Brown Rice and Beans With Cheese and Chilies

This casserole is delicious comfort food. You could even use this as filling for a burrito. The recipe comes from Judith Finlayson's cookbook "125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes." If your slow cooker is new, you may have to adjust the cooking time. I've found that most of the new models cook faster than the originals.

• Ready In: 4 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  oil
• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 2  celery ribs, diced
• 3⁄4 cup long grain brown rice, rinsed well
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (10 ounce) can  condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 1⁄2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (14 -19 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1  jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 (4 1/2ounce) can  mild diced green chilies
• 1 1⁄2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rice, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add soup and broth and stir until smooth. Stir in beans and transfer to slow cooker.
2. Place 2 clean tea towels, each folded in half (so you have 4 layers), over top of stoneware, to absorb the accumulated moisture (I only had 2 towels with 2 layers, worked fine). Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours, until hot and bubbling.
3. Remove tea towels. Add jalapeno pepper, if using, green chilies, and cheese. Cover and cook on high for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and mixture is hot and bubbling.