Although US VegWeek 2013 is officially over, I still have a couple favorite recipes to post so here’s one more.  (Why I’m posting them is here).

Here’s my confession for the week:  Although Nik managed to remain a vegetarian for the whole week, Ellie and I did not.  On Friday, I was trying to think of something to eat for lunch and thought, “Salmon!  We haven’t eaten that in a long time.”  So I had the salmon salad made and had already eaten a couple bites before I remembered, “Fish! Does NOT equal vegetarian!”  Oops – too late.  To my credit, it was wild, Alaskan salmon but still. So we became pescetarians.  And then Saturday night we were eating leftovers from the freezer and I just thought, “soup” and so started eating some leftover Turkey Broccoli Cheese Soup (which is delicious – I’ll post that recipe sometime).  And at that point, I was back to being a total omnivore.  I even ate a few bites of it before it even registered what i was eating.  So, sorry, I tried.  I’m going to blame this one on Mark.  He’s just sucking out my brain cells every day.  Anyway, back to the vegetarian recipe! 🙂

Veggie Burrito Bake
adapted from Simply In Season
The rice is delicious on its own and we often serve it as a side dish with salmon!

1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
¾ C brown rice, uncooked (We like brown jasmine rice the best.)
¾ tsp turmeric
1 T olive oil

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan and then saute onion on medium-low until tender (about 10 minutes or so).  Add garlic, turmeric, and rice and saute for a couple more minute until rice starts to smelled toasty and delicious.

1 ½ C water or chicken broth

Add, stir well, and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer on low heat, until the water is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked, adding a little more water if necessary, about 30-40 minutes.

2 C cooked black beans, drained and well-rinsed if from a can
1 T chili powder

Mix in a bowl and set aside.

16 C fresh greens, such as chard, spinach, or kale (I never really measure this.  I usually use two of our frozen bags of chard, which come out to about a pound of cooked chard.  You just want a good amount of cooked greens)

While the rice is cooking, either saute the greens with some salt in a bit of oil or cook them until tender in salted boiling water.

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

After all the components are done, layer them in a 8-inch square Pyrex pan or 2-quart casserole dish like this:  rice, beans, greens, cheese.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 375 until sizzling, about 30 minutes or so.  Take off the foil for the last few minutes to let the cheese get toasty brown.

Serve hot with tortillas and any of the following:  sour cream, hot sauce, lime wedges, chopped fresh cilantro, guacamole, or salsa.

The leftovers are delicious when reheated in the oven.