One of the things that I have figured out is that life is best taken one day at a time. There are things that happen that will flat out leave you wondering what in the world you did in your past lives to deserve what you are getting now. Currently, my wife has stage 3 lymphoma and we are having to deal with the issues and circumstances surrounding the disease. Thankfully, my wife is one of the most positive people on the freakin’ planet and that bodes well for her treatment. I applaud her and her positive fighting spirit. However, cancer changes things and her taste for food is one of those. I guess I do not understand her current penchant for wanting a Chicken Nugget meal from McDonalds at random moments but it is not only that which has changed. Her tastes change on a daily basis. No I don’t mean that she wants to dress like it is the 80’s (ewww!) but because of the Chemo drugs she may favor certain flavors over others. This has created a situation where I am literally buying for every dinner every day based on what flavor profile she prefers.  I have to ask each day, do you want salty, sweet, savory, sour, spicy, etc. The days of grocery shopping for the week have disappeared. It is almost like performing an episode of “Chopped” every night. This recipe was born out of this situation.

Last night I needed something to go with chicken parmesan and grilled eggplant but did not want to do the noodle thing (chemo drives up the sugar content in the blood and noodles are bad for that) which would be bad for the blood sugars. Rice was the winner in this contest because of having zero sugars thus not contributing to the possible diabetic issues.   Normally I use all fresh ingredients and cook all day but I wanted to keep it simple and use as many pre-done products as possible to cut down on prep and clean up time. I also wanted it to be flavorful so I kind of combined Northern Italian with Southern Italian to get there.  You will notice the name is a bit different and references the type of cancer my wife has and it is not intended to glorify the disease but without Dr Hodgkins there would be no treatment. So, I guess it could be a tribute to him.

 

Hodgie’s Italian Baked Rice

Ingredients –

1 – 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with garlic, oregano and basil (I used Hunt’s) drained

1 – 8 ounce can of tomato sauce with garlic, oregano and basil (I used Hunt’s)

2 – 8.8 ounce bags of 90 second rice (I used Uncle Ben’s)

1/3 cup – Diced mushrooms (I used baby Portobellos)

1/3 cup – Diced sweet onion

1/4 – Red bell pepper diced

1/4 – Green bell pepper diced

4 ounces – Shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You know…the good stuff

Construction Instruction –

First, you are going to make a quick sauce. In a 5 quart sauce pan do a couple of turns around the bottom of the pan with the olive oil and bring to temperature remembering that olive oil has a low smoke point. ( medium to medium high should about do it). When the pan is at temperature put in the onions and peppers and sautee them until the onions are translucent (you can kind of see through them). Next, add the diced mushrooms and sautee them until they soften. When the vegetables are done add the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce, lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Second, do the 90 second rice according to the package directions and put into a big bowl. Add your quick sauce to the rice and fold everything together until the vegetables are evenly distributed. Place this mixture in a small baking dish and gently layer the parmigiano-reggiano on the top.

Finally, bake covered at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes.

This was served as a side for Chicken Parmesan and grilled eggplant but would be great with a host of other dishes.

A final note –

You can make this a fancier dish if you use your own homemade sauce, fresh herbs and roast your own tomato pieces but if you are pressed for time and need to just make dinner happen, here you go.

Enjoy!

The Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard