Red pepper casserole (vegetarian)

[vom_marlowe]

This is a simple, straightforward casserole.  It involves some chopping, but the leftovers keep well and are excellent for brunch, cooked with eggs. 

Ingredients
2-3 cups leftover cooked brown rice, or 1 cup dry, cooked according to package directions

2 large onions, finely chopped
3-4 bell peppers, any color is fine, but red is especially pretty
1 teaspoon dried garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Paprika
Olive oil

1 container ricotta cheese, about 2 cups, OR cottage cheese (if using cottage cheese, you'll want to blender it smooth, an immersion blender is fine)
1 1/2 cups grated cheese, we use Tilamook mild cheddar, but your own favorite is fine

2 cups Greek yogurt
3 large eggs

Directions
0. If you need to make rice, start that first.  It can simmer while you do the rest.  All the chopping and cooking means the rice should be done around the time you're reading for it, depending on how often family/the dog/the phone/random UPS deliveries interrupt. 
1.  Finely chop the onions, then sizzle in a large skillet or pan over medium heat.  Sprinkle with a little salt, to release the onion juices.
2. While the onions cook, de-seed and chop the peppers into bite sized pieces.  Add to the pan and cook gently, lowering heat to medium low, stirring occasionally while you prep the rest. 
3.  Preheat your oven to 375.
4.  Grate the cheese into a large bowl.  Add the ricotta, the garlic, the salt, and generous grinds of black pepper. Stir well. 
5.  In a small, separate bowl, prepare the custard.  Crack three eggs into the bowl and whisk with a fork.  Add the Greek yogurt, whisking with the fork until all lumps are gone and the custard is a uniform pale gold. 
6.  Prepare a casserole pan or large  (9 x 13") cake pan by spraying with non-stick spray or rubbing with olive oil.
7.  Your peppers/onions and rice should both be nicely cooked now.  Add to the large bowl and stir well until everything is evenly combined.  Spoon into the cake pan.  Smooth out so the top is nicely even.
8.  Pour your custard over the top, using a spoon to make sure it goes to the edges.  Sprinkle with paprika. 
9.  Bake about 35-45 minutes, until custard is cooked and everything is hot and bubbly. 

Notes:  You can substitute additional peppers for some of the onions, swap out fresh garlic for dried, change the spices, etc.  You can also swap out finely chopped broccoli for the peppers, in which case it becomes broccoli casserole, obvs. 

Comments

[kore]

Yum! Greek yoghurt is too fatty for me, though -- can I swap in fat-free Greek yoghurt or does that make it taste bad?

[vom_marlowe]

Fat free Greek yogurt is fine! You can also skip an egg yolk or two and reduce the grated cheese, if you need to cut more, it will still be tasty!