Ingredients
(See Notes for ingredient ideas)
1 cup grain, uncooked
1 ½ cups vegetables, fresh, canned or frozen, cut bite-sized
1 cup protein, cut bite-sized
2 cups sauce, stirred
½ teaspoon spices
3 Tablespoons topping
Directions
To make in a skillet:
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Combine all ingredients except topping in a large skillet.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until grains are tender, about 15 to 45 minutes. Stir a few times while you wait and add liquid if too dry.
- Add topping before serving.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
To bake in oven:
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients except topping in a casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until grains are tender, about 50 to 60 minutes.
- Add topping before serving.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Notes
Ideas for Ingredients
Grain - try bulgur, pasta, quinoa or rice
Vegetables - try a mixture of corn, carrots, green beans, onions, mushrooms, peppers or zucchini
Protein - try cooked cubed or ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey, canned tuna or salmon, tofu or beans
Sauce - try one can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream soup such as chicken, potato or tomato soup plus 1 1/4 cups water or low-fat milk
Spices - try basil, oregano, parsley, chili powder, garlic, onion powder or ground ginger
Topping - try grated cheese or crushed whole grain cereal or crackers. Try adding cilantro on top for more flavor.
Comment
This is a really great recipe to experiment with-- especially suited for a fun teen cooking challenge. Cooking teams can be organized with each team using a different protein, grain, veggie combo, sauce, and topping. Everyone can sample the end results and vote for their favorite.
For vegetarians this is a great dish as the quinoa is a high protein food item. It is actually a seed although it is grouped as a grain. It can also go into the protein category.
I love using this recipe for KIK's "Go Eat a Plant" lesson. I used cabbage (leaves) - zuchini (fruit) - broccoli (flower) celery (stem) carrot or onion (root) and sunflower seeds on top (seeds). I used fresh ginger and garlic for the seasoning. 92 kids tried it, and 72 liked it a lot! We had teachers coming into our class to see and taste what was smelling so good. A really good recipe to try a wide variety of foods!
Susan Sandperl, Myrtle Point Extension
I used this recipe as my formula for dinner tonight and it was a success! For the grain I used bulgur, frozen cauliflower and broccoli for the veggies, tuna for the protein plus onion and garlic powder for the seasoning. For the sauce, I used the broth recipe with 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of chicken broth. I omitted the flour from the sauce recipe; I accidentally left it out once and found it was not necessary. I stirred in shredded cheddar cheese at the end. This came together very quickly and made just enough for our family of five when served with Brussels sprouts and whole grain bread on the side.