Penny's favorite rice summer salad (recipe)

This is my all-time favorite summer salad.

It's so easy and you can vary it with whatever fresh, seasonal vegetables are available from the garden.

Here's the recipe.

Penny's favorite rice summer salad
-4 cups cold rice (use my easy baked rice recipe!)
-4 cups vegetables of your choice (whatever you have on hand. Great in this salad are:
fresh peas, broccoli, onion, greens, zucchini, cucumber, mushrooms, etc.) Pictured above is fresh raw snap peas, sweet onion, swiss chard, beet greens.
Dressing:
-1/2 cup oil (canola works well here)
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 tablespoons soy sauce
-2 tablespoons sugar
seasonings of choice (salt, pepper, garlic powder if desired)

Combine all and mix well. Refrigerated leftovers will keep for at least a few days.




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How to bake rice

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This is the easiest way to make rice. It comes out perfect every single time. As with most grain recipes, keep the ratio 3 to 1. 1 cup grains (rice in this case) to 3 cups water.

Baked Brown Rice Recipe
2 cups long-grain brown rice
6 cups hot water
2 tablespoons oil (canola or olive oil)
Seasonings of choice (optional)


First, have a big pan on hand. I use a simple roasting pan.

Pour in the brown rice. (You can probably use this recipe with white rice but I've never tried.)



Then pour the hot water over the rice. Add the oil, to keep the rice from sticking together.  Add seasonings (optional). Stir.



Place in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 1 hour. Remove & let stand for a bit before serving (this will allow it to soak up an extra water if there is any).
Finished!




Save leftover plain rice to make Penny's Favorite Summer Rice Salad.

Notes:
Good seasongs include garlic & herb.
Cumin & chili powder for mexican rice.
Plain salt for regular rice.

If you want to make meat with this, just toss some chicken on top of the rice (the chicken breasts can be frozen). It will bake with the rice for the same time & temperature and you'll have a very easy casserole.

This rice never comes out over-done, gooey, sticky like it does when I cook it on the stovetop.

I try to put a lot of things in the oven at once to conserve electricity. I will toss a few potatoes in with the rice to bake. Then I can make homemade hash browns the next morning or a breakfast skillet.


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How to cook dried beans in a crockpot & make refried beans, too!

We love beans in this house. All kinds.
It's much cheaper to cook dried beans than to buy them canned.
A 1# bag of pinto beans costs somewhere around $1.50, give or take a bit.
This 1# bag will make an entire crockpot-full of beans.

Simply rinse the beans and make sure there are no small rocks in there (I have found some in the past so make sure to look).
Then pour into your crockpot, fill with water to within about an inch of the top, and cook overnight on low.
When you wake in the morning, they should look something like this.
If you want to use the beans whole you'll stop here: simply drain off the cooking liquid and they are ready to use.
However, today I want to make refried beans.
First, I remove and reserve the cooking water with a soup ladle (pour into another bowl).
Then I start to puree with my stick blender (you can also use a potato masher), adding back in the reserved cooking liquid as needed to thin it out.

Add spices of your choice. I prefer some salt, chili powder, and cumin.
Then use! These freeze wonderfully and reheat great. Just pull it out the night before you need to use it so it can thaw.

He cooked it himself!

Recently I posted about always allowing my young sons into the kitchen and teaching them to cook. Well, my just-turned 6 year-old has helped a lot with eggs over the years, and he has created his first "egg omelet" from start to finish.

I came down in the morning and he already had the ingredients out, pan in place, ready to go. Yikes! Luckily I caught him before he turned the stove on himself (the next day we weren't so lucky as we came down after he had cooked a can of soup on the stove).
It's my one rule with allowing them to cook... mommy or daddy control the stove or oven. Most of the time they listen.
Anyway, back to Alex's omelet. He has been cracking eggs for a few years and has that down pat now. He whisked them up, allowed me to turn on the stove, added them in and finished with cheese, ham, and pepperoni. Hey, he made it so he got to decide what went in. :-)
He moved the eggs around from the sides just like he'd been taught but got nervous when it came time to flip it halfway over, so he decided to serve it open-face.
It was delicious. Really!