decided to work with the original rice for this dish. I decided to go with a yummy rice casserole dish - those always seem to go over well with my family. I thought some green and red vegetables would give it some "holiday festiveness"!

We taste tested when this came out of the oven initially and we decided some cheese would be a good addition - so a cracker topping with cheese was sprinkled over the top.

Either way - with or without the cracker topping, this is a deliciously seasoned rice dish. The butter and flavor from the spices work perfectly with the Uncle Ben's rice to make a tasty and filling side dish. We thought throwing in some diced chicken would make a PERFECT one-dish meal as well (but we ate all the rice in one sitting, so we'll have to test that theory out at another time).

Festive Holiday Rice Casserole (an original Rebekah Hills recipe)

Ingredients
2 TBS butter
1 cup Uncle Ben’s original rice
2 ¼ cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper (more to taste)
9 Ritz crackers, crushed
½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat on the stove top and add butter. Sauté diced bell pepper and celery for about 5 minutes, then add in the rice. Stir to coat rice and butter and cook for another minute.
3. Add water and seasonings; stir to blend and bring to a simmer. As soon as water begins to bubble, turn off heat, put the lid of the Dutch oven on and place in the preheated oven.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, remove lid and stir the rice dish. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top of the rice and add the crushed crackers evenly over the top.
5. Return the pot to the oven for 10 minutes (without the lid), or until cheese has melted and crackers are lightly toasted.
6. Serve immediately.

DISCLAIMER: I am an Allrecipes Allstar brand ambassador (a voluntary position) and I am not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com. Products received from advertisers are only used for experienced-based reviews on Making Miracles. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Rebekah. To learn more about the Allrecipes Allstars program visit Allrecipes Allstars.