I'm not sure if you've heard, but it's been hot... and dry. I don't have AC so the "cooking" has been relegated to sub sandwiches, salads, and take-out these past two weeks. Most fast food makes me sick so we're talking eat-in resturants and our bank account is starting to complain. I told my husband I would make a more concerted effort to get back on the cooking bandwagon. Even if we're only eating sandwiches, we just can't afford to eat out so often.
In addition, the garden is bursting at the seams with zucchini, cucumbers, and I think my potatoes are already ready to dig! Yesterday I gathered about a dozen juliet cherry tomatoes and my first big heirloom of the season (one of the chickens had taken a bite out of it, but 90% of it is still good!). I've made several jars of refrigerator pickles and I've given a ton of zucchini away (I'm also minding my neighbor's huge garden which has yielded more zuke than I can manage!) Zucchini is my favorite vegetable and I'm perfectly content to saute it in a little olive oil with some garlic, mushrooms, and rosemary, but even I can't eat all of this zucchini! I shredded and froze about 10 cups of it. So this week I'm going to do some baking because, in addition to all the zukes, we just found the eggs our hens have been hoarding under the rose bushes:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth (I used Swanson's fat free)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (I used Cabot's 75% reduced fat and it was still delicious)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
splash of milk, as needed
Instructions
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Toast the rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden.
3. Pour in the chicken broth and garlic powder, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover.
4. Cook, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
7. Stir again and add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little bit.
Seriously it was so good and so easy you will never buy Rice-A-Roni again! You could add any veggie, really and could play around with seasonings. Maybe add salsa? Give it a try and let me know! ;)
Nutrition Information
This makes about 4- 1/2 cup servings.
One serving: 175 cal / 47 carbs / 3 g fat / 15 g protein
In addition, the garden is bursting at the seams with zucchini, cucumbers, and I think my potatoes are already ready to dig! Yesterday I gathered about a dozen juliet cherry tomatoes and my first big heirloom of the season (one of the chickens had taken a bite out of it, but 90% of it is still good!). I've made several jars of refrigerator pickles and I've given a ton of zucchini away (I'm also minding my neighbor's huge garden which has yielded more zuke than I can manage!) Zucchini is my favorite vegetable and I'm perfectly content to saute it in a little olive oil with some garlic, mushrooms, and rosemary, but even I can't eat all of this zucchini! I shredded and froze about 10 cups of it. So this week I'm going to do some baking because, in addition to all the zukes, we just found the eggs our hens have been hoarding under the rose bushes:
So I'm thinking some baking is in order! Maybe later in the week - today it's almost 100! Today I did use one small zucchini in this homemade rice-a-roni style dish.
Cheesy Zucchini Rice
from bunsinmyoven.com - a blog that I suggest you check out. All the recipes look wonderful!
When I was in college I loved those rice or noodle packets that you can whip up in 15 minutes. In fact, I do still like them, but calories, sodium, and just plain guilt generally keep me from buying them. I was thrilled to stumble upon the following recipe during my pinning one warm evening. I made it for lunch today and both Dylan and I loved it. As a dinner dish I might also add mushrooms and/or chopped tomatoes. It would also be great with chopped chicken, salmon, or black beans. So versatile, which is what I like!
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups chicken broth (I used Swanson's fat free)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (I used Cabot's 75% reduced fat and it was still delicious)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
splash of milk, as needed
Instructions
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Toast the rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden.
3. Pour in the chicken broth and garlic powder, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover.
4. Cook, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Remove from the heat and add the butter, grated zucchini, and cheddar. Stir until well incorporated.
6. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
7. Stir again and add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little bit.
Seriously it was so good and so easy you will never buy Rice-A-Roni again! You could add any veggie, really and could play around with seasonings. Maybe add salsa? Give it a try and let me know! ;)
Nutrition Information
This makes about 4- 1/2 cup servings.
One serving: 175 cal / 47 carbs / 3 g fat / 15 g protein
Rice is cooking now....I hope it's yummy because I sure do miss doing the pre packaged rice, it's just not worth the calories!
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