Wild Rice Hotdish and Chickens

Wild Rice from this year's harvest. Makes a delicious hot dish or casserole for a potluck or catered meal. It would be catered by a friend. It was for a friends' son-in-laws funeral. Potlucks aren't like the potlucks of old. When she asked if I might make the wild rice hotdish, how could I say no.

She was working on not giving our friend a big bill for the meal. So she was inviting friends to contribute. It was all his favorite dishes on the menu. With a few additional side items. Like an orange Jello parfait item that his mother-in-law was making.

Just a few days before, she reminded me. I thought no problem. And then it was. I had the rice. Plenty. I probably have enough rice for 20 casseroles. I stock up for the winter, right after a new harvest. Good thing I know people and can purchase the rice for an inexpensive price. Some is even a gift.

What else would I need? Hamburger is so expensive. I needed that was for one of the crockpots. The other would-be chicken. Good thing my daughter has chickens, and it is time to butcher several. They went from 12 chickens and a rooster to 45 chickens, almost overnight.

Here is her message to me: "Belt buckle just came back with 12 chicks this time....f@%k!÷#+_/=!! 45 chickens.... until butcher day. Do you have room in your freezer?? Get chickens they said, it'll be fun they said...."

My response: I didn't say that. And what a name for a chicken, Belt buckle! Greyson (her grandson, my great-grandson) named her.

My daughter and her daughter appear to be crazy chicken ladies. Yesterday she called to ask if we couldn't get a coop set up to take some of their chickens. They free range and there is no place to walk around at their country home right now.

My husband was interested at first. Then I know he is particular about his lawn, so all I had to say was that a lot of shit cleanup will be a part of the deal and I'm not doing it. Okay, he lost interest and it was easy for him to say no.

My sister friend said "I have room in my freezer. Then let's make chicken broth, boil up bones and can it." Well, the bone broth sounded good to me but canning, not so much. I didn't say a word. I would try to not get roped in.

Anyway, back to the job at hand. I decided that I would buy hamburger and a few other items for the hotdish. Then it would be nothing to put it in the crock pot just before going to bed, and wake up with a wild rice hotdish, ready to drop off at the church at 7 or 8 a.m. before leaving for a granddaughter's birthday party.

I have one large crock pot. My friend, the caterer gave me her large crockpot with a warning that it gets really hot. It was too hot to be called a crock pot. It was like putting the dish on the burner on high. So overnight would not work. I cooked it and put it on warm for the night.

That didn't work either. Too hot on warm to leave it for now, 6 hours. I unplugged it before going to sleep. Several hours later, I added liquid, plugged it back in and left it in there until the trip to the community hall down the road a bit. The chicken casserole turned out perfect in my crockpot as planned.

When we got to the community center, my friend, the caterer had locked herself out of the hall. She had gone back to her car to get another load of food items to take in when she realized the door was locked. She didn't have her phone with her or the key to the hall.

She asked to use our phone to call for help. The center worker lives just down the road a few miles. She couldn't remember her name, or exactly where she lived so we googled the center and her name and number came up. She answered the phone and her husband was on his way with the key.

She decided to plug her crock pot in close to her so she could watch it and she had us plug the chicken casserole on warm on the other side of the hall. She didn't want any fuses to blow. Then we could leave and go about our day.

She called later and said she decided she is throwing her crock pot in the garbage as soon as it was empty.

Manoomin (wild rice) Hotdish (inexpensive quick recipe)
Not the recipe I used, but it is my husbands favorite.

1 pound wild rice (may mix white rice and wild rice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg. onion soup mix (may substitute fresh onions)
1 1/2—2 pounds hamburger or chicken
Frozen bag of mixed vegetables (optional or may substitute fresh vegetables)

Rinse rice 3 – 4 times especially if hand or machine processed rice, cook in water until nutty texture 10-15 minutes (this time varies if paddy rice versus lake rice. Paddy rice is usually the darker rice)
Mix soup and onion soup mix.  Mix in hamburger, or brown chicken pieces and add to soup mixture.

Add enough water to look like wild rice soup in the crock pot.
When baking in the oven, use about 1 1/2 - 2 cans of water for the soup. When using frozen vegetables, they will add to the liquid needed.
Add mixed vegetables or your choice of vegetable before placing in oven or crockpot to cook.
Mix all together in casserole dish or crockpot. 

Bake at 350 for 45 mins. Before baking some people will place Tator tots on top of the hotdish.

Cook on high for several hours in the crockpot, until done, then heat on warm until served. If dry, add liquid. Bullion with hot water broth works.

P.S. My son makes his own alfredo sauce recipe and adds all fresh vegetables. Both recipes are very good.

P.S.S. I'm sure there are plenty of other great recipes on-line. Wild rice can be substituted for many white rice dishes as well. People do use wild rice mixed with white rice to have their wild rice last longer if they only have a small amount. And some prefer adding both.

USDA, FDA, and other findings: Wild rice offers more fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals than white rice for fewer carbohydrates and calories.

Switching from white rice to wild rice can significantly increase essential nutrient intake.

Wild rice has less of an effect on blood sugar levels than white rice.

Wild rice contains more bioactive compounds like flavonoids and phenolic acids than white rice.

One downside is heavy metals that some leafy vegetables and chocolate/cocoa have as well. If it is not your daily diet, it is not a problem.

Michael Joseph, MSc, ANutr