quick fix

Some days I wish I could just freeze time, or at least start dinner around 3 so I can have fun and mess around in the kitchen . . . yea right!  Since Chris gets home so late from work and class, I wanted to whip something up pretty quickly when I got home.  My soon to be mother-in-law gave us a couple boxes of flavored rice and I wanted to try them out.  This one is basmati rice with green lentils and it was really good, without any artificial ingredients, just the basics.  The other one I tried was couscous with pumpkin and red pepper and I think I like that one even better.  I also added some sautéed tofu (teriyaki flavor from Tj’s), leeks and garbanzo beans.  Leeks have such an interesting flavor and it’s one of my favorite aromatics.  It’s not too hard to prep either, you just have to make sure to clean and rinse out the grit pretty well between the layers before chopping.      

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  On the side I had my staple salad that I like to have with almost anything!  Crispy romaine, champagne pear vinaigrette (from Tj’s), various chopped veggies, herbed goat cheese and some dried fruit. 

I’m saving the last of our roasty walnuts for another recipe to be featured in a bit!  Along with the salad I had some steamed broccoli.  I haven’t had broccoli in awhile and it was so yummy, just plain and steamed.  This dinner was very satisfying even without the ‘meat,’ but I still wanted a little sumthin’ sumthin’ afterwards.  I decided on some cuties and a small handful of grapes.  These are so filling because of their water content and fiber.  Boy, I’m pleasantly full!  Hope you had a wonderful dinner!