Just say No! to wheat

Actually I can't have wheat until December 23rd. Doctors orders :) I don't mind it. I am taking it as a challenge. Challenge is the right word because after a long day at work, an appointment and then two hours at the gym, I didn't have the energy, nor the patience to make a meatless wheatless dinner. I ripped open a bag of kettle corn and was ready to chow down. But then I thought about it and... well kettle corn isn't an acceptable dinner. I ate enough to give me enough energy to look up a recipe and I decided that I'd make the first one I found. Craving some comfort food, I settled on a Baked Rice, Cheese and Vegetable Casserole. This may be a bit of a pain in the ass if you're hungry and don't want to chop all the veggies (ok, so you just have to chop tomatoes, bell peppers and onions) but I have a slap chopper and though the adverts are really stupid, it's a great tool in the kitchen for when you're feeling lazy! It also feels good to whack something. Actually it felt so good that I ended up pureeing my tomatoes instead of chopping them but ah well :) No, I am not angry or upset at the moment, just got carried away slapchoppin'.
The casserole was delicious! But I'll have to try it again when I am not starved! When I am hungry, anything tastes delicious. Mom, Dad, Steph and Dasha are having it as a side dish with chicken and they just yelled over that 'the rice casserole is very good'. So there, it got the family's stamp of approval. Here's the recipe:

Baked Rice, Cheese and Vegetable Casserole

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (I used red, we didn't have green, it was still yummy :))
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed (Not planning ahead, I used em frozen, worked just fine)
1 large tomato, the recipe says seeded, I threw em in, chopped
3 cups brown rice
2 cups grated Swiss cheese
3 tbsp cream
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup almond flour (optional)
pepper to taste

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add corn and tomato and sauté 3 minutes. Add rice, 1 cup cheese, cream, thyme and almond flour and stir until cheese melts and mixture is heated through. Transfer mixture to 8-cup soufflé dish.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over rice mixture. Broil until cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Yuuummmmmm!!!!! :) For desert, I had my first cup of eggnog sprinkled with fresh ground nutmeg. Bliss!