Brown Rice with Black Beans

This is a bad picture of a really surprising, delicious dish. (But look at that sweet little finger. There is always someone trying to help me around here!)
I wasn't really expecting too much out of this dish, but it ended up really surprising me. The ingredients are fairly simple. There aren't a ton of seasonings, but I think the cooking method helps this dish have a risotto-like texture.

The brown rice is really good and takes on a different texture than it normally does. The fresh corn kernels and black beans make it so hearty. It was good the first day right out of the oven, the next day cold out of the fridge, and the third day we used it as a filling for burritos. I love dishes that can be used in multiple ways and that stretch over many days.
I will be making this again and again.

Here is the recipe for Brown Rice with Black Beans

Cauliflower and Spinach Curry over Red Lentils & Brown Rice

More and more frequently it seems that when the end of the week comes, I look at what is left in my fridge and end up throwing something together for dinner. Most of the time it turns out really great. I don't usually share these dishes because I am not really measuring anything, but I cook enough to know that what I am doing will turn out deliciously.

The other night I had a huge bag of spinach, a cup of chickpeas, a head of Fiesta Flower (orange cauliflower), and most of a can of lite coconut milk. First, I was thinking that I would make a quick stir-fry, but then I decided to make a curry instead. I had some leftover cooked brown rice, so the red lentil/brown rice accompaniment was perfect.

I just used the 2 recipes below as sort of a guide, I didn't really follow them, but this dish turned out so yummy. No complaints from the kids. I love it when that happens. They all gobbled it down. And when my husband came home from work and took a bite, he was inspired to find a new station on Pandora called "Bollywood Beatdown". I guess it was all those spices. Anyway, the kids and I started dancing around the table while he was trying to eat.

I can't promise the same results, but this was a really fun dinner for us.


I served the curry over the red lentil mixture
Here is the recipe for Cauliflower and Spinach Curry
* I loosely followed this recipe-
* I added chickpeas
* I omitted the tomato paste
*I didn't make the thick paste at the beginning- I just cooked my onion and added garlic, ginger, and spices

Here is a recipe for Red Lentil Soup from 101 Cookbooks
* I added less liquid so this would be less like soup and thick
*I added cooked brown rice when the red lentils were done cooking
* I added cumin and curry powder
*I omitted the red pepper flakes

Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Cabbage with Roasted Shrimp

On one of our recent trips to the Farmer's Market, we were able to get some beautiful swiss chard, kale, red leaf lettuce, and bok choy. All from the same farmer. He was so grateful for our business or maybe just thought my girls were so cute, that he threw in another bunch of bok choy, free of charge.

I decided a simple stir fry was in order and found the perfect recipe.
I had also been wanting to try Ina's method of roasting shrimp in the oven and it turned out to be a perfect meal. I added some brown rice to round out the meal.

My kids loved this shrimp.
The stir fry was mild enough for them too, so this was a really kid friendly dinner.

Recipe for Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Cabbage

Recipe for Roasted Shrimp

Vegetable Fried Rice

What do you do with leftover rice?
I had some brown rice leftover after I made Caribbean Red Beans and Brown Rice and knew right away that I was going to use it to make some version of fried rice.
I really wanted to make a vegetable version and found a great recipe online. I just wanted to add a couple more vegetables and ended up doing the recipe my way. I adapted the recipe according to what I did and also included a link for the original recipe.

We had this alongside the salmon in the previous post and it was a really great combination and a really delicious dinner.

There was enough leftover from this recipe, that I was able to add some cooked, chopped chicken to it and it provided us with another dinner later in the week. I love it when that happens.

Vegetable Fried Rice adapted from Eating Well

2 cups cooked brown rice

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons canola oil

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 lb asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

2 cups sugar snap peas

4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1. Heat canola oil in the pan over medium-high; add mushrooms and cook for two minutes. Add asparagus, bell pepper, scallions, garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes.
2. Scoot all the veggies to one side of your pan and add eggs. Cook and scramble for about 1 minute. Mix into vegetables.
   
3. Add the cooked rice, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar snap peas to the pan; cook until the liquid is absorbed, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sesame oil and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

Original Recipe for Vegetable Fried Rice

Caribbean Red Beans and Brown Rice

A couple of weeks ago I really wanted to make beans and rice. I don't know why exactly, it just sounded like a good option for a weeknight dinner.
I wanted to try Red Beans and Rice, so I searched for recipes online and in my cookbooks.
I kept looking and looking, but most of the recipes I saw had some sort of meat in them, either just for seasoning or to go along with the dish.
I wanted to try a recipe that was mainly just the beans and rice without any meat.

