Mexican Rice

This is an easy recipe with some leftover rice for a quick lunch box.

Ingredients:

Peppers - chopped into small cubes (1 /2 cup)

Onions - Chopped small (1/2 cup)

Beans - 1/2 can any type (I used cannellini, but black beans would be colorful n tastier)

Taco Bell or Ortega Seasoning Mix - 1 to 2 tsps

Garlic - 1 clove

cumin - 1/2 tsp

salt/chilli flakes(optional)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cooked Rice - 2 cups

Method:

1. In a pan add oil and fry cumin, garlic lightly and red pepper flakes if using.
2. Then add chopped onions and peppers and cook until done.
3. Then add 1/2 can of canellini beans along with Taco seasoning, add 1/2 cup of water, mix well and let it cook for 5 mins on medium high heat. The gravy thickens gradually and finally add the cooked rice and mix well. Steam the whole mixture for 5 mins to have an aromatic and spicy mexican rice.

Pumper Nickel Veg sandwich

This is an easy sandwich, made with the dark pumper nickel rye bread which has a sweet flavour and is little distinct from our usual wheat breads. We had this bread for the first time in a fancy restaurant, where they seved some freshly baked assorted bread rolls with some butter (as starters) until our order arrives. We liked this bread so much that, we hungry couple ate up every bit of those breads and had to carry our actual meal home.

This dish has one of my favourite leaves Arugula, which replaced lettuce in my sandwiches since a long time. These leaves tastes like mustard with a pepper like spicyness. I fell in love with these leaves at first bite. Arugula can be eaten easily in salads, soups and sandwiches.

Ingredients:

Pumper Nickel bread - 2 or 3 slices

sauteed Onion, pepper slices - 1 to 2 Tbsps

Arugula leaves - hand full

Low fat cheese slice - 1

Method:

Actually there is nothing to say here, except saute'ing the onions and peppers in a little oil and salt, red pepper flakes(optional). I make this stuffing ahead a save in fridge for 3-4 days use.

Toast the bread and layer the fillers in any order and any quantity as sandwich is supposed to be ones personal recipe.

I should say this is a very healthy recipe as it has no much fats. I figured out this recipe for my husbands lunch box, as i dont want the bread to become soggy and wet with mayo/mustard etc by the time he eats. All the moisture u need for this sandwich is in the pepper-onion mix and the baby arugula gives a nice delicate crunch and mustardy taste. And ofcourse cheese always gives a nice creamy taste and balance in any sandwich.

Variations: For more hearty filling lunch, i make a simple omlette with the cooked eggs or chicken topped with the onion-peppers and all the same remaining stuff.

Vegetable Vermicelli

This is a one pot meal with everything you need in a meal, like vegetables, carbs and nuts. I made this for a quick dinner, as my kids love to eat this noodle type dish. Vermicelli is actually a pasta, which is thinner than sphagetti and thicker than angle hair pasta.

Here is all you need to make this dish, (I decided not to list salt, oil, turmeric as they go with almost every cooking, not to make my list bigger)

Ingredients:

Vermicelli noodles - 4 cups

Carrots - 2 medium (a cup shopped as long sticks)

Bell peppers - 1/4 big one (a cup shopped as long sticks)

Potato - 1 Medium (chopped long stickes)

Mushrooms - 6 chopped (a cup)

Onion - 1 medium (hand full, sliced length wise)

Tomato - 1/2 (hand full, thinly chopped)

Cumin - 1/2 tsp

cinnamon - 1 inch, cloves - 4

Ginger - 1/2 inch juliened

Cashews - hand ful split up

Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 7

Method:

1. In a deep pan, add 2 or 3 Tbsps oil and fry cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cashews, green chillies, ginger in a gentle flame, do not burn this stuff.
2. Later add 1/2 tsp turmeric, followed by onions, carrots and potatoes, cook for 4-5 mins, later add peppers and mushrooms as these guys need less cooking time than the other veggies. Finally add tomatoes, salt, pepper powder and mix well, cover the lid for 3-4 mins.
3. To save time we can boil water in another pan on the other stove as we cook veggies, or else just pour water in the veggies and let the whole mixture boil. Finally test the salt/spice taste of this water and add more if needed.
4. Now you can add the vermicelli and cook until done. Leave the dish a little moist so that the pasta flows easily on to the serving plates and also doesnt lump up soon. This dish has to eaten rightway for the right texture, or else as time passes the stuff solidifies and lumps up.
5. If u r making this dish ahead for friends or family, pasta can be cooked in a separate pan and added to the veggies mixture with right amount of water/moisture/oil in it to keep the pasta from sticking and lumping.
6. This dish can be made anytime of the day, breakfast, lunch or dinner..enjoy.

Bread Omlette

This is an instant meal for kids or even elders with all the nutrition you might want in a meal.

I used to make it heavier for elders with lots of veggies like mushroom, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and bread. But for my kid i made it very simple today as she doesnt want to eat same old lunch.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2

Bread cubes - hand full (hard baguets would be best)

Tomato skin - chopped into small pieces

Onion - fist full chopped

Corriander/cilantro - chopped 1 tbsp

cumin - a pinch

red chilli powder - a pinch

salt - 2 pinches

Butter - 1/2 tsp

method:

1. Mix all the ingredients except eggs and mix well, finally add eggs and beat well.
2. Make 2 small omlettes with this batter if you are not a great flipper, with bread and vegs this is little hard to flip.
3. Use butter for kids as it tastes great. You can use oil too instead.

Variation: You can use peas and thinly grated carrots in this, for kids who love peas.