Rice Bowls

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

I still don't know how to grill. Sometimes I think my husband doesn't teach me because he doesn't want me to dominate all aspects of cooking. So, what do I do? Pick a recipe that requires grilling and just adapt it to a user friendly stove top edition. 

Have you ever had the flourless chewy chocolate cookie from Starbucks? Divine. 

Chicken and sausage. Love these ingredients. I really love sausage. From the last blog post, you may have gathered that. I do not, however, like the process of cooking with raw meat. The more and more I cook, I find this to be a real challenge. I legit use paper towels or utensils to work the meat in a way in which I don't physically touch it. Annoying, but oh so worth it in the end. 

This little indulgence is going to make the menu rotation. I heart the aroma of fresh basil and parsley. Topped with whole veggies and feta, mm mm good! Speaking of feta - I got 2 for $5 at the grocery store, so swapped the blue cheese out. Totally winning. 

Seems like a lot, but the flavor was so bountiful and was overall, simple to concoct. 

Cube and season the poultry. And if you (or your husband) just so happened to grill sausage the night before, use that. Saves time and doesn't waste. 

Gotta love culinary brilliance and the recipe that uses creativity. Why not mix your oil, seasonings and veggies in a Ziploc bag? Now. Know your produce. The recipe calls for zucchini. Not zucchini and cucumber. 

I accidentally cut up cucumber and didn't realize it until I was tossing it in the bag of oil and seasonings. Oops. 

Snapshot of 1 of my 2 for $5 prizes!

Since I wasn't grilling, I sauteed my veggies stove top style. 

While the meat was marinating and the veggies were getting soft and tender, I chopped up my toppings; avocado, tomatoes, lemon and more parsley. I also made Hannah's dinner … pureed avocado. 

So you don't have too many dishes to clean up later, remove the cooked vegetables and cook your meat. This. smells. incredible. 

Hopefully you were smart and boiled your rice on the back burner while you were preparing the rest to assemble your rice bowl. I mean, rice is in the name.

Super delish! Mixed the chicken, grilled sausage (thanks hubs), sauteed veggies and jasmine rice and then decorated with my chosen toppings. Served with some Waldorf Salad I prepared over the weekend. 

Don't forget a dash of Franks!

Eh - she wasn't completely sold on her avocados this week. Maybe next time :)

Chicken and Sausage Rice Bowl

Adapted from the hilarious Half Baked Harvest!!

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 cups jasmine or basmati rice
3 cups water
1 red pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1 cucumber, sliced (if you dare)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt + pepper
1 avocados, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
salt + pepper, to taste
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the olive oil, garlic, onion powder, pepper, cayenne, paprika, parsley and basil. Add the chicken and toss well. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Make the rice. Add the water to a medium size pot. Bring to a low boil and then add the rice. Stir to combine and then place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook ten minutes on low and then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit on the stove, covered for another 20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). After 20 minutes remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Note that rice can cook differently for everyone, this is just what works for me.

Add the red pepper, zucchini and cucumber to a gallon size ziplock bag. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake well so the veggies are coated with olive oil.
Remove the chicken from the fridge and sear  until cooked through. Make sure sausage is also cooked/heated.

To assemble the bowls, divide the rice. Top each bowl of rice with equal amounts of chicken, sausage and vegetables. Add your chosen toppings and serve warm.

Jen's Version

(Acworth, GA)

Val sent the recipe for the rice bowl over and I knew instantly my husband would never eat this. He doesn't enjoy anything that includes vegetables as a main ingredient. Since it wasn't even worth trying to modify for him, I made it my own and altered it to strip steak so he could just eat the meat. We were all happy. 

We used his recipe for steaks. We don't grill much, because we have a charcoal grill and it takes a lot of time AND Chris overcooks everything on it. He's not a grill master. So we cook steaks on cast iron skillets. And I'm not sure I ever need to eat a grilled steak again, my husband makes them so good. The beautiful steaks above are seasoned, and set out to reach room temperature. This optimizes even cooking time throughout the steak. We are very good at this step...

I modified this recipe to be a quinoa and brown rice bowl. I really wanted to try out this new boxed version I found and figured if I was gonna have really good steak and veggies mixed in, even if it sucked, I probably wouldn't notice. And I was right :)

I lied in my recipe below, I totally roasted my veggies. This is what happens when you don't update your blog right away. And when you drink and blog...

Chris' method is very methodical. He sets up little bowls for the oil and the butter and the seasonings. You can tell he doesn't cook often. 

A steak off!

I took my pictures before I added the yogurt sauce - but it was all so delicious. This whole process of food blogging with my sister has opened my idea to so many new and different dinner ideas. Seriously, everyone should do this. 

Strip Steak and Quinoa/Brown Rice Bowl with Avocado Greek Yogurt Sauce

Inspired byHalf Baked Harvest!!

Ingredients:

1 strip steak

1 tbls. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tbls. butter

1 box quinoa/brown rice (prepared)

1 red pepper, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 avocado, divided

Avocado Greek Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt + pepper, to taste

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup goat cheese

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped; divided

1 clove garlic, minced or grated

Directions:

Pull your steak from the refrigerator, thaw for 1 hour. 

Prepare the quinoa/brown rice mix and set aside.

Take 1/2 avocado and put in food processor with olive oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, goat cheese, 1/4 cup of parsley, garlic and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, and refrigerate.

Take cast iron skillet and put on high heat burner. After heating for 2 minutes, pour in olive oil. Drop your steak in and let cook 2 minutes on high heat. Turn and cook another 2 minutes. Take butter, garlic and thyme and add to skillet. Turn and coat steak for 2 more minutes, on low heat. Remove steak and let sit 10 minutes. Add sliced peppers and zucchini to skillet, until softened.

To assemble the bowls, divide the quinoa mixutre. Top each bowl with sliced steak, vegtables and sauce, topping with chopped parsley. .