Been There

Baked Green Rice.

Been there. Done that.

I know, I know – I’ve done a post (or more…) before on this recipe that my mom has for Baked Green Rice. You know what though? I never did it justice…I don’t think I even ever posted the actual recipe for it.

Today changes that.

I came to my mom’s this weekend with one thing in mind: I wasn’t leaving until baked green rice was made and devoured.

Both these things were (easily and eagerly) accomplished.

This rice casserole is one of the easiest things ever – plus, not to mention that it’s full of room for add-ins and tweaks – like different veggies, meats or cheeses. Plus, the leftovers are spectacular…and that’s the important thing for a “party of one” like myself!

This recipe was handed to my mom from a friend who had seen it published, at some point in the Boston Globe. It says that it serves 6…but honestly, for me, it’s more like 12. They would be six HUGE servings.

Ingredients:

  • 4.25 Cups of Water
  • Salt, to taste
  • 2 Cups – long grain rice, rinsed (I’d love to do this with all sorts of grains)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups milk (I use fat free)
  • 1 box of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped (I love onion so I kept the pieces bigger)
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 cup part-skim mozzarella (this is my mother’s addition)
  • Black pepper, to taste (our addition)
  • Red pepper flakes, to taste (our addition)

1. Set oven to 325 degrees. Oil an 8×12 inch baking dish.

2. In saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add salt, to taste. Cook rice for about 40 minutes or until tender.

3. In a large boil, beat together eggs and milk; add spinach, onion, garlic (for the record, we precooked the onion and garlic in this recipe) mozzarella, half of the Parmesan and the rice. Season to desired level.

4. Spread evenly into the baking dish, sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle black pepper and red pepper flakes over the top.

5. Bake the dish 45-60 minutes until custard is set and the top is brown.

Dig. In.

 

One thing you have to know about me is that I absolutely love food. Obsessed might be the better word for it. I love it so much that I blog about it on regular, often daily, basis. Whether it’s a Michelin-rated restaurant or a taco truck, I want to try it. I love talking about food, blogging about food and photographing food. It’s a passion of mine that has translated into new opportunities, skills and relationships.

Snow + Sabra

Hello, hello lovelies! How was your Thurs? Mine has absolutely flowwwn by.

This morning was glorious — got to sleep in a little (yay!) and then made myself a big ol’ latte.

I lounged for a bit, and then decided it’d be a good idea to get some errands in before it really started snowing! It literally started snowing the moment I walked out the front door — so I ran to CVS for some essentials and then to TJ’s where I picked up milk (my reason for the errand) and some of their meatless meatballs (a perk to the original errand haha).

Got home — and was hungry so I had a cheese stick (and I had another one later, too) and then I sat down with an apple to delve into 40 pages of reading that I probably should have started waaaay earlier in the week. haha

I totally dove right into my apple and then thought: PICTURE!

Hence…this photo:

I settled in and read and took notes for a few hours — and then…hungerrrr. Popcorn and Sabra fit the bill.

I settled back into my reading and note taking…but I did have time to snap a picture of the snow falling:

For dinner, I had to have a repeat of last night — I’d literally been thinking about it all day, as lame as that sounds. However this time I switched up ingredients a little and tried some new stuff…this one included the same cashews, corn, parsley (the last of my bunch), brown rice, soy sauce , sriracha and spicy peppers – but I also added a little bit of pineapple salsa and 2 meatless balls. haha

Some of the gang:

Finished product:

So right now, as I type this I’m watching the beginning of a repeat of “The Office” and I’ll be finishing up my reading — hopefully soon! and then I have a few more things to do before hittin’ the hay.

As usual…some Peanut Butter and Co. product will find its way to my mouth tonight. …probbbz some Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Hope all you lovelies are doing well! Alllllmost Friday!!