Bacon Mushroom And Rice Bake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 -10 slices bacon (can use more or less bacon)
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (to taste)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 (10 ounce) can mushroom soup, undiluted
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (can use more)
milk (use half of the can of the mushroom soup)
2 cups cooked converted white rice (I use Uncle Ben's converted rice for this)
1 -2 cup canned mushroom slices, drained
salt and pepper

Preparation

Set oven to 325 degrees.
Butter a casserole dish.
Cook the rice, and set aside.
In a frypan cook bacon until crisp; drain the bacon fat if desired, or just leave in frypan to fry the veggies (you might still have to add in some butter for frying) remove and chop bacon into large pieces and set aside.
Add in 1/4 cup butter, and saute onion, garlic, celery and green pepper for about 4-5 minutes or until soft.
Transfer the cooked bacon and sauteed veggies to a large bowl; add in the cooked rice and all remaining ingredients; mix well to combine, adjusting salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a greased casserole dish.
Bake (covered or uncovered) for about 30-40 minutes.
**NOTE** if desired sprinkle grated cheddar cheese over the casserole the last 20 minutes of baking.
Also, for perfrect converted rice, boil 1-3/4 cups water with 1 cup rice and 2 tablespoons butter (double the water, rice and butter if desired) this will give you a not too soft rice, perfect for this or any recipe.