Rice, chickpea, and yogurt casserole

Nobody will ever make this but me, but whatever.  Here it is.  Hippie food.  Stuff like this makes me feel like less of a failure as a Quaker.

This is one of those things you make when you have only a little bit of a lot of things that don't quite make up a respectable meal, and you want a hot dinner.

3/4 cup dry brown rice

1/2 cup plain yogurt (all I had.  A full cup would have been better)

1/2 onion, diced

little bit of oil

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Monterrey Jack), plus more for topping, if you want

1/2 cup milk (skim is fine)

1 cup cooked chickpeas (more or less.  Could have had more)

salt, pepper, and parsley to taste

Optional: Breadcrumbs or wheat germ for topping.

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly butter a very small casserole dish; mine was an old 7 x 9 Pyrex, and it could have held a lot more.

Cook rice.  While rice is cooking, lightly cook onion in oil.  Combine rice, onion, and everything else (you can do this right in the casserole dish.  Why dirty a bowl?), spread out, and top with cheese and/or crumbs or wheat germ.  Bake until bubbling slightly and browned around the edges, about 40 minutes.

Here's a picture, although I'm not sure it helps:

Eat with something green on the side, which you need both to make a complete meal and to keep from dying of beige-food boredom.  I had Brussels sprouts.

It was bland.  Not terrible, actually, but it needed chiles or better cheese or something.  I'm sure I'll make it again but I'll have to put more work into it.