Wild Rice Casserole

Halloween week and the campus has transformed into a place where adults dress as characters and pretend it is normal, which I suppose it is, because college is the last institution that permits you to be ridiculous without consequence. Brianna and I carved pumpkins in the dorm lounge — hers was Instagram-perfect, mine was a crawfish that looked, according to Brianna, like "a lobster having a bad day." I am satisfied with my crawfish. Artistic accuracy is subjective.

I drove home for Sunday dinner — the first Sunday I have managed since school started. Mama made red beans. Daddy grilled chicken on the side because Daddy will grill in any season and any weather and the approaching November has not deterred him. The kitchen table felt exactly the same as it has always felt, which is the gift of the kitchen table: it does not change. The people around it change. The food changes. But the table is the table, and sitting at it after two months away was like putting on a coat you forgot you owned — instant comfort, instant fit, the recognition that some things are yours regardless of where you are living.

Kayla showed me her latest design project. She is getting good — really good, not family-good where you say "that's great" because saying anything else would start a war. Her typography work has a confidence that suggests she has found her medium the way I found mine. Cooking is my language. Design is hers. We are different translators of the same family impulse, which is to make something from nothing and put it in front of people.

I brought Mama's red beans back to the dorm in Tupperware and heated them Monday and the smell traveled through the third floor and four people showed up at my door. I am becoming a restaurant. An unpaid, unlicensed, Tupperware-based restaurant operating out of a dorm room with no business plan and no profit margin. MawMaw Shirley would be horrified at the business model and proud of the feeding.

Mama’s red beans are her domain and I am not foolish enough to publish her recipe without a formal treaty, so instead I’m giving you this wild rice casserole — the kind of warm, rich, feeds-a-crowd dish that carries the same Sunday-table energy. It’s the sort of thing that travels beautifully in Tupperware, reheats like a dream on a Monday night, and will absolutely send its smell down a dormitory hallway to summon four hungry strangers to your door. MawMaw Shirley would approve of the generosity, if not the business model.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 cup wild rice, rinsed
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 cup beef broth
1 can (8 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional, for topping)

Instructions

Cook the wild rice. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add the rinsed wild rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40–45 minutes until the rice is tender but still slightly chewy. Drain any excess water and set aside.
Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Brown the meat. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and cook the ground meat, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed.
Sauté the vegetables. Add the onion, celery, and garlic to the skillet with the meat. Cook for 4–5 minutes until the vegetables are softened.
Combine everything. In a large bowl, mix the cooked wild rice, meat and vegetable mixture, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, beef broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, seasoned salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne. Stir until evenly combined.
Assemble the casserole. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly. Scatter sliced almonds over the top if using.
Bake. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until bubbly and lightly golden on top.
Rest and serve. Let the casserole sit for 5–10 minutes before serving. It reheats beautifully the next day — and the day after that.

Nutrition (per serving)

Wild Rice Casserole — The Sunday Table That Doesn’t Change