Nutty Vegetable Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup rice, uncooked
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 8 large beet leaves, chopped
• 3 big carrots, chopped
• 3 tablespoons onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 375. Soak rice in water for ten minutes (in the pot you will cook it in).

2. 2

   While rice soaks, mix almond butter and milk throroughly in a small bowl. Set aside. Begin to chop carrots, onion, garlic and ginger.

3. 3

   Drain and rinse rice, and add fresh water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on medium-low for eight minutes.

4. 4

   While rice cooks, saute carrots, onion, garlic and ginger in a pan with olive oil until they begin to be tender. While these are cooking, stir occasionally and chop beet greens into bite-size pieces.

5. 5

   When rice is cooked, turn off heat and let stand, covered, for ten minutes.

6. 6

   While rice stands, add beet greens to vegetable saute and cook until just tender. I prefer not to overcook these so you still have a variety of textures in the casserole and it doesn't turn into a "blob".

7. 7

   When rice has stood for ten minutes, remove lid, add almond butter and milk mixture, and stir thoroughly. Add vegetable saute mixture and stir thoroughly.

8. 8

   Pour mixture (should be very thick) into a medium casserole and top with paprika and a bit of salt.

9. 9

   Cook at 375 for ten minutes, covered. Enjoy!