lunch today=very unique

so it's monday and as you already may know aldi's will have fresh food tomorrow, so i am waiting until tomorrow to shop. *fact* you need to know about me: i am a teacher so i tend to be more creative with my lunches in the summer and today was an exceptionally creative feat as i had no cheese, no milk, 2 eggs (which i am saving for dinner. found a zucchini still good in the fridge and am going to try my hand at fritters or cakes) no bread, no lettuce or greens of any kind. in fact it was the day that started this whole blog!

so what did i find that inspired me: half a red onion…jackpot!!! and here was my lunch today:  spanish rice with a roasted corn and black bean salad, and it was soooo good!

first the rice recipe. given to me by my sister, tweaked a little for my taste, and the first part you'll want to start.

what you'll need:
* skillet-again trusty 12inch
* 1/2 tbls. of butter & 1/2 tbls. of olive oil
* 2 cloves of garlic
* usually half of a sweet onion (was out of those today)
* around a half can of tomatoes with green chills (used a whole can since i was out of sweet onion. it's all about improvising on this blog)
* 1/2 cup of rice (i use white long grain for this recipe, uncooked)
* 1 packet of sazon seasoning (this may be a need to go and get, but one box will make ten batches of this recipe. you should be able to find it in the mexican food isle, i do know walmart carries this.)
* 1 tsp. of chili power
* 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
*water
* 1 vegetable bouillon cube (another must to have in you cabinet.  i found that i was wasting money buying cans of broth for recipes like this, so i bought a jar of each flavor: chicken, vegetable, and beef…quick and easy way to add flavor, without waste!)

1.) heat butter & olive oil together over medium heat, then mince garlic into the skillet.  wait for that aroma then add the onion.  cook until the onion is 'soft', what ever that means, usually no more then 5 minutes for me.
2.) drain the liquid of the tomatoes and green chiles into a measuring cup.  you will be adding water to make a cup of liquid for this recipe.  i like to add the tomatoes and green chiles and let them sauté for about 5 minutes to get the flavors going.
3.) add the rice. i 'brown' the rice for about 5 minutes.
4.) add the cup of water and liquid of the tomatoes mixture, throw in the vegetable cube, and spices, then give it a nice stir.  let the liquid come to a boil, then cover the skillet & turn the heat down to low.  let cook for 15 minutes.

second part of the lunch. roasted corn and black bean salad inspired by a search on pinterest

what you'll need:
*small skillet
*container with lid
* quarter to half  red onion, depending on size, chopped
* 1 small can of sweet corn, drained
* 1-15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1/2 tbls. of vinegar (i had some white wine vinegar in the cabinet, but you could probably use any white or red you happen to have in the cabinet)
* 1 1/2 tbls. of lime juice (i buy those little lemon and lime juice thingy's that look like a real lemon or lime, again they last much longer and a cheaper then buying the fruit)
* 1 tsp. of parsley flakes
* 1 tsp. of cumin
* 1/2 tsp. of iodized salt
* cracked black pepper
* 1/4 cup of olive oil
* cilantro (i added cilantro due to my planting of some herbs this summer, otherwise this ingredient is not necessary, but i do love my cilantro!)

1.) so you can "roast" your corn anyway you see fit.  i took a small skillet pan, perimetered with some olive oil, salt & pepper, then basically sautéed the can of corn until there was color.  i read of one recipe where corn was put under the broiler? whatever you fancy to get the corn some color
2.) get some kind of lidded bowl or container, in which you can whisk the dressing, then add the ingredients, cover & shake. in the bowl add the vinegar, lime juice, parsley flakes, cumin, salt, crack some pepper, and cilantro.  whisk lightly as you finally add the olive oil.
3.) throw in the chopped red onion, drained and rinsed black beans, and 'roasted' corn to the bowl with the dressing. cover tightly and give it a good shake until everything looks happy to be together :)

*now i was not intending to incorporate the rice and salad together, but after they were both finished i kind of put the salad to the side/on top of the rice……and it was a marriage made in heaven!!!!

**the rice recipe, depending if it is just a side or the majority of the meal, can feed 2-3 people, same with the salad. i had a generous helping of rice and salad and still have a decent amount left for another time. ohhh happy day**

enjoy.