Three Many Cooks

One Mom, Two Daughters, Three Kitchens

Home > Recipes > Salads & Sides > Pioneer Woman’s Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole (Giveaway Winners Announced!)

Pioneer Woman’s Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole (Giveaway Winners Announced!)

  |    |  2,543 Comments

Congratulations to our giveaway winners Adrienne, Heather, Wanda, Mary-Jo and Kiki on winning Ree Drummond’s new book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays. Enjoy!

Today we’re featuring Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole, one of Ree Drummond’s Thanksgiving side dishes from her new book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays. Even better we’re giving away five copies!

Believe it or not, in her acknowledgements Ree credits me with giving her the idea for this book a few years ago. She ponders whether the idea came while we were sitting in her kitchen “sipping coffee (or was it wine?).” Hmm.

Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I love Ree’s Year of Holidays. Bookended by New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve, this book is exquisitely crammed with recipes, photos, decorating ideas, and tips for all twelve big holidays in between. Imagine, all your favorite holiday recipes—stuff you really want to make—done well and in one place.

As I page through the book, there are so many dishes I want to share with our readers. Like Ree’s brilliantly simple Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries or her to-die-for Caramel Apple Pie. As David was leafing through the book, he stopped at a photo of an Easter brunch plate, pointed to the Eggs in Hash Brown Nests, and boldly proclaimed, “I want that!” And even if there are no kids at my house on Valentine’s Day, I’m definitely making those Candy-Dipped S’Mores.

I also loved all the pictures of the family—Ree’s kids, her mom and dad, her mother- and father-in-law, and her sister, Betsy. There are even some vintage photos of her. These photos make an already great book feel warm and special.

Because I’ll be reaching for it regularly, this book has been added to the select group that actually lives in my kitchen. I am looking forward to this year of holidays, and to adding some wonderful new recipes to our traditional ones.

Thanks for the gift of new holiday inspiration, Ree. You can call me for coffee (or wine!) any time!

Let’s keep it simple. To enter the contest to win one of the five books we’re giving away, leave a comment telling us what dish you can’t wait to make or eat this Thanksgiving. Contest ends this Sunday night, November 17th at 9 PM Eastern Time. We’ll announce winners the following morning.

(I’m pretty excited about trying those Brussels sprouts!)

Pioneer Woman's Broccoli-Wild Rice Casserole
 
Print
by:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2 cups wild rice or wild rice blend
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 2 to 3 broccoli crowns, cut into small florets
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 1 medium-large onion, cut into small dice
  • 1 pound domestic white or baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
  • 2 celery stalks, cut into small dice
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
  1. Place rice in a large saucepan, along with 5 cups of the broth; bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the rice is just tender and broth is almost absorbed, 35 to 45 minutes; set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of boiling, salted water. Add broccoli florets and cook until bright green and tender crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately drain broccoli and plunge it into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When cool, drain and set aside.
  3. Heat 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and mushrooms; saute until tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes. Add carrots and celery; saute until all of the vegetables are soft and mixture starts to turn golden brown. Sprinkle in flour; stir to incorporate. Stir in remaining 3 cups of broth; bring to a simmer and continue to simmer to thicken slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in heavy cream; continue to simmer to heat through. Remove from heat.
  4. When ready to assemble, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread half of the rice in a 13- by 9-inch pan or other 2-quart casserole. Add enough broccoli to cover the surface. Repeat layering with remaining rice and enough broccoli to cover the surface. Ladle on sauce to evenly cover the casserole.
  5. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter; toss with panko crumbs to coat. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over casserole. Cover casserole with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until breadcrumbs and golden brown and casserole is bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley and serve or as Ree would say, “Then dig in!”
Notes
Says Ree, “Beware: This heavenly side dish takes everything you ever knew about broccoli-rice casserole and turns it upside down, shakes it up, messes with it, rearranges it, and totally changes things forever. The wild rice adds a nice chewiness and color, and my homemade approach to cream of mushroom soup might keep you from ever cracking open another can of the stuff as long as you live. This is utterly luscious.”
We agree, Ree.

 

About Pam Anderson

Pam Anderson considers herself Every Cook. A New York Times bestselling author, she has been cooking nearly everyday for over 30 years. With seven published books, she brings satisfying recipes and sage advice to both novice and veteran cooks. Whether you’re on a quest for the perfect brownie, wanting to get dinner on the table effortlessly, hoping to entertain more simply, attempting to shed pounds permanently, or looking to eat delicious meatless, Pam can help. AARP’s official food expert, she is a chef contributor at Runner’s World magazine. Pam is former Executive Editor of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Her food articles have appeared in many food magazines. She teaches cooking classes across the country and appears frequently on TV and radio. She currently is blogging at her new site, Copper House Events.

2,543 Comments

  5. Linda says

    I can’t wait to make my fresh made candied sweet potatoes and my popular pumpkin chocolate cake with maple frosting! And I’d love to win a cookbook!!

    Reply

  6. Linda says

    Looking forward to making my fresh candied sweet potatoes and my popular pumpkin chocolate cake with maple icing!! And I’d love to win one of the cookbooks!

    Reply

  7. TONI HERR says

    When I married, I was introduced to hot slaw, made by my mother-in-law. This sweet and sour hot cabbage was strong at first, but over 28 years, it’s come to be my favorite dish at Thanksgiving!

    Reply

  10. Whitney Burk says

    I am going to try Ree’s Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving! Can’t Wait! (also, a new tradition is roasted brussels sprouts with bacon! My mouth is watering!

    Reply

  11. Jamie Mack says

    I was raised by my grandmother and on thanksgiving she always made all the deserts first thing in the morning so we always got to have banana pudding for breakfast. So I can’t wait for warm banana pudding on thanksgiving morning.

    Reply

  12. Barbara says

    I am going to love cooking with my daughter for Thanksgiving. Making sweet potato casserole with our turkey and keeping a pot of mulled apple cider going… the house is going to smell so good!

    Reply

  14. Re (Marie) Bligh says

    Sweet potato casserole….yum! I love Ree and watching the Pioneer Woman and would love to win her cookbook. My fingers are crossed :-). Thank you for the opportunity to enter. God Bless.

    Reply

  18. Olivia says

    My dads homemade gravy on everything!! He uses the turkey drippings and stirs the gravy for 20 minutes until its perfect. He’s 87:) I could eat it as soup, it’s so good!

    Reply

  29. Toni Steinbuchel says

    dressing and gravy which are a rare treat, and making Christmas cutout cookies with my grandson for the first time

    Reply

  34. Lisa Kearns says

    I buy a new cookbook each year for the holidays to try all new recipes for my family and “homeless” friends. So fun to experiment and have a “blind” Thanksgiving and Christmas. Never know how it will turn out but we all have fun trying all new/recreated dishes, with wine of course! haha lol

    Reply

  35. Erin says

    I make some white chocolate cranberry cookies for dessert and they just don’t taste as good as they do after Thanksgiving dinner. As for the meal … my grandfather’s turkey stuffing.

    Reply

  36. Kathy says

    I can’t wait to make stuffing and gravy! Our son and his wife won’t let me make anything else!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone – Count your blessings!

    Reply

Share Your Comments & Feedback:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

;