Baked Mushroom Rice

I took the time to read the reviews before I made this and I think I made a compromise that could help those who didn't care for it. I sauteed the rice (I used basmatti) in a little olive oil and butter till it was translucent, thus cooking it a bit. I than used 2 cups of chicken broth instead of the 1 cup of vegetable broth called for. I also used marjoram instead of oregano, majoram has a similar flavor but is a bit "mellower" and more rounded. I than covered it with foil as it cooked and it came out perfect. Oh, and I also lowered the cooking temp to 375 and cooked it for the time indicated. I think with these small tweaks this recipe is really wonderful and was well liked by myself and my family!

Sorry, I did not like this recipe at all. After baking for 45 minutes, the rice was *still* hard! I kept having to add water to it. Because this dish was holding up dinner, I ended up cooking it on the stove, adding even more water. Turned out mushy. I didn't care for the spices either.

I am glad that I read the reviews before making this dish. I made the following changes and substitutions. It was a huge hit! Turned out great! I sauted half a medium sized onion, half a clove of garlic (could add more..I definitely will add more next time), and 2 huge chopped up portobello mushrooms (again, could have added more..yum!) in the 1/4 cup of butter. I added the spices to the onion/mushroom mix. Following the suggestion of another reviewer, I substituted marjoram for the oregano. I used a 1/2 tsp of marjoram, but could have added more. I lightly sauted the rice (uncooked jasmine rice) in a touch of olive oil in a separate pan. (I do think this step could be skipped...I was following the advice of another reviewer) While those things were sauteeing, I mixed my wet ingredients. I used the entire can (2 cups) of chicken broth (I couldn't find vege broth), the can of mushroom soup and a cup and a half of milk. I whisked that all together and added the rice and mushroom/onion mix. I had to put this in a bigger pan (13x9) and covered in foil and baked at 350 for exactly 30 minutes. My oven bakes hot so it probably was really 375. The portobellos were tasty, but they did give the rice a brown look. All in all, with the ammendments, it was tasty and a hit at my dinner party!