Vegetarian Southern Johnny Squares

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup brown rice
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion (i usually hydrate 1 tb dried onions)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded and divided into 3/4 and 1/4 c
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (or roman beans)
• 2 eggs, beaten

Recipe

• 1 cook the rice in the vegetable broth and 2 tbsp butter, cover and simmer until al dente, about 15-20 minutes.
• 2 while the rice is cooking, cook pepper and onion in the remaining 2 tbsp butter until tender in a heavy-bottom saucepan, about 10-15 minutes.
• 3 stir in the flour, chili powder, and cumin.
• 4 stir the milk, cook and stir until bubbly then remove from heat.
• 5 stir in 3/4 cup shredded cheese and the eggs, black eye peas, the ham or ham substitute (pinto beans here), and rice. mix thoroughly.
• 6 preheat the oven to 350°f grease an 8x8x2 baking pan with butter-flavor cooking spray, then pour in the mixture from the saucepan. pat it down evenly.
• 7 top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese, and bake for 30 minutes on the center rack or until set. cut into sixths.