Fast Food My Way

I have mentioned that I like to keep cooked brown rice in the refrigerator. That brown rice came in very handy tonight for dinner. I got busy doing other things and didn’t plan dinner tonight. When Dan called and said he was on his way home from the office at 8:30, I knew I needed to move quickly. Since I had the cooked brown rice all I needed to do was make something quick and nutritious to top the rice. Here is what I made:

Southern Italian Seasoned Veggies over Brown Rice
Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (allow to stand 10 minutes so allicin can develop)
¼ cup water
14 ounces canned diced tomatoes (no salt added would be best, #’s assumed regular tomatoes with salt)
½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 – 2 tablespoons hot crushed peppers (wet hots)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 cups baby spinach roughly chopped, to be added after the heat is off
¼ bell pepper, thinly sliced to be used as a raw garnish
3 cups cooked brown rice
12 basil leaves, torn
3 tablespoons pine nuts

Directions:

Water sauté the onions and garlic until they begin to soften (about 3 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients except the spinach, bell pepper and rice. Cook for approximately 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings as you desire. Once the onions are tender turn off the heat and add stir in the spinach so it can wilt.

To serve, put the brown rice in the bottom of the bowl or plate. Top with veggies, bell pepper, pine nuts and basil. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories 393.6
Calories From Fat (18%) - 70.83

Total Fat - 8.47g
Saturated Fat - 0.93g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 460.06mg
Potassium - 1122.44mg
Total Carbohydrates - 72.37g
Fiber - 10.66g
Sugar - 12.35g
Protein - 11.46g

Comments:

This is one of my quick veggie topped grain dinners. Dan thought this version was particularly good. I liked how quick and easy it was. Anything I can make in the time it takes him to get home from the office is fine in my book.

Each serving of this recipe contains approximately 15,400IU of vitamin A, 65mg of vitamin C, 180mg of calcium, 180mcg of folate, 320mcg of folate, 330mg of phosphorus, 190mg of magnesium, and 21 mcg of selenium. Considering how fast this meal came together I am very happy with the nutrition stats.

Unrelated note:

I am still trying to catch up on my nutrition reading. There may be a few more of the health articles in the next few days. Tomorrow I need to run my usual errands. But I will be back on-line in the afternoon. It has been a long week and I am thrilled that tomorrow is Friday. I hope you are all having a great evening.