Since I have been using my Mayo Clinic Cookbook a lot lately, I decided to look there for a recipe and found one, with a Caribbean twist.
It also used brown rice, which made me really happy.

There is a unique combination of spices and herbs in this version- allspice and cloves- which add part of the caribbean flavors, as well as the cilantro.

I left out the hot sauce, mostly because I wanted my kids to be able to eat this without saying it was too spicy, but left in the cayenne pepper.

I also just used one kind of brown rice, instead of a combination.
You could probably substitute canned beans instead of cooking your own dried ones, just make sure to drain and rinse them and I would say use 2 cans.
Soaking dried beans doesn't really take that much effort, you just have to remember to do it the night before you are planning to make the dish.

We really liked this version of red beans and rice. It was full of flavor and very filling. A great weeknight meal.


Recipe for Caribbean Red Beans and Brown Rice

CEiMB- Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth and Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing

This week's host for CEiMB is The Not So Skinny Kitchen. The recipe selected for our enjoyment was Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth. I have to say that I was very, very, very, excited about this recipe because I have been using red curry paste alot lately and it has become one of my favorite things. Plus, we all love fish in this house and the whole thing together just sounded superb.
Amazing!!! This recipe got the best reviews of anything I have made in weeks. I had people scraping out the pan to get every last inch of the sauce to put on the halibut. The coconut milk and chicken stock tone down the red curry paste so that even my little ones loved it. The lime juice, cilantro, and scallions that are stirred into the sauce at the end, give the sauce an extra little zing.
We loved it. Serving it with brown rice and spinach is just perfect. I will definitely make this again. I splurged and bought halibut to go with this meal and I am glad I did, but I am sure that it would taste great with any other firm white fish. Great pick.

Since I can't seem to ever get enough veggies in at one meal and we all love salad, I decided to serve the Thai Salad I saw in a recent issue of Cooking Light alongside the halibut. The peanut dressing was really thin, but the flavors were good.

This was a great, healthy meal that pleased everyone at the table.

Go see what the other Ellies' thought of this recipe by visiting the Craving Ellie Blogroll!

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth 2006, Ellie Krieger
Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 shallots, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste*, or 2 teaspoons curry powder
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used chicken stock)

1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, plus more for seasoning
4 (6-ounce) pieces halibut fillet, skin removed
Steamed spinach**
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice, for serving
Directions
*Available in the Asian section of most supermarkets
**Steam or microwave 5 cups of washed baby spinach for 2 minutes

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes.
Season the halibut with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange the fish in the pan and gently shake the pan so the fish is coated with the sauce. Cover and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes.
Arrange a pile of steamed spinach in the bottom of 4 soup plates. Top with the fish fillets. Stir the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice into the sauce and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce over the fish and serve with rice.

Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing from Cooking Light this only makes 2 servings, so I doubled the recipe

"These ingredients reflect the types of food my family enjoys year-round—fresh herbs and vegetables from our garden and local farmers. Sometimes we add chopped cooked chicken or my husband's fresh fish catch of the day for a main dish." —Maureen Nibecker, Honokaa, Hawaii

Dressing:

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1 tablespoon reduced-fat peanut butter

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons dry-roasted peanuts

Salad:

2 cups mixed baby salad greens

1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts

2 tablespoons vertically sliced red onion (I omitted this)

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

6 baby carrots, peeled (I used matchstick carrots)

4 cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used plum tomatoes)

1. To prepare dressing, combine the first 8 ingredients in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Add peanuts; process 10 seconds.

2. To prepare salad, divide greens and remaining ingredients evenly between 2 serving plates. Drizzle each salad with 1/4 cup dressing.


Up Next- Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream

Coconut Curried Chicken

I recently purchased green and red curry paste because I wanted to enjoy Thai flavors at home more often. I found this really quick, delicious recipe on myrecipes.com and decided it would be perfect for a weeknight dinner.
I had some cooked brown rice in the fridge, so I decided to serve the chicken over the brown rice, instead of couscous, like the recipe called for.
This dinner came together very fast, which was nice.
The green curry paste is mild and paired perfectly with the lite coconut milk. We really enjoyed this dinner. It really had everything going for it- quick, delicious, easy.
It would be really simple to substitute different vegetables and the recipe also suggested using cooked shrimp instead of the chicken, just tossing it in at the end. The possibilities are endless and the results are fantastic.

