Turkey Casserole with Brown Rice & Broccoli

We have a lot of leftover turkey from Christmas. I froze some of it immediately for a future gumbo and froze some more for eating however we want. But we still had some in the refrigerator and I wanted to do something about it last night. I love turkey sandwiches probably more than the next person, but I wanted something different. Something that was like comfort food. I also had some leftover chicken stock from the dressing and wanted to use it up if I could.

I looked around at some recipes and specifically glanced over these two: http://southernfood.about.com/od/turkeycasserole/r/bl50804c.htm and http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/turkey-tetrazzini-ii/Detail.aspx. Then I did my own thing and, like I always do when I make one of my "experiments," told the family I didn't know if it would be any good. My husband, amazing man that he is, always tells me he loves my experiments. He can only think of one thing that I made that wasn't great, he says, and he doesn't remember what it was.

A problem with my experiments is I often don't write any of it down as I'm throwing things into the pans, so I often can't recreate them. Now that I'm blogging, however, I'm getting better at it. Last night I wrote everything down, so I can recreate it -- and I will want to. This made the house smell amazing as it was cooking and baking and none of us were disappointed in the taste. I'm sure I've had something that tasted similar to this in the past, but I'm also sure it was full of canned soup and processed pleasures. You won't find that in this. You'll be using brown rice, so make sure you give yourself an hour to cook it while you prepare the other ingredients.

Projected prep time (not including rice cook time): 45 min. Projected bake time: 25 min.
(Printable Recipe)

3 tbsp. butter
1 medium white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 c. gluten-free chicken stock
1 1/2 c. sour cream
2 to 2 1/2 c. leftover turkey pieces, cut in bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 c. broccoli florets, cooked (measure before cooking)
3 1/2 c. cooked long grain brown rice (measure after cooking)
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt or kosher salt, to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt your butter in a large pan and add diced onions. Simmer until they are wilted and almost clear.

Add freshly pressed garlic cloves, mix in with onions and simmer two or three more minutes.

Add chicken stock, bring to simmer and let cook for a few more minutes.

Whisk in your sour cream and continue to simmer a few more minutes.

Add a little salt and pepper, then add your turkey. Heat through. Add cooked broccoli florets, heat through. Add cooked brown rice, simmer.

Add more salt and pepper to taste, and dash of cayenne pepper. Heat through.

Pour into a well-buttered baking dish. I used my 11.5x8.5 pan for this one because I thought my 13x9 might make it too thin. Turns out the size I used was just right.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!