Green Chile Rice

This is another one of my most-requested recipes from my Mom. It is such a yummy side dish but I don't make it often because it is not the healthiest. Lucky for you (and me), I swapped out the sour cream for Greek yogurt  last time I made it and it worked! Not only did it work, I think it might almost be better than the sour cream version. The rice seemed fluffier and lighter with the yogurt. Which ever route you choose to go, I definitely recommend trying this dish. It's great to make-ahead too - you can just assemble the whole thing and refrigerate until you're ready to bake. I don't know the source of this recipe - I have it written down in my recipe book from one of my Mom's cookbooks.

Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4

Ingredients


Rice:

• 3/4 cup of white rice (I use Texmati rice)
• 1 1/3 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp butter

Rest of casserole:

• 4 oz of Monterey Jack cheese (pepper jack works well too)
• 1 small (4 oz) can of chopped green chiles
• 2 cups of sour cream, light sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt (I used one small cup of 2% Greek yogurt and one of fat free and it was great. Just be sure you buy plain yogurt, not sweetened or flavored!)
• extra butter to dot the top

Prep

1. Cook your rice. The recipe called for 3/4 cup of uncooked rice and I used 1 1/3 cup of water which worked out well but check your rice package directions b/c your ratio might need to be a little different.
2. While the rice cooks, grease the bottom of a small casserole dish with butter or Pam. Also go ahead and preheat your oven to 350°
3. Once the rice is cooked, let it cool for a bit, then add your Greek yogurt or sour cream, some salt and pepper and mix it together. I did this in a bowl, but you can also just add it to your rice pot if it's big enough.

4. Spread a thin layer of your rice mixture in your greased casserole dish. Top this with your whole can of chopped green chiles and half of your Jack cheese. I grated my directly on the casserole.

5. Cover the green chiles and cheese with the rest of your rice mixture. Top the rice with the rest of your grated Jack cheese and dot with a few dabs of butter.

Cook

1. Cook in your preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown.