Tomango Rice (tomangacado?)

For those of us still in summer, one of my favorite simple meals good cold or at room temperature:
Amounts are estimated because its variable to taste, plus your tomatoes, avocadoes, and mangoes might be large or small,you might need to feed more people and stretch it out, etc. It's all good!

Ingredients:
around 2 1/2-3+ cups cooked brown rice (I like brown basmati)
about 2/3 cup cooked black ("forbidden") rice
one large ripe mango, chopped
one or two ripe real garden tomatoes chopped (or grape tomatoes cut up)
one or two avocados chopped
(the goal is to have roughly equal amounts of avocado, mango, and tomato)
juice of one lime
optional handful of finely chopped cilantro (including stems)

Instructions:
Squeeze the lime over the avocado first to help it keep its color, stir everything together.

Notes:
This is good by itself or served with a baked sweet potato, maybe some fresh green beans. I batch cook and freeze the rice so I can just pull it out as needed. Keeps fine in the fridge for lunch the next day and travels well. Good picnic with some chewy or crusty bread.

not-quite ratatouille

Wasn't sure what was for dinner, had some summer squash and thought of ratatouille so I looked online.
Most recipes are for a sort of stew, but I had in mind something like the movie version :) and I found one. But I hadn't realized it was supposed to be based largely on eggplant, which I didn't have. I considered heading out to buy it, but no, I really didn't want to have to buy anything. So I took what I had and made something just as pretty and it was really delicious. I used a sweet potato sliced very thinly, a large tomato, and onion, a yellow and a zucchini squash. You sprinkle it with your favorite seasonings and cover with parchment paper to bake.
Here's what I based it on: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/rat-a-too-ee-for-you-ee/

You can serve it with crusty bread or over couscous or quinoa or whatever.


This post has been sitting in drafts for a while, about time to put it out there.....
Use What You Have!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

I was reminded of a recipe for "Mac-n-Cheese-like" cauliflower, and butternut squash "mac-n-cheese" and decided to put the two concepts together and use up some broccoli that I'd had a while. It turned out really well, even the boys ate it up. I basically added the rice so I could call it something besides "veggie cheese-like stuff" and to make sure it was filling enough.


Butternut Sauced Broccoli Casserole
Sauce:
Steam about two-three cups of butternut squash chunks for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile saute a chopped onion until starting to brown.

Mash the squash in a large mixing bowl, add one 6-oz container of plain Greek yogurt (make sure it is the real, strained kind, no ingredients other than skim milk and culture), the onion, favorite spices (I used Penzey's Foxpoint mix and fresh ground pepper), a handful of grated sharp cheddar and a Tb Parmesan, and enough milk or chicken broth to make it "saucy"

"cheese" sauce, mostly butternut squash

Vegetables:
Pre-cook in your steamer a couple of yukon gold or other potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks, adding broccoli and cauliflower after the first two minutes of steaming and cook 5-7 minutes more. I only had a little cauliflower left and used two+  broccoli "crowns".
Stir into the sauce.
I added about cup of cooked brown rice, you could add twice that easily, or use white rice, or skip it. The potatoes add "satiety" factor - you could use more potatoes if no rice. If you like vegetables "al dente" don't cook them as long, but they won't get much more cooking later, you will mostly be heating it all up.

Top with panko or wholewheat bread crumbs with a little butter and Parmesan stirred in.

Cover and cook at 325 about 30 minutes, take the top off the last 8 minutes, broil a minute or two if the top hasn't browned a bit.

broccoli-rice casserole - or squash-sauced vegetables if you don't have to attract kids

It went fast.
The yogurt gives it a nice flavor - you might be able to skip the cheddar altogether - -but then you can't say it's a "cheese" sauce if asked by squash-hating children!

super-simple breakfast - cheap and healthy

Hot and Ready  Breakfast    

thermos-cooked grains

We've gotten interested in steel-cut oats (I was pleased that local stores have generic ones so I don't have to go 45 minutes to bulk food stores). And my husband likes cracked and whole wheat. All of these are a bit of a pain to cook. Unless you take the easy way out -

In the evening:
put any combination of whole or cracked/cut grain (I used 1 cup steel-cut oats and 1/2 cup whole wheat this time) into a good-quality thermos container with a sprinkle of salt. Pour in twice as much water as grain, heated to boiling in the microwave, and put on the lid. In the morning it's hot and cooked.

I found that cracked wheat seems to need less water and steel-cut oats a little more, whole wheat was perfect 2/1 (twice the water as grain) You can experiment to find the consistency you like best. You can make as much as your thermos holds and refrigerate the excess to zap (microwave reheat) the next day. You can add a little honey or other additions at night or in the morning.Craisins are good!

Mexiqinoa casserole

Yummy - Quinoa, black beans, vegetables, and Mexican flavors, very healthy too.

Yum! only two of us eating and it's already half-gone.

Make sure your quinoa is well-rinsed unless it is precleaned, some recipes suggest soaking it overnight for more digestibility - don't know if it really makes any difference. Everything but the cheese is an "eat all you want" healthy food, and there's lots of protein here.

1 1/4 cups quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 large chopped onion
your choice of vegetables such as:
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped in small cubes
1 generous cup frozen sweet corn (or fresh)
about 2 cups shredded cabbage
chopped cilantro to taste (I used about half a small bunch without stems)
(celery, carrots, broccoli, squash, peppers, dried tomato or tomatoes with chilis, etc as desired - you can see mine would look better with more green)
Black beans - 1 can rinsed and drained OR 1 can Bush's Grillin Mesquite beans (drained), OR 2 cups cooked black beans (could add lime juice)
handful or two of mild grated cheese - Mexican blend or cheddar jack, etc.
two cloves garlic or equivalent
about 1 tsp ground cumin (or toasted and crushed cumin seeds)

Saute the onion in olive oil, when it's turning golden add corn to "toast", after a few minutes you can add any other vegetables you want to start softening or add flavor to, and the garlic. Cover and leave on low burner while you get everything else ready. Meanwhile heat vegetable bouillon with 2 1/2 cup water (can include liquid from canned tomatoes with chilis) in microwave til boiling.
In large covered casserole dish, place cabbage, beans, cilantro, spices, onion-veg mixture, and any other veg, and the rinsed quinoa. Pour hot broth over and stir well. Cover and cook at 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour. Add cheese on top and leave uncovered the last few minutes (you can turn on the broiler briefly, if needed, for looks).
Let sit about 5 minutes before serving to reabsorb some of the juices.

Nice with some green veg or salad, could put tortilla chip bits or toasted tortilla strips on top under the cheese as some crunch would be a good addition.. Or sprinkle with cheese and more chopped cilantro after taking out of oven - pretty!

Hot Day Dinner with Pasta and Easy Variations

grilled peppers black bean and guac  sandwiches along with a bowl of super easy  Summer Pasta - Chop up a couple of good garden tomatoes, put in a bowl along with 8 oz fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2" cubes (or use "mozzarella pearls") and a handful of fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons. While the flavors soak in and blend, cook up a small batch of whole wheat rotini (or other favorite pasta) and drain, stir into other ingredients and serve.

This time I made the beans this way:
I had a margarine container of excess previously soaked beans in the freezer. I pulled them out and put them in a saucepan with 1/2 onion finely chopped, grated carrot, handful of slaw mix cabbage, plus two cups veggie broth, some Penzey's adobo seasoning, ground Ancho pepper, and cumin, plus a dash of lime juice. Simmer an hour or more and smash up if it hasn't gotten mushy on its own.

OR just open a can or two of seasoned black beans, rinse and drain and smash up.

We had some fruit to round it out - melon would have been best but we ate them all already.

My pizza-loving, anti-bean son ate these sandwiches and asked to finish the leftovers the next day -

Healthy and Happy Chipotle Dinner

If you want something fairly easy, very popular, and flexible to different tastes (what? your kids don't all like the same things?), here's a great and filling meal. We call it Chipotle after the local food place that puts whatever you like inside a big tortilla.

One pan is a half-recipe of Lime Cilantro Rice made with one can of black beans, onion, grated carrot and maybe celery. One is fahita mix - chicken, green peppers and onions seasoned with your favorites (fajita seasoning, or ancho pepper, cumin, cilantro, etc), the third is a very quick sautee of a little onion, zucchini and yellow squash, fresh mushrooms and tomato.
Serve with whole wheat tortillas, grated cheese and shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, guacamole if you have it, whatever else you have on hand that you like on or in Mexican-type dishes.

