Yummy Zucchini Recipe!

Soooo… I like to plant zucchini in my garden BUT I am really the only one who eats it.  I have tried planting only one plant, which would likely be plenty of zucchini for one, except it usually dies.  SO… you must plant more than one and then, of course, none of them die!  Thus, I have a multitude of zucchini to eat.  There are many ways to prepare zucchini, my two stand by techniques are:  slice zucchini and onion and stir fry in olive oil until tender sprinkle with parmesan and sometimes panko bread crumbs to crunchify and delish! The second way is to slice it long ways and scoop out the seeds to make a zucchini boat, drizzle with olive oil and garlic with a sprinkle of parmesan and grill or bake until tender.  These are good and easy but I need diversity!!  So… I tried this recipe that I found on Pinterest.  Zucchini, Black bean and rice skillet!  Sounded good so I collected stuff to make it.  Turns out I was missing some of the ingredients so I made my own version… it went like this…

Pour a bit of olive oil in a large skillet

Drop in some freshly pressed or minced garlic

Toss in all of a medium zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced (turned out to be about 4 cups)

Toss in a sliced bell pepper (I prefer red, orange or yellow.) I used half of a fresh poblano pepper as well

Let this cook for a few minutes but don’t let it get too tender if you like al dente’ veggies, it will soften when we cover it later!

Add two cans black beans, drained

Add 1 can diced Mexican tomatoes with jalapenos  Do, not drain! I almost added two 10 oz cans but instead I diced up a fresh from the garden tomato and added that!

Add 3/4 cup water and bring all of this to a boil

Then add 1 cup of instant rice and stir it together really well

Then cover it and remove from heat to sit for 5-7 minutes until most liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Shred up some yummy cheese and sprinkle it on top. 

 

Turned out to be delicious and full of good stuff!! The rice and beans are a complete protein and the others are great veggies and the beans are full of fiber – it’s a total health food!  You could add some salsa if you wanted it to be even more spicy or roll it up in a tortilla. 

I didn’t take a picture but I did enjoy it!  Marek even ate some.  It was EASY and FAST!  I imagine the calories are pretty similar to the original.  It was actually pretty delicious and super hit the spot.  I think it needed more spice so next time I will add the whole poblano.

If, you want to try it or any other zucchini recipe just let me knowo and I will furnish the zucchini!  At least for the next couple of months!

Have a good one and enjoy some healthy food!

~ Denise