Sweet and Nutty Rice Casserole

This came from Kiwi magazine. I wasn't thrilled with the veggie to rice ratio so I'll be playing around with it the next time I make it. There's nothing "wrong" with it really, but I prefer many more veggies in my dinners. It was delicious though, with a little extra cinnamon and agave nectar (the recipe originally called for honey I think). Adrian gobbled it up and asked for seconds, which is rare. So this is definitely a winner!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
3 medium carrots, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
32 oz vegetable broth
1 15 oz can of chickpeas
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350*. Heat oil over medium. Add carrots and onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add rice and stir until coated with oil. Add broth, chickpeas, agave syrup, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, stir. Increase heat to bring liquid to a simmer. Transfer to a baking dish, cover and place in the oven. Bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Top with almonds and serve.

So I made half the recipe since it was just me and my "eats like a bird" kid eating that night. We barely made a dent in it anyway though and I was able to freeze 3 cups of leftovers. It makes a LOT. When it came out of the oven, I put it on our plates, and THEN sprinkled more cinnamon and drizzled more agave syrup. Just a bit, but enough to give it a lovely sweet taste. I just wasn't feeling the "sweet" with the stated amount of sweetener. Oh, Adrian picked out the almonds, but I still consider it a winner. If the offending ingredient can easily be picked out, I consider it a success anyway. I served this with salad, since the veggie content was so low. This can definitely be served alone though...just add a few more carrots and maybe celery. I think celery would be excellent in this!