Everyone can put whatever they want in, on, or alongside. This also works with taco meat and shells or tortilla chips, etc. The beans and rice help make it filling, the veggies are a really tasty addition (from a local restaurant "vegetarian fajita" dish).
Here's a "quesadilla" lunch made with leftover rice and veg the next day.

If it still seems like too much work (like today when the temperatures are just crazy high) - opt for super-fast taco salad.

Guru's veggie rice bowl, fast and easy AND healthy and yummy.......

While visiting Provo (Utah)  I enjoyed a restaurant called "Guru's" on Center Street - went back twice already! My favorite was their "vegetarian rice bowl" which comes with brown or white rice. Living pretty far from there I decided to try making it myself, and after the first try realized there might be hints online - which indeed there are. So here's what I learned and what I tried and liked:
This could so easily be make with shrimp or some chicken or used as a side dish, but with the edemame, brown rice, and cheese in the pesto, there is enough protein. (The photo is of leftovers for lunch, so its not quite as pretty as the first night)

Vegetarian Rice Bowl
The ingredient list off the restaurant menu:
"sauteed snow peas, bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, roasted sweet corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, edamame, and your choice of rice in a light cilantro-lime pesto".

Obviously you can use whatever vegetables you like or have on hand. The first time I had broccoli and cauliflower, snap peas instead of snow, had no real tomatoes so we skipped them, forgot artichoke hearts, it would have been great with them! And even though I used an entire bunch of cilantro it wasn't nearly as strong as the restaurant's, (neither was it as greasy - hadn't realized it was a "pesto"), I used some butter and olive oil, not much - and I flavored the brown rice up some. It was still great and made wonderful leftovers for lunches.

My second try was even better, used some fresh greenbeans, broccoli, cauliflower, yellow and zucchini squash, mushrooms, artichoke hearts (just a few), a couple of roma tomatoes, frozen edemame, baby carrots (larger ones cut in half at an angle) and stirred in a "pesto" made as follows:

Lime Cilantro Pesto:
Use a large bunch of cilantro (in Missouri that means buying at least two bunches to equal what you get in one in Utah), either pull leaves off the stems or grab leaf end of the bunch and pull off most of the stems - you need about a cup of packed leaves. Put into a food processor with a few sliced almonds if you like, a goodly amount of garlic (spoonful of prechopped) and a couple of tablespoons lime juice. Process a bit to chop and then drizzle in about three Tbls olive oil (while processing) plus about 1/4 cup parmesan or asiago or cheese blend. (most recipes use more oil, I didn't want to get too greasy).
**(Alternatively, chop the cilantro and add to the vegetables near the end, along with lime juice and a drizzle of oil, use garlic in the sauteing of the veg, sprinkle all with parm)

Vegetables:
I steamed the carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and edemame for five minutes while heating up a large frying pan with 1 Tbsp butter to which I added the zucchini and yellow squash (thick slices cut in half) to "grill" for about two minutes then adding sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts (roughly chopped) just to heat. Dump in the steamed vegetables and stir the pesto through it all.

This is wonderful served over minute brown rice made with vegetable broth and some sauteed onion. Of course, its much more economical to cook regular rice or do your brown rice ahead (http://eatfastandhealthy.blogspot.com/2011/02/fluffy-brown-rice.html)

Next time I will remember the corn! For "grilled sweet corn" you can use frozen corn and give it a little color and extra flavor by putting in the frying pan like the squash. Red pepper would be good, snap or snow peas, bean sprouts, etc. Maybe one day I will remember to buy bean sprouts or get my sprouter jar going.


And I finally started getting photos-- check out:http://eatfastandhealthy.blogspot.com/2011/11/tastier-healthier-broccoli-cheddar-soup.html
I figured it couldn't be harder than getting them onto my calligraphy blog, if I can just remember to take them before eating all the food  
http://letterdesignstudio.blogspot.com/2012/01/preparing-polymer-clay-for-casting.html