Pantry Salmon Casserole

I got another snow day yesterday, and as a result feel pretty well rested! God knows what I need, as usual.

I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings with my last post. I re-read it and started wondering if any of my blog-friends will feel like I'm saying they're not good enough for me. You guys are wonderful -- I just wish I could have you over for dinner. I have never done long-distance relationships well, and just now I admit to being an emotional basketcase (I mean, more than usual) which responds better to hugs than to emoticons (though I like both).

There isn't much news lately. John's job search is going well, I think. He has a lot of leads. But it might take awhile to see which are going to pan out. That's almost an answer to prayer in itself, though, because I was terrified of trying to navigate a job change or move before the baby is born, and now it looks like that probably won't happen. However, none of the leads are solid enough that you should stop praying! Hopefully we will find something soon.

Pregnancy is going well at 33 weeks. The back pain flares up when I am on my feet a lot, and gets less when I get rest. So, with all these snow days and everything, plus my efforts to sit down more at work, I'm handling it okay. And everything else is quite stable. I've had one wakeful night with heartburn, and other than that am pretty comfortable considering I look like the Goodyear blimp! I've been having a LOT of false labor, which worried me for awhile, but now I'm getting used to the way it comes and goes. My mom says she had a lot too. And my mother-in-law says it will make my real labor shorter -- here's hoping!

Anyway, the post title suggested a recipe, and I do have one for you. This was a dinner that I made from things in the pantry because we are out of almost everything right now. (Shopping today!) I didn't expect it to be much of a hit, but I actually got compliments! I ate one serving and John ate three ... so I will label it "serves four," but keep in mind that it actually only served two in our case.

Pantry Salmon Casserole

1/2 cup brown rice (after cooking it was more like 1 1/4 cup)
1 can salmon
1 can mushrooms
3/4 cup peas (mine were frozen -- I think canned peas are icky)
2-3 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 onion, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese

Cook rice. Mix all ingredients except cheese in a smallish casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over top. Put in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so. Enjoy.

You see it was just a thrown-together dish. I thought it wouldn't turn out well, especially when I found out that the onions hadn't cooked completely. (I chopped them quite coarsely and only had the casserole in the oven for about 5 minutes, to melt the cheese. I've changed that for you, but you can also try it my way.) I found them rather strong, and was sure John wouldn't care for them. But it turned out he loved them crunchy! Said it gave the dish more of a bite. I'll leave this to your personal taste, whether you like raw onions or you'd prefer to have them soft and milder.

I meant to put some garlic in, but forgot. Salt might also have been nice, but I didn't add any to my portion -- the cheese was salty enough for me. John's suggestion was that this would have been delicious with artichoke hearts, and I thoroughly agree. (Yum!) In fact, you could really add almost any vegetable in place of or in addition to the peas -- whatever you happen to like. You could use white rice instead of brown, but I much prefer brown, and I think it went better with the dish anyway. I've made something similar with white rice and didn't get any compliments that time!

You'll notice this is a Friday-in-Lent recipe! So you have something to add to your repertoire, if you're grasping for ideas to get you through all the Fridays. Also, it can easily be increased, and the exact proportions don't matter much either: you could double the rice and leave the rest the same, or double the salmon and veggies and leave the rice where it is.

No picture -- we ate it all right away. :)

Happy Lent!