Coconut Curried Chicken from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups water, divided

2/3 cup uncooked couscous

1 cup light coconut milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

2 teaspoons bottled minced ginger

1 teaspoon green curry paste

2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided

1 pound chicken breast tenders

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup prechopped onion

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

1 teaspoon lime juice

Lime wedges (optional)

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in couscous, and cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
While couscous cooks, combine 1/2 cup water, coconut milk, and next 6 ingredients (through curry paste), stirring well with a whisk.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes or until done, turning once. Remove from pan; keep warm.
Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add peas, onion, and mushrooms; cook 3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add coconut milk mixture and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Add chicken and lime juice to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over couscous; garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

Coming Tomorrow- a Red Curry dish and Spaghetti Squash Pancakes from a great cookbook

Craving Ellie- Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame and Tofu and Barefoot Bloggers-Sour Cream Banana Pancakes

This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe, Banana Sour Cream Pancakes, was chosen by Karen who blogs over at the appropriately named- Something Sweet by Karen. I have to admit that after the holidays, I was very relieved to see a simple recipe, something that I threw together the next morning and that I didn't have to buy any special ingredients for. I used Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream, because I always use it in sour cream's place and also used skim milk. I used cooking spray to keep them from sticking, instead of butter, so altogether this was a healthy, quick breakfast. We really loved them. Go check out what the rest of the Barefoot Bloggers thought- HERE

This week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe pick- Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame and Tofu, was chosen by Jennifer over at Running with Food. When I was looking through this cookbook earlier this summer, the Fried Rice recipe was one of the first ones I chose to try, since I love tofu and edamame. It did not disappoint. I made it again, since I already had tofu and edamame and we loved it again. This is a really tasty way to use leftover brown rice. Go see what the other Ellie's thought by checking out the Blogroll!

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes from the Barefoot Contessa makes 12 pancakes ( I got 16)
1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

Pure maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame, and Tofu from the Food Your Crave by Ellie Krieger

1 Tbls + 1 tsp canola oil

2 large cloves garlic, minced

4 scallions,(white and green parts) thinly sliced

1 Tbls peeled and minced fresh ginger

4 cups cooked brown rice

3/4 cup seeded and finely diced red bell pepper

3/4 cup frozen, shelled edamame, cooked according to pkg directions and drained

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

6 ounces firm tofu, cut into cubes

2 large eggs, beaten

3 Tbls low-sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 Tbls of the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, scallions and ginger, and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn, and tofu, and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add the remaining 1 tsp oil, then add the eggs and cooked until nearly scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add the soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot

Coming Tomorrow- Prosciutto, Fontina, and Spinach- all in a Chicken Roll-up!

Leftover Brown Rice with Blueberries and Maple Syrup

I remember my mom fixing us leftover, cold rice with milk and cinnamon for breakfast when I was a little girl, so I decided to jazz it up a little bit. It was yummy!

Leftover Brown Rice with Blueberries and Maple Syrup by Mary Ann
cold, cooked brown rice
skim milk
blueberries
cinnamon
pure maple syrup

Place cold brown rice in a small bowl. Add desired amount of milk. Sprinkle with cinnamon and blueberries. Drizzle pure maple syrup over top and dig in!

Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame, and Tofu

This was wonderful! The picture in the book was much better than this one, but I had no complaints from any of the kids and that makes this a definite redo in my house! I used extra-firm tofu because that is what I had and it worked great. This tasted really good cold, for lunch the next day.
Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame, and Tofu from the Food Your Crave by Ellie Krieger
1 Tbls + 1 tsp canola oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions,(white and green parts) thinly sliced
1 Tbls peeled and minced fresh ginger
4 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup seeded and finely diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup frozen, shelled edamame, cooked according to pkg directions and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
6 ounces firm tofu, cut into cubes
2 large eggs, beaten
3 Tbls low-sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 Tbls of the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, scallions and ginger, and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn, and tofu, and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add the remaining 1 tsp oil, then add the eggs and cooked until nearly scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add the soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.