Zucchini Herb Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cup cooked brown rice (i cook mine with chicken broth for additional flavor)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound zucchini, cubed

1 cup sliced green onions

3 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

3 large roma tomatoes, chopped tomatoes

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese,

divided (optional)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet/wok over medium heat, and cook the zucchini, green onions, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Mix in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and 1 cup cheese. Continue to cook and stir until heated through. 

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and followed the comments section recommendations by made a few tweaks so it would be faster to make. I served it with Costco Rotisserie chicken. Instead of making a casserole, I just served it right out of the pan. Also, I didn't have time to make rice, so I used 1 bag of Trader Joe's frozen brown rice and added 2 Trader Joe's liquid chicken bullion packets directly to the wok.

Corn Chowder

Now for the soup on the right. My roommate made this delicious summer corn chowder, but I wanted to find a way to make it allergy-free.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (1 c.)

2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice (3/4 c.)

8 sprigs thyme (FYI 1 sprig is not a leaf but an entire stem)

Salt and Pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn 

5 small fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 in. thick slices

1/2 poblano chile, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 can coconut milk

Directions: 

• Add oil, onions, celery, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste to stockpot. Cook over medium-low heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add corn, potatoes, and chile; cook until potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard thyme. Add coconut milk and simmer until soup is hot.

The recipe calls for crumbled bacon as a garnish, but I left it out because the soup was already so hearty.

Spicy Spinach Risotto

The original recipe called for chicken, but I skipped the chicken and used this as a side dish instead.

Modified from this recipe 

Ingredients

Rice: 

2 cups Arborio rice

1 tablespoon oil

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

Seasoning: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more to make it spicier)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

grated Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Place oil in large glass bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Pour rice into bowl and stir, coating rice with oil. Heat rice for 90 seconds. Pour 4 cups of chicken stock into bowl. Microwave rice for 9 minutes (on high). Stir rice. Microwave for 9 more minutes. 

2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Mix in the parsley and cooked rice. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Thai Lime Coconut Chicken (or vegetables)

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes (see below for vegetarian substitution)
1 TBSP olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp curry powder
1 14 oz can light or regular coconut milk
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime (use a 1/4 lime zest and hand squeeze half a lime, otherwise it's too limey)
1/4 cup green onion, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken, garlic, and onion and cook chicken until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring for 1 minute, until it is fragrant. Add the coconut milk, lime juice and zest, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, stir in the green onions and cilantro.  Serve over rice.

For vegetarian/vegan, replace the chicken with the following:
10 baby golden yukon potatoes, cut in 1-inch cubes
12 baby carrots, sliced

adapted from this recipe

Rice Salad with Cannellini Beans & Olives

 

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 – 15 oz can, rinsed and drained, black olives, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup garlic stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

1 – 15 oz can, rinsed and drained Cannellini beans

a large bunch of green onions, sliced

a large bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved (optional)

2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions: 

1. Place chicken stalk and rice in rice cooker and cook until done (about 35 minutes).

2. Add black olives, capers, pimento stuffed olives, Cannellini beans, spring onions, parsley, grape tomatoes, to a large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil. Serve warm, or room temperature.

adapted from this recipe