Baked Beef and Rice Casserole (Step-by-Step for Dummies 101)

I saw this on my friend’s feed, and it looked DIVINE so I begged her for the recipe. As always, I ended up putting my own twist on the dish because I didn’t have some of the ingredients, as well as to make it fit my family of 5. The end result? Still amazing and SO flavorful. Honestly, the flavored rice is already a meal on its own. Who knew beef broth could be so rich?

Without further ado, let’s jump into my dish for the day: Baked Beef and Rice Casserole

DELECTABLE FOOD FOR THE DAY: BAKED BEEF AND RICE CASSEROLE

DIFFICULTY: Easy (but the prep takes time)

SERVING SIZE: Good for 5 people (on its own – no need for anything else)

PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours (for beginners – my chopping skills need work.)

INGREDIENTS FOR BAKED BEEF AND RICE CASSEROLE

GROUND BEEF

3/4 kg ground beef (85% lean is best)
Pinch of basil, oregano, rosemary, and cayenne pepper (for that extra kick!)
Pinch of salt and pepper (taste to make sure it’s to your liking)

FLAVORED RICE

3 tbsp butter (separated)
2 cups of rice
3 onions, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups beef broth (in my case, just used two Beef Knorr cubes mixed with 2 1/2 cups of hot water)

FINAL MIX

200g Mushroom (I use Jolly Button Mushroom, drained)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I use Campbell’s – 290g)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
165g cheddar cheese, shredded

PROCEDURE:

STEP 1: Prep all ingredients

Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C. This always takes a LONG time, so just pre-heat it while you prep the other stuff
Cook 2 cups of rice. I had lots of leftover rice from dinner the previous night, so I just used that
Mince 6 cloves of garlic, and dice 3 onions

Shred your cheddar cheese onto a bowl so it’s ready once you need it. While you can purchase the pre-shredded cheese, I tend to get the bar because it’s cheaper (and supposedly provides the best results!)

I thought cheddar cheese was supposed to be orange… Is this fake?!

Prepare beef broth by heating up 2 1/2 cups of water, then plonk in two Beef Knorr cubes. Alternatively, if you have beef broth ready – then just use that.

STEP 2: Cook the ground beef

Brown the ground meat in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Shake your desired seasoning as you cook the meat. I used a mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, cayenne, salt and pepper. Why? Because that’s what I had available hahahaha!

Once cooked, set the ground beef aside. I poured it out onto my baking pan, so the beef could be used to “grease” the pan so I wouldn’t need to place oil onto it later

STEP 3: Cook the flavored rice

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in the same pot (so you can benefit from the remaining beef flavoring AND lessen the number of pots to wash)
Add the diced onions and cook for 5 minutes. This will allow the onions to soften

Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute

Add 1 tbsp of butter to the pot, followed by the rice THEN the beef broth. If you place the rice first, this ensures minimal broth splashes vs if you do it the other way around. Stir to combine all these ingredients together

Bring it to a boil by increasing the heat. Once you see the sauce start bubbling, reduce the heat to a simmer

Cover the pan. After 7 minutes, remove the lid and stir to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot
Cover the pan. After 3 minutes, add in the mushrooms