Sicilian Rice Ball Casserole

Rice Ball Casserole 

Okay, so I wasn't paying attention when I made the stuffed peppers and I put in way too much rice.  That being said, I ended up with a ton of leftovers and I had to use them quickly, so I decided to make a casserole and keep it for later in the week.

I must tell you that I did not have all the ingredients and obviously could not follow this recipe to a "T', so I improvised, it ended being a lot fewer points than what is listed, and it came out delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked long grain rice
4 cups water
1 (2.5 oz) your favorite Gluten Free sweet Italian sausage link, casing removed
10 oz (.65 lbs) 93% lean ground turkey (1/2 package)
1/4 cup onion, minced 
salt and fresh pepper
5 oz frozen peas (I didn't have any peas, so I omitted this)
16 oz tomato sauce (I used less)
1/3 cup egg beaters or egg whites (I didn't use eggs)
1/2 cup pecorino romano (I didn't use any of this either)
cooking spray
4 tbsp seasoned gluten free breadcrumbs, divided (you can always season with Italian seasoning if you only hvae plain ones)
1 1/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

Directions:
Cook rice in water according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, sauté sausage meat; cook until brown breaking up into pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add turkey and onions and cook until browned, breaking up as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add peas and 8 oz tomato sauce and simmer on low, covered, about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl combine rice, pecorino romano, eggs, and 3-4 oz tomato sauce and mix well. Rice should be a bit sticky.

Spray a 9 x 12 casserole dish with cooking spray, making sure to spray sides too. Add 2 tbsp breadcrumbs to the dish and roll around to coat the bottom and sides. Take half of the rice mixture (a little more if needed) and cover the bottom of the dish and up the sides; press to form the bottom layer.
Add the meat and peas.  Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Top with remaining rice and press until even. Top with remaining 4 oz of sauce, remaining 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, and remaining mozzarella.   Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes. Cut into 8 pieces.

Since I didn not use all of the ingredients, or the amount of sauce reccomended my version was lower in points, and I served it with zesty tomato sauce on the side for dipping to add a little oomph.

Recipe obtained (but modified) from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/