This is the type of recipe that is perfect for cleaning up a couple of leftover cups of rice in your fridge. I got the basic idea for this recipe from my grandma’s cookbook, 375 Meatless Recipes. While this is a vegetarian cookbook, it does have non-vegan recipes, and this basic recipe wasn’t necessarily vegan, so I had to make some adjustments. Here’s what I came up with for my veganized version!

Gourmet Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups reconstituted soy curls
• approx. 2-3 cups vegan cream of mushroom soup (use this recipe, but decrease the Bragg’s to 2 tbsp., and don’t add the mushrooms since you’ll add them later in this recipe)
• 1/2 cup soy mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 ribs celery, sliced thinly
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 4-oz can mushrooms
• 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
• paprika

Chop your reconstituted soy curls into bite-sized pieces. Place in a medium-sized mixing bowl with the rice and mix. Make your mushroom soup and add to the rice and soy curls. Sauté the chopped onion, celery, and mushrooms in a tiny bit of oil or water for a few minutes until the onion looks kind of transparent. Then add the veggies to the mixing bowl.

Grease a 2-quart casserole dish and pour your casserole mix into that. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with sliced almonds and paprika.

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Enjoy!