Cheesy Beef & Tomato Casserole

One of my goals this year is to try 50 new recipes. I found this one from Betty Crocker and it has landed itself in our favorite meals category. Perry even ATE the zucchini instead of picking them out. My job here is done...

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3/4 cup uncooked medium-grain white rice 

1 cup water 

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (2 cups)

1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)

1 can (19 oz) Progresso® Vegetable Classics tomato basil soup

 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Place rice and water in baking dish; stir to mix. Layer cooked beef, zucchini and tomato over rice. Pour soup over top. Cut 16x12-inch sheet of foil; spray with cooking spray. Cover dish with foil, sprayed side down.
3. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover dish; sprinkle cheese over top. Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes longer or until edges are bubbly and cheese is lightly browned.

I always over do it with cheese!

*If you have zucchini from your garden you could it as well and cut it into small cubes. We however had a mix up in our garden planting this spring and didn't get ours planted... Oops!