Rice Pie

A strange name, I know. But when I threw this recipe together many, many years ago, I didn't know what to call it. It had rice, and I always baked it in a Pyrex pie dish, thus the name. Anyhow, I originally developed this dish to use up leftover brown rice. My husband fell in love with it and considers it one of his favorite meals. It's almost too simple to merit a recipe, but it's a very satisfying vegetarian dish.

Rice Pie
(Printable Recipe)

Leftover brown rice, 2 - 3 cups (I do not salt the rice cooking water)
Sliced ripe tomatoes
One large onion, sliced
1 package frozen artichoke hearts
2 tbsp. cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Swiss cheese, shredded or fresh mozzarella, cubed (Both are naturally low in sodium)
1/4 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
Pepper to taste
Thyme
1 - 2 tbsp. unsalted butter or oil
Oil or vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the cheeses and the mayonnaise. Set aside.

Cook the frozen artichokes, drain well, and set aside.

Spray or lightly oil the bottom of a glass pie pan. Spread leftover rice onto pie pan. Add enough rice to make at least an inch deep layer of rice. Sprinkle rice with dried thyme.

Top rice layer with sliced tomatoes to cover. Sprinkle tomatoes with ground pepper and place pie pan in oven to begin partially cooking tomatoes.

While rice & tomatoes are baking, saute sliced onion in NSA butter or oil until nicely softened.

Remove rice & tomatoes from oven. Strew the top with the sliced onions and arrange the artichoke hearts on top of the onions. If necessary, cut some of the larger artichoke pieces in half to more evenly distribute.

Arrange spoonfuls of the mayonnaise/cheese mixture on top of the vegetables. Return the pie pan to the oven and bake another 15-20 minutes until the cheese top is nicely browned.


Note: Sometimes I saute sliced mushrooms along with the onions. I have even added chunks of leftover chicken.

That's it! Couldn't be simpler, yet it really tastes good and is quite filling.

Galatobouriko (Greek Custard Dessert) with Strawberry Coulis

My friend Linda (better known as Ohiomom) invited me to participate in her first food blogging event, Strawberry Moon Festival. We'll be celebrating the "first fruit" of spring by focusing on fabulous recipes using strawberries.

I decided I wanted to keep true to my Greek heritage by combining a strawberry coulis with a traditional dessert. My first thought was Galatobouriko, a classic sweet featuring a creamy custard filling sandwiched between buttery fillo layers and drenched in a light cinnamon and honey syrup. I'd made it before, but I remembered that my Aunt Stella was well known among our Greek friends & family in Los Angeles for her special version. It was unusual because she didn't use the traditional fillo. Years ago I copied her notes on how to make her special version. I figured the fillo-free dessert would be perfect with strawberries.

So, in honor of my Aunt Stella, here's the recipe for Galatobouriko served with a Strawberry Coulis :

Galatobouriko (Greek Custard Dessert) with Strawberry Coulis
(Printable Recipe)

Custard:
1¼ cups farina or Cream of Wheat
8 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup melted sweet, unsalted butter (divided)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Freshly grated peel of one orange (optional)

Syrup:
1½ cups sugar
½ cup honey
2 cups water
2 sticks cinnamon
Orange peel slice (optional)

Custard Preparation:

• In large saucepan, heat milk; remove pan from heat.
• Gradually add Cream of Wheat, stirring constantly.
• Return saucepan to medium heat.
• Add sugar and butter; blend thoroughly.
• Continue to stir; do not allow mixture to burn.
• Cook about 10 - 15 minute until mixture thickens.
• Slowly add the Cream of Wheat mixture to the beaten eggs, little by little (ladle by ladle).
• Pour and mix the egg mixture gently into the hot Cream of Wheat mixture and stir.
• Add vanilla and grated orange peel(if using); blend well.
• Set custard aside.
• To keep “skin” from forming while cooling, stir custard occasionally or place a piece of plastic wrap directly on custard.

Syrup Preparation:

• In saucepan combine sugar and honey, water, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel (if using).
• Bring mixture to boil.
• Continue to boil until syrup is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Discard cinnamon stick and orange peel.

Prepare custard as above using 1/4 cup of the melted butter. Pour the other 1/4 cup melted butter onto bottom of 13” x 9” baking pan. Spoon custard on top of the butter. Bake at 350° for 45 – 60 minutes until custard is completely set and knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into pieces (diamond shapes are traditionally Greek) and pour syrup over warm galatobouriko (just enough syrup to fully drench; there will be some left over). Let galatobouriko cool and absorb some of syrup before serving (the custard will not soak up all the syrup because there is no fillo). Refrigerate leftovers.

Note: I halved this recipe and baked the custard in an 8 x 8 inch pan. I had a lot of syrup left over, though. I should have used just 1/4 of the syrup recipe. The custard by itself does not absorb as much syrup as when fillo is on both top & bottom. I refrigerated the remaining syrup. It'll keep almost forever and can be used for pancakes & waffles, over ice cream, to sweeten drinks, etc.

Strawberry Coulis:

• 1/2 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and rinsed, or 10 ounces frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste

In a blender or food processor, puree strawberries with sugar and lemon juice. Taste and add more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Strain seeds from strawberries, if desired. Cover and refrigerate coulis until ready to serve.

Zatarain's Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Rice Mix

Today was one of those days. I had already spent several hours in the kitchen making a special Greek dessert and a new batch of my Low Sodium Buttery Spread. As the dinner hour approached, my enthusiasm for cooking weakened. Earlier in the day I had picked up some chicken leg quarters (thigh & leg) at the grocery store. Also this morning, as I was straightening out my pantry, I noticed a rice mix box. So, I thought, "Why not put them together and call it dinner?" And that's exactly what I did.

I removed all the excess fat & skin from the chicken pieces before sauteeing them in olive oil in a large frying pan. Once both sides of the chicken pieces were well browned, I added the rice mix & water.

Usually rice mixes are prohibitively high in salt content. But this was a new mix from Zatarain's. It was the Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Mix. In the pre-CHF days, I used the regular mix and found it quite tasty. The reduced sodium version promised 25% less sodium than the original jambalaya mix. I compared the two versions, and the low sodium version is indeed 25% less salty. But it still weighed in at 360 mg. sodium per cup of prepared mix. Not horrible, but I knew I could do better. To the rice mix I added 1/2 cup Minute Instant Brown Rice, an extra 1/2 cup of water, and one packet of Herb-Ox Sodium Free Chicken Bouillon. That effectively lowered the sodium content.

I covered the frying pan and let everything simmer together until the rice was tender. Even with the additional rice, the dish was quite flavorful. And easy...