Beans and Rice

Today was one of those days where I just didn't want to head out to the grocery story, so I figured I would make dinner with something I already had. Rice and Beans.

I soaked my black beans for a few hours and then I drained them and cooked them with Onion, garlic, cumin and cyan. I put the onion and garlic in the blender with some water so they were pureed rather than chopped. It smelled wonderful as it cooked slowly over the course of the afternoon. Then my friend Kat came over and I realized I would never remember to stir it while I was talking so I turned it off... Or I thought I turned it off... because an hour and a half later all my water was gone and the bottom layer of beans were burnt and stuck to the pan. The top layer tasted great tho. :)

This is a recipe inspired by Shirelle.  It really is super delicious and very nutritious.

Relly’s Pesto, Zucchini lasagna

This is gluten free lasagna that uses zucchini as the noodles and a cashew Basil pesto as the filling.  It is very delicious and very nutritious.

4 zucchini

Lots of basil

1 cup of cashews

Mozzarella cheese

Grated parmesan cheese

Olive oil

2 cups sliced tomatoes

Make a pesto using the basil, cashews, olive oil, 1 clove garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese.

Cut the zucchini thinly lengthwise

Sauté in hot oil the zucchini for a minute, don’t over crowd the pan just one layer at a time.

Put a layer of zucchini in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Spread a nice layer of the pesto over top it.

Add another layer of the zucchini on top of the pesto

Spread the remaining pesto on this. 

Add a layer of mozzarella cheese

Add the tomatoes on top, salt and pepper them

Sprinkle parmesan cheese

Put in broiler for ~10 minutes, cheese is melted and tomatoes start to turn a bit golden.

Fried Rice with Chicken

Aaron and I made an overload of extra rice the other night and were trying to figure out what to make with it when we thought of fried rice. I found this recipe and with some small modifications it was delicious!

Original Recipe from: http://sunflowersupperclub.blogspot.com

Chicken Fried Rice
2  tablespoons Sesame Oil, divided
8  ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4  teaspoon kosher salt
1/4  teaspoon black pepper
2  eggs, beaten
1/2  cup onion, diced
1  cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed ( All we had was green onion but it turned out great) 
2  cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
4  cups cooked white or brown rice, cooled and chilled, overnight is best
1/3  cup low-sodium soy sauce ( we added a little more soy sauce, some Sirachi , and butter to top it off)


Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet (the largest you have) over medium high heat.  Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper and add to the skillet.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through, be sure and turn over so both sides will brown. When finished cooking, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add the eggs, stir constantly and cook until scrambled.  Remove the egg and set aside with the chicken.

Add the other tablespoon of oil to the skillet, add the onion, peas and carrots.  Stir fry about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and stir fry for another minute.  Add the cold rice and the soy sauce and stir fry for about 5 more minutes. Return the cooked chicken, along with any accumulated juices, and the egg to the skillet.  Continue cooking until heated through.  

Pair it with some Malbec and you are good to go :)