Dinner in a Snap

We’ve all been there – stuck without an idea for dinner, either because you only have a short time to prepare a meal, you are tired from a long day and don’t have the energy to make an elaborate meal, or you’ve just run out of inspiration. The next time you’re in a pinch, try one of the following recipes. All three are in my “Recipes in a Snap” toolkit.

Beans and Rice Variations:

Beans and rice can be as easy or as complex as you’d like to make it. I find beans and rice comforting after a long day, and the leftovers are great for lunch the next day. You can make as little or as much as you’d like – just adjust the amount of beans, rice, extra ingredients, and seasonings accordingly (the recipes are very forgiving).

Want to be extra thrifty? Plan ahead and purchase dried beans and rice from our Bulk Department. If you think about it, you can soak the beans overnight the night before to be ready to cook the next evening. Or, if you are in a rush and didn’t presoak the beans, you can do a quick soak – rinse them well, then add them to a large pot and fill with water 3 inches above the level of the beans. Bring the water to a boil and simmer vigorously for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand one hour. You can then cook them from there either in a regular pot of water (check out this handy cooking times cheat sheet) or with a pressure cooker.

Many of the beans and rice variations I love I adapted from this website. To start off the different variations, you’ll need to follow the Basic Beans and Rice recipe below:

1 cup dry brown rice
1 can drained and rinsed beans, or 2 cups cooked
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp oil

Cook the brown rice. Meanwhile, heat up 1 Tbsp oil (olive, vegetable, or coconut works well) in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook the onion for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the beans and heat through. When the rice finishes cooking, add the onion bean mixture to the rice and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mediterranean Beans and Rice

Use great northern beans for this recipe. In addition to the ingredients in the Basic Beans and Rice recipe above, you’ll need:

2 stalks chopped celery
1 small can of black olives, or bulk olives
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup parsley (fresh works best)
2 tsp (or more) dill weed
artichoke hearts, canned, chopped

Add the celery, olives, and artichoke hearts to the bean and onion mixture and fry for a few minutes to soften (alternatively, you can add the celery with the garlic, if you’d like the celery to be softer). Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and heat through. Stir the dill into the rice and then add the bean and onion mixture to the rice, mixing to combine. You could serve this with warm pita bread, if you have some on hand.

Asian Beans and Rice

Use adzuki or black beans in this recipe. In addition to the ingredients in the Basic Beans and Rice recipe above, you’ll need:

4 medium carrots, cut into thin strips
thumb size fresh ginger, minced (optional)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
small can mandarin oranges, juice reserved
½ tsp Chinese Five Spice

Add the carrots with the onion to fry, and add the ginger with the garlic. After you’ve added the beans to the onion mixture, stir in the soy sauce and mandarin orange juice. Remove the pan from heat and add the mandarin orange slices. Mix the Five Spice with the rice and then add the bean and onion mixture to the rice, stirring to combine. You could also experiment with adding mushrooms, cabbage, or green pepper. Try drizzling with hoisin sauce, if you have it.

Baltimore Beans and Rice

Use black-eyed peas for this recipe. In addition to the Basic Beans and Rice recipe above, you’ll need:

2 cups chopped kale
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup corn kernels
1 tsp Old Bay or any Chesapeake-style seafood seasoning

Fry the kale with the bean and onion mixture for a few minutes until wilted. Add the apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and corn and heat through. Sprinkle the rice with the Old Bay seasoning and then add the bean and onion mixture, stirring to combine.

Dal

Another standby for us, dal is super simple to whip together and cost effective if purchasing ingredients in bulk.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 or more garlic cloves, crushed or sliced
1 onion, chopped
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 lbs 4 oz (2 14 oz cans works, or one 28 oz can) canned, chopped tomatoes & juice
1 cup lentils (green or red works fine – if you like your lentils well done, choose red)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 ½ cups vegetable stock (or whatever stock or bouillon is lying around)
1 ¼ cups coconut milk (1 14 oz can)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add turmeric, garam masala, chili powder, and cumin and toast briefly, until aromatic. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, lemon juice, and stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes or longer until lentils are tender to your liking. Stir in the coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper and serve with brown rice or naan.

Biryani

This biryani recipe was taught in one of our Mosaic of Flavors classes. It’s very forgiving, so try using a different type of meat (or no meat, if vegetarian), or different types of noodles.

½ cup coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2 ¹/₂ cups water
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp turmeric, ground
1 tsp cardamom, ground (plus 1 tsp for topping)
¹/₂ tsp black pepper
¹/₂ Tbsp cinnamon, ground
¹/₂ cup almonds (slivered)
¹/₂ cup raisins
2 cups pasta, vermicelli (broken into 2-inch pieces)
1 cup peas, frozen
3 cups rice, white

For the rice:

Wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes. In a medium sized pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add salt and spices. 

Add water, and bring to a boil; then add rice. Cover and let simmer until the rice is done, stirring occasionally. Then, place in a large dish or serving platter.  

For the topping:

In a medium-sized frying pan, heat another ½ cup of oil over medium-low heat. Add almonds and toast them lightly for about a minute. Once toasted, remove almonds, but leave the oil in the pan. 

Add raisins to the pan of oil and sauté for less than 30 seconds. Then remove them and add them to the almonds. 

Add the peas to the pan; sauté them and add them to the raisins and almonds. 

Now, put the pasta pieces in the pan and sauté them until they're light brown, stirring occasionally; then add 1 cup of water to the pasta and let it sit for about 2 minutes, or until it's soft and the water has been absorbed. Then add the topping mixture into the pan, add 1 teaspoon of cardamom, and cook at medium heat for about 5 minutes while continuing to stir. Pour the topping over the rice in the casserole dish and serve hot.