Beans and Greens and Rice, Oh My!

Not a chopped salad!

I know today’s lunch doesn’t look like my usual (as of late) chopped salad. It is, in fact, not. It was going to be a chopped salad, but it became this. Worse things have happened ...

I had about half of a (large Costco-sized) bag of power greens (kale, spinach, chard) that needed to be used today, and I knew that would make more of a salad than I would want to eat for lunch. I also knew I would not want to have salad for both lunch and dinner. And I didn’t want them to go to waste. So, I decided the only way I could get that volume of greens inside my body today would be to cook them down. I mean, you can cook a pound of spinach down to a couple tablespoons … right?! Well … maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But that’s what I started to do. As they were in the pan, I began considering how I could, perhaps, “liven” them up. Nothing against greens on their own … perhaps I should say “starchen” them up. I knew it would take more than greens to satisfy me through the afternoon.

Only 4 ingredients! I actually used fresh corn, but didn't 

take a picture first. Canned or frozen can be subbed.

I had a can of "savory sides" beans in the pantry, so I added that to the pan. I also had some leftover steamed ears of corn, so I cut the kernels off one and threw that in. It was looking good … real good. I had started off with some water in the pan when I thought I was just going to be steaming greens. And now, with the additional liquid from the beans, I had, at this point, a bit of a soupy dish. I didn’t want to drain the beans because they were seasoned. I thought I could make some quinoa, but didn’t want to take the 12-15 minutes. I was, after all, home on my lunch break and would need to get back to work soon.

Back to the pantry for some pre-cooked and

pre-portioned plain white rice bowls, courtesy of my recent Costco shopping trip. I microwaved one according to the package directions and threw it in the pan as well. A couple stirs and a minute or so to simmer and, voila … Super Easy Black Beans and Greens with Rice was born! It didn’t need any more seasoning, but I did top it with a dollop of smokey oat cheese and some diced onion. If I had had some plant based sour cream, I would have had a duo of dollops on top.

I enjoyed it with a home made sprouted wheat tortilla that I made last night. I had made them for the first time thinking I would use them tonight for pizza crust. My omnivore husband had pizza last night (not plant based, full o' fatty cheese and pepperoni) and that started my hankering. I knew I didn’t have any yeast, however, so I googled “oil free tortillas” and came across this recipe from Plant Smart Living. I used sprouted wheat flour. Super easy.  

So, a super simple (so much so, you don’t need a recipe, right?!), yummy dish and two leftover portions to enjoy again … and again.  Since the greens were cooked in the dish, I don’t have to worry now that their best by date was today. I think I’ll enjoy this again tomorrow for lunch. And maybe put one in the freezer for some time next week.