Recipe: Aegean Collard-Rice Casserole

A Preview from Our Soon-to-Be Published Story Cookbook: Collards with a Middle Eastern flair!

Ingredients
Non-stick cooking spray
1 cup basmati rice (uncooked)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 ounces (5 cups) frozen chopped collards
¼ cup minced onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons Splenda®
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons A-1® steak sauce
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
Salt substitute to taste
1½ cups Fat Free Half & Half®
4 ounces Atehnos® crumbled feta
cheese with garlic and herb
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup golden raisins
½ cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
Place the rice and water in a 3-quart saucepan.
Bring to a boil. Stir once
Simmer the rice covered with a tight-fitting, see-through lid 15 minutes or until the water absorbs.
Sauté the collards, onions, and garlic with the olive oil in the large pot 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
Add the baking soda, Splenda® vinegar, steak sauce, basil, ginger ,red pepper, and salt substitute.
As soon as the collards cool, stir in the cream, cheese, and eggs.
transfer the mix to the casserole.
Top it with bread crumbs and dots of butter.
Bake at 350 º 30 minutes or until the dish bubbles.


Equipment/Utensils
3-quart (13"X 9 X 2") Pyrex® baking dish
3-quart deep saucepan
Large heavy cooking pot such as Dutch oven