stolen and abused recipe

So once again I took a poor unassuming recipe and altered it substantially. This recipe was residing peacefully on The Pioneer Woman website. It was happy. It was probably good (I wouldn't know I didn't try it in its original form). It was complete in it's being. Then I got a hold of it. I completely abused the intent of this recipe. I feel real dirty about that but not enough to stop. It's sad.

I had a couple of objectives in the changing of this recipe.

1. I wanted a dish that had rice & beans. The reason for this is that a grain combined with a legume makes a complex protein. For a vegetarian a complex protein equals a meat. It's kind of like an algebraic equation. You really don't know (or care in my case) how it works you just know it does. The cool thing about this whole rice & beans equation is that you don't even have to eat them at the same meal just in the same day. How cool is that? One of the first questions that I get asked when an omnivore finds out that I am a vegetarian is "how do you get your protein?" Well, folks this is it because I'm not big on tofu.

2. I wanted a one pot meal. I like one pot meals. No, I really really like one pot meals. They are the lazy cooks ideal dish. I'm lazy and I cook. How great is that? It's a match made in heaven.

I'm begging for a name for this recipe. It's kind of a Tex-Mex, Taco, Corn, Rice, & Bean kind of thing. You pick. It's just way too much pressure for me.

Casserole Thingy


1 can black bean, drained & rinsed (personally any beans would do)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 can kernel corn (sure you could use fresh but I'm cheap and I had canned on hand)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk, for thinning
1/4 each chopped zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook wild rice in water or vegetable broth until almost done. Rice should still have a firm (but not crunchy bite. Drain and cool.

Saute zucchini, yellow squash, and garlic in butter until soft but not mushy. Allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl combine corn, beans, cooled squash mixture, cooled rice, 1/2 the cheddar cheese, cream, beaten eggs, salt, and spices. Stir together. Add milk until stir-able. You want it thick but not stiff. If that make any sense. You know, casserole like.

Taste for seasonings. Add whatever you think will make it more Mexican like. We like lots of chili powder and cumin. You may like it milder or hotter. We don't judge here.

Spoon into a baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

I think it would serve about 8 as a side dish. We got 3 servings out of this as a main dish and 3 lunches. Of course, JR & I fought over who got the lunches. I ended up warming some up and rolling in a tortilla. Yummy. I got real selfish. I didn't offer JR any of this delicacy.

So there you have it. JR has already asked when we are going to have this again. I think he saw me with the tortilla.

Love,
M

P.S. The measurements on the spices and the cheese are approximate. Especially the cheese. Cuz, dang you can never have enough cheese.