My husband was feeling creative in the kitchen last night (that sounds a little dirty, doesn't it?) and suggested this funky casserole/one-dish meal. Apparently, it's based on something that was served for lunch last week in the high school he teaches at. Here's what went into it:
2/3 c. rice
1 1/3 c. water
1 can red kidney beans
4-5 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 red bell pepper (green, yellow or orange would work too), diced small
1 large can corn
pinch chili powder
2 chicken thighs worth of cooked, shredded chicken meat
a healthy tsp+ garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
2-3 heavy pinches salt
a couple grinds of black pepper (1/2 tsp.)
shredded cheddar/jack cheese
In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice and turn heat to low, cook covered until most of the water has been absorbed (about 5 minutes). Turn the heat up to medium, add kidney beans, tomatoes, and spices to taste - since we were kind of making this one up on the fly, I'm not sure exactly how much of what spices went into the pan - a lot of salt and garlic powder, for sure. Cook together on medium heat until the tomatoes start to fall apart and the pepper gets softer.
Add the cooked shredded chicken (we had cooked two chicken thighs the night before, but you could use cooked breast meat instead - I think you can purchase this in the grocery store now), bell pepper and corn, mix together and cook over medium heat until the chicken has warmed through and everything looks about done. If you prefer your bell pepper a little softer, add it earlier, with the tomatoes.
Test the spicing one last time and add anything that seems to be missing. Spoon onto plates top with some shredded cheese, and enjoy! This made about 4 dinner-sized servings.
---- Apologies for the messiness of this recipe, but we definitely were making it up as we went along. All in all it turned out really well - so much so, in fact, that we ate the leftovers for dinner the NEXT NIGHT, which is unusual and definitely a stamp of approval. It was surprisingly creamy, I'm guessing because the beans and rice broke down a bit, and the corn and bell pepper added some interesting texture. Plus, by my calculations, this dish is INCREDIBLY healthy: lots of fiber, decent amount of protein (between the beans and the chicken), and low fat (just the cheese, pretty much). And so colorful, too!
I'd be curious to see how other people like it...
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Vaguely Mexican Casserole
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Roasted Corn, other corn methods
Since corn is in season and it's the Fourth of July, I thought I should share my new discovery about corn. My old corn cooking method was from David Rosengarten (from The Television Food Network's Taste show). For that, you put cold water in a pot, add corn, put on high, and the corn's done when it comes to a boil (living in high altitude, however, I had to alter that a bit to "boil for a few minutes").
Recently I saw an episode of TVFN's Tyler's Ultimate (with the very attractive Tyler Florence!) for Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter, and just had to try it.
6 ears fresh corn, unhusked since it's just me and my fiance, we usually do two, maybe three ears
1/4 pound butter (1 stick), room temperature two tablespoons-ish
2 teaspoons chili powder to taste
1 lime, zested mmmm...limey
1 lime, cut into wedges I usually forsake this for this recipe as it's limey enough and just for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the corn in its husks directly on the oven rack and roast until the corn is soft when you press on it, 30 to 40 minutes.
While the corn is roasting, combine the butter with the chili powder and lime zest.
Peel down the husks and tie in a knot to use as a handle while eating. Fiance does this as he used to work at a restaurant and doesn't have my wussy hands Rub the corn with soft butter mixture, and garnish with a lime wedge. (This roasting method produces the sweetest corn I have ever tasted.) This is actually part of the recipe, but I agree
In similar fashion, fiance grilled corn last week at his family vacation (we don't own a grill, it's very sad!). His mother peeled the husk down banana-style, took out the silks, retied the husk back on (usually done with string, but she improvised by tying with some husk-strings), then let them soak. I believe she said "two hours," but we didn't have the time. Fiance then put them on a medium grill (or he should have as lots of fire was involved) until soft when you press them. Fiance's five-year-old nieces weren't impressed by the "burnt corn," but it tasted delicious to me! Just be careful of the flames, cook them at the highest over a medium flame, and soak them for at least two hours and it should be delicious.
