If only I would learn that less is more.  When I travel in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, there seems to be an invisible force that propels me to the wild rice stands that pepper the roadsides.  I’ll find myself loading up the car with bags and bags of wild rice from every corner of the countryside.  Now I’m home with beautiful bags of wild rice and only a handful of recipes. One recipe that I turn to is a classic casserole made with wild rice.  It’s simple but always warms the heart, and belly!  Some people like to mix in a bit of brown rice to make the dish a little more mild.  Here’s how simple it is:

1.  You’ll need 1 cup of raw wild rice.  Cook the rice according to the directions on the package until almost tender.  (If you’ve lost your directions, it’s pretty standard.  Rinse rice thoroughly.  The ratio is 1 to 3, rice to water, or broth if you like.  Bring rice and water to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 45 to 50 minutes, or less if you are cooking it in a casserole, like this recipe.  Uncover, fluff and continue simmering about 10 minutes or until all water is absorbed.  Drain if you have to.)
2.  Meanwhile, chop up 4 or 5 slices of bacon and fry with 1 small diced onion, and about 1/2 cup of finely diced celery, and one clove grated or minced garlic.  Fry until bacon is crisp and celery is transparent.  Remove the mixture from the pan and spoon it into your casserole dish and set aside.
3.  Now put 1 pound of ground beef in your pan and fry until brown and no pink color remains. Remove to casserole dish.
4.  Then in the same frying pan, saute 4 to 8 ounces of cut up mushrooms (more or less depending on your feelings about mushrooms) in a little vegetable oil until nicely browned and cooked all the way through. (Remember; don’t salt your mushrooms while cooking.  It makes them watery.)  Remove to casserole dish. 
5.  Now you can add your cooked wild rice to your casserole with the other ingredients you’ve prepared, add one can of cream of mushroom soup and about 1/2 the can water, salt and pepper to taste, and mix it all up thoroughly.
6.  Bake covered in your oven set at 325 for 40 to 45 minutes.   

Although the classic wild rice soup and wild rice mushroom casseroles are great, I have an abundance of seafood here and am wondering if wild rice and seafood makes a good combination.  How about oysters?  I would really like to surprise my husband with some fantastic wild rice meals so he finally believes that all those stops at the roadside stands were worth it!