Arancini casserole

Arancini casserole

Last night I made this wonderful casserole.  It is based on arancini, a fried, stuffed, Italian rice ball.  It was so delicious!  The sausage adds a spiciness that is mellowed by the rice.  The peas add a sweet little pop to each bite...yum!

I made two casseroles out of this recipe.  Each casserole is 4 servings.  If you need more servings, you could use a 9 X13 pan and make one big casserole, just adjust the cooking time to 20 min with the foil and 10 without.

• 3 bags rice
• 1/2 lb (8 oz) Italian bulk sausage
• 1/2 lb (8 oz) 90% lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped 
• salt and fresh pepper
• 4 oz frozen peas (1/2 container)
• 16 oz tomato sauce (I used Classico Roasted Garlic sauce)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup shredded parmigiano cheese
• cooking spray
• 4 T breadcrumbs
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Cook rice in water according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, sauté sausage meat; cook until brown breaking up into pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add ground beef and onion and cook until browned, breaking up as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add peas and 8 oz tomato sauce and simmer on low, covered, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl combine rice, parmigiano, egg, and4 oz tomato sauce and mix well. Rice should be a bit sticky.

Spray 2 9X9 casserole dishes with cooking spray, making sure to spray sides too.

Take 1/4 of the rice mixture and cover the bottom of one of the casserole dishes,  pressing to form bottom layer.  Repeat in second dish.

Pour half of the meat and peas mixture in one dish and half in the other.

Sprinkle 1/2 c. of the mozzarella on top of each.  Take half of what is left of the rice mixture and spread it on top of meat mixture on one casserole, repeating with the second casserole.  Top with remaining 4 oz of tomato sauce (2 oz each), mozzarella (1/2 c. each), and breadcrumbs (2 T. each).

Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes.  REmove foil and bake 5 minutes more.

Enjoy!