Sausage and Rice Casserole

When my mom came after I had my second baby, she made this meal for us and it instantly became a favorite in our house.  It is on our menu almost weekly.  Now I know you read sausage and think of it being unhealthy, but we try our best to make it as healthy as possible.

Sausage and Rice Casserole
1 lb pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean's reduced fat version. It is around 12 oz, but it makes enough)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery (I usually double or triple this)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice (I use long grain brown rice)
1 package chicken noodle soup mix
2 cups hot water
1/2 cup slivered almond (It HAS to be slivered! It just tastes yummier that way for some reason:))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown the sausage, onion, celery, and pepper; drain any excess fat

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a coated 2 quart dish, and top with almonds.  Cover dish and cook for 60-90 minutes. (I have a gas oven and it cooks faster, so mine is usually done anywhere from 45-60 minutes.)

We love to wrap this in a whole wheat wrap. It just tastes yummier that way.  I love the new flat out wraps, but any whole wheat wrap would work great!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!