Wild Rice Casserole

A standby for buffet dinners and fancy potlucks. This is one of the best recipes my mother ever made, so I was really glad to unearth it from her paste-in book. Frankly I was surprised that it's so easy to make. The recipe is originally from Sunset Magazine, sometime during the '50s. I would make it with turkey sausage and cut the salt by at least half -- probably use more onions and fresh mushrooms rather than canned, but what I'm giving you here is very close the original.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1⁄4 cup onion, chopped
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cups wild rice (uncooked)
• 1 1⁄2 lbs pork sausage
• 1 (3 1/2ounce) can  sliced mushrooms

Directions

1. Combine tomatoes, onions, salt, and sugar in a saucepan; simmer for 30 minutes; add mushrooms (undrained if using the canned ones).
2. Rinse wild rice; cook following package instructions.
3. Brown sausage in a skillet until crumbly; drain off most of fat.
4. Combine all ingredients in a 3-quart casserole.
5. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees F.