As I am writing this, the thing I am craving the most is Olive Garden… or Qdoba… or really anything as long as it’s not coming from my own kitchen at this point. Most of us are probably tired of eating pasta/Ramen, frozen pizzas, and chicken nuggets after being cooped up in our houses for over a month. If you’re looking to switch up your meals and try something new you have come to the right place! I will be including 3 recipes that I have been making and eating at home in quarantine!
*DISCLAIMER* I am allergic to anything with milk, eggs, nuts, and mustard. All of these recipes will NOT contain any of the allergens I listed above. I am also NOT vegan so there will be some recipes that involve meat but can be omitted when cooking the recipe!
Enjoy!
Spanish Rice & Everything Nice
I am a HUGE fan of rice! White rice, brown rice, you name it I’ll thoroughly enjoy it. For this recipe I specifically use Spanish Rice (the Zatarain’s is my personal favorite https://www.mccormick.com/zatarains/products/dinner-and-side-mixes/rice-mixes-and-side-dishes/spanish-rice). After the rice is fully cooked and fluffy I like to add in spinach and some chopped up sweet bell peppers and keep the heat on low just to heat the veggies up. I also usually boil some canned corn, drain it, and add it to the rest of the mix! I occasionally add in some chopped up grilled chicken as well but this meal can be served meatless!
Ingredients:
1 Box of Spanish Rice
1 1/2 Cup of water
As many veggies as you would like!
Meat optional!
Directions:
Mix rice and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then let simmer for 25 minutes or until fully cooked. Simmer any additional ingredients mixed in with the rice. Make sure additional ingredients are fully cooked if needed before adding to the rice.
This same recipe can be duplicated but instead of rice you can use potatoes! Just chop the potatoes up, boil them until they’re soft enough so you can stick a fork into them. Drain the water, add some oil (I typically use olive oil), turn up the heat to high and watch them fry!
Loaded Hash-Browns
This is probably the most unique recipe on this list… which means the ingredients are at least likely to be found at the grocery store during this tricky time for shopping. For this recipe I use frozen has browns from the brand Ore-Ida but any brand will work fine! Even if they are handmade anything will work! What makes the hash-browns loaded is all of the additional ingredients on top! I use Polish Kielbasa smoked sausage, and sweet bell peppers but feel free to experiment with what you top these with like cheese, bacon, or even eggs!
Ingredients:
Hash-browns (serving size depends on desired amount and size of the frying pan)
Any toppings you would like! (Pictured below is Polish Kielbasa smoked sausage and sweet bell peppers)
Directions:
Heat olive oil over the stove in a frying pan on the medium or high setting. Then spread out the hash-browns in the pan. Having a thiner layer will allow the hash-browns to get crispier! Cook for 6-8 minutes or until crispy.
For cooking the Polish Kielbasa smoked sausage all I do is cut up the meat, put it in a skillet pan with enough water to just cover the meat, and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling put the heat on low and let the sausage cook for 8-10 minutes or until fully cooked. To bring out additional smokey flavor I like to put them back in the skillet but with no water.
Once the ingredients for your loaded hash-brown are cooked and prepped throw them all together in the frying pan and set the heat to low to help blend the flavors.
Quiona-Broccoli Bowl
Two of my newest favorite foods to cook with at the moment are quinoa and riced broccoli! I use Green Giant’s Riced Broccoli ( which is frozen finely chopped up broccoli and I love it since it saves time and hassle from cutting it up. I love mixing it with cooked quinoa and other veggies.
Ingredients:
1 package of Green Giant Riced Broccoli https://www.greengiant.com/products/detail/riced-veggies-broccoli/ or desired amount of broccoli that can be prepared at home
2 cups of water for every 1 cup of quinoa
Any other veggies or ingredients you would like!
Directions:
Similar to how rice is cooked, quinoa should be cooked with water on high heat until it boils. Simmer until the quinoa puffs up and sprouts little white “tails” which typically takes about 15 minutes.
Place the broccoli rice in a separate skillet pan. Then on medium heat let the broccoli cook for about 5 minutes.
Mix the quinoa and the broccoli. I like to add taco sauce (interesting choice I know) for a bit more flavor and any kind and spice level will do just fine! After the other ingredients you wish to include are cooked and/or prepped mix them, with the broccoli and quinoa.
As you might be able to tell, these dishes are customizable to align with what you like but also what you may have in your home already so you don’t have to venture out to the grocery store quite yet. I hope you get inspired to try some of these recipes and truly make them to your liking!