Eddie’s Vegetarian Diet, Day 2.

What do I do for an encore?

That was the question I repeatedly asked myself Monday evening. Basically, I considered two options. Take the easy way out, and use another one of Heather’s recipes. Or continue to search for something I couldn’t put into words. Unlike the portabella mushroom discovery, no keywords instantly popped into my head to use in a follow-up recipe search.

Easy decision, actually.

I took the easy route, especially since Heather’s Southwestern Vegetable Bake (why is everything a “bake” with her?) nearly pushed the portabella pizzaburgers off Monday’s menu.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
¾ cup uncooked brown rice
1 ½ cup water
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinse and drained
1 can (11 oz) corn (I drained what little liquid was in the can.)
1 can (10 oz) Ro-Tel brand tomatoes and chiles (I drained about half the liquid.)
1 cup salsa (I used Newman’s Own black bean and corn salsa)
1 cup lowfat sour cream
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup chopped red onion
1 can (2.25 oz.) sliced black olives, drained
1 cup (4 0z) shredded Monterey jack cheese

Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes, until tender.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, pepper, and rice. Transfer to a shallow 2.5 qt baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with onion and olives.

Bake uncovered at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Jack cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Outcome:
As I started to combine the ingredients, I wondered if all the liquid should have been trained from the Ro-Tel can. Once I added the rice, though, the texture seemed perfect.

Then it was just a matter for the bake to take place.

“Five minutes,” an impatient Eddie observed when he glanced at the digital display on the stove’s timer. “Good. I’m hungry!”

“Ahhhhh…sorry….” I returned with self-conscious hesitation. “I still have to sprinkle on the cheese. Then the whole thing has to rest for 10 minutes. It’ll be closer to a half hour before we eat. Have a salad to tide you over,” I suggested.

Eddie directed a look of mock outrage my way and then headed back to the family room, where JoAnna was working on a solicitation for Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s re-election campaign.

For the carnivores, I baked four boneless thighs, seasoned with kosher salt, ground pepper, and Famous Dave’s country roast chicken seasoning. Which turned out to be an unnecessary addition to the menu. JoAnna, Eddie, and I all served ourselves seconds of the casserole, which makes an extremely satisfying meal in itself. If Andy had been home, I think we would have scraped the baking dish clean, which would have forced me to prepare a third vegetarian entrée in three days. (Already picked out, thanks again to Heather.)

At this rate, I’ll soon be ready for my own cooking show – The Retiring Guy’s Kitchen. (Or do I just feel a new blog coming on?)