Mexican Veg Casserole is a simple weeknight meal which can prepared in jiffy.
So many stories to tell today and I only have one blog post.
Starting this week I’ve been shooting for the Massachusetts-based “Drumlin Farm” which is part of Mass Audubon. It is owned by my colleague’s wife so I offered to shoot some photos for her in the return for their gorgeous and delicious veggies. Please spare a moment to look at my work by clicking the picture below.
My weekends are usually busy shooting and cooking. This weekend, we decided to explore Boston on the back of a duck. I have seen my city many times from the car, but I have never seen it’s a gorgeous view from the Charles River. I caught some beautiful snaps of my town and please check them by clicking at the picture below.
That was the good news. Now for the bad news…
I cut my finger this weekend in the middle of cooking. I could not mix the batter of pakoda or do much of anything else. My husband helped a lot to finish the preparation and shooting. Isn’t he great?
Then, on top of that, in the middle of shooting my Manfrotto tripod broke. I was so pissed because my husband just gifted that to me on 14th Feb. I am lucky that my full-frame camera did not drop as well. Frustrated and angry we went to Hunt’s (I call it Boston’s B & H photo) to get a tripod. The tripod I got has an extensive arm which is extremely useful for overhead shots. If you’re thinking of getting a tripod, do not waste a dime on cheap Manfrottos. I broke two tripods in one year.
That was just weekend updates.
Here comes the sick Tuesday story. I woke up in the morning, blew dried my hair, did my makeup and was about to put on my blazer when suddenly I sat down on the floor with in terrible pain. I had this before, so it did not take long to realize that I was having a UTI infection attack. I am seeing several doctors at BIDMC (a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School) for over a year and a half by now and they are clueless about my chronic UTI infection. I get this infection once every three months. After 8:30 my husband decided to send an email to the team by saying that he will be using a family sick day to take care of me. Of course, I had to take a sick day too. He made me jaggery ginger chai and gave me puffed rice with cucumber and some Indian snacks just like my mom used to do. After taking meds and eating food I started to feel a bit better, but I was heavily nauseated throughout the entire day. He tried to feed me a few times but I kept refusing until finally he made a light rice soup that we call “Phena Bhat” in Bengali. He boiled the rice with water, ghee, salt and served it with poppy seed paste and chiles. He tried to give me other food, but I didn’t think I could keep anything down. Well, that’s what those high dose antibiotics do to me.
I did nothing the entire day other than editing pictures, reading news, and browsing through magazines. Well, what can a sick blogger do when she has nothing else to do other than sitting down the entire day?
Fortunately, I had some time to browse through Donna Hay, and I found her weeknight recipe section quite impressive. Weeknight meal planning is not only frightening for working women but also for non-working women throughout the world. At least that is what I thought. Donna’s weeknight menu planning attracted me to start my “weeknight cooking.” Previously I posted a “recipes in under 30 minutes” category. I am changing that to “weeknight cooking,” and I want to contribute at least two recipes a month. Feel free to scold me when I don’t 🙂
After Indian and Meditteranean cuisine, my favorite type of food is is Mexican. Sometimes my husband jokingly says that I am more Mexican than an Indian.
This Mexican veg casserole is super easy and super quick to prepare as it’s made on a skillet. It’s a one pot meal which can satisfy any number of people at your home. I wrote the the recipe for four servings. Feel free to ask questions if you’re preparing for more. It’s vegetarian and wholesome!
You can replace mexican chile powder with cayenne pepper. I have followed tutorial to get fresh corn out of the cob. You can use canned corn if you do not have it.
Recipe for Mexican Veg Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or canned
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon mexican chile powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups brown rice, washed and drained
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped(For garnish)
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced(for garnish)
Instructions
1. In a non-stick pan, over medium-low heat, heat oil. Add onion and fry it for 6 to 7 minutes, or until they are translucent. Add garlic pieces and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until aroma of garlic comes out.
2. Add jalapeno, green pepper, red bell pepper and saute it over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are softened. Do not increase your flame so high.
3. Add diced tomato, corn kernels, cumin powder and mexican chile powder. Stir to mix it well. Add salt, rice and water. Cover and cook it for 28 to 30 minutes, or rice is softened. If you’re using white rice, cooking time will be lower than that. Add shredded cheese and take it out of the heat. Garnish Mexican veg casserole with fresh cilantro and avocado slices.
A quick and easy one pot meal for any time . thanks for sharing.
That is an incredible looking veg casserole dish. Yum .