A Dinner so Easy, a Caveman Could Do It

Up until about a year and half ago, I was not into cooking. But my mom told me a little piece of advice and it's stuck with me. I will let you in on her golden nugget because it obviously worked well for her: If you always have a good dinner waiting for your husband when he comes home from work, maybe he'll agree to let you stay at home all the time! In January, my mom just retired from working at Alexandria Technical College for about thirty years, so we can see how well this theory really worked.

However, I think cooking takes a little push from a few directions. My mom is an awesome cook, we had a family every dinner every night and still continue to have them when I am home. She made us eat all kinds of food and was definitely not a short order cook. If it was in front of us, we ate it. I thank her for making me open to all kinds of food, I am definitely NOT a picky eater. That is one thing I love about myself; have me over for dinner and I'll eat whatever you cook. I may not always like everything, but I'll always eat it. I can say the same for my sister and brother, there's not much we won't eat or at least try.

My other push came from my sister-in-law, Trena. Talk about an awesome cook! I love visiting their house; she has containers filled with yummy food that I gorge myself on. Trena loves cooking and baking and I love enjoying the things that she creates. She has always wanted me to get into cooking, too, but for many years I just couldn't get excited about it.

The final influence came from my other sister-in-law, Steph. When this girl got married and received all her kitchen gadgets and beautiful serving ware, she was pumping out the most amazing three-course meals! Her husband commented to us when she was busy making dinner that he thought she was such a good cook and everything she made was awesome. (I don't know if he relayed that information to you, Steph!)

After seeing the starry look in Tim's eyes talking about Steph's cooking, I decided that perhaps I needed to step up my game if I was going to keep Casey happy. I can't even remember what we ate before I started really cooking...turkey burgers? Spaghetti? Toast? Cereal? Salad? I'm seriously drawing a blank.

Last summer is when I really started cooking. I took down the 6 cookbooks that were given to me by Trena and my mom and made my list. I planned out 5 meals for the week and had a lot of crazy things that I needed to buy. $90 later, I was walking out a little stunned with the cost of some of these items. The spices, the fresh produce, the oils, the vinegars, etc. However, after being a "pro cooker" as I like to call myself, I found out that many of those things are only bought a few times during the year, not all at once!

It became a fun thing to surprise Casey with a new recipe each night he came home from work. He looked forward to coming home and would call me every time he left and asked what I was making. It would be waiting, piping hot when he walked through the door. Stuffed peppers, portobello mushroom burgers, baked ziti, and maybe a turkey burger (some food is always so good!).

At Christmas 2007, Trena gave me the Eat Clean Diet and the cookbook to go with it. Very enlightening book with lots of information on food and the kinds of food we should be eating. It made me re-think the way I was cooking and although I don't follow the book religiously, I am a lot more conscientious about the foods that I do eat. Tosca Reno would probably tsk, tsk some of my eating habits, but what's the fun in food, then?! Then this year at Christmas, my mom bought me a subscription to the Clean Eating Magazine (with a little push from Trena). It is awesome! It is filled with tons of recipes and every one is healthy and has lots of nutrients, fiber, and protein. It's food for all kinds of eaters. I have made meat and potatoes, pizza, potato and egg salads, pasta, desserts, and all kinds of interesting concoctions of food. The best part is that the recipes are pretty easy, fairly inexpensive, and totally delicious and nutritious. I highly recommend the magazine to anyone that enjoys healthy cooking.

Tonight I made something VERY yummy and it was really easy and there are lots of leftovers--wait, I just looked in the fridge, Casey must have dipped into it for another helping--I mean some leftovers! It's from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook and it's called Wild Rice Summer Salad.

Here's how you make it:

In a sauce pan cook 1 cup of wild rice. (Basically boil 2 c. of water, then add wild rice, cover and simmer for about a half an hour or until cooked, drain)

Cube 2 chicken or turkey breasts and cook in a little olive oil, salt and pepper in a pan.

Mix in a big bowl:

1 bunch of green onions chopped

1/2 c. cooked endamame (I just heated up the frozen kind.)

2/3 c. no salt added sweet corn

2 or 3 Roma tomatoes chopped and seeded

Then add the chicken and wild rice. Add either fresh or dried tarragon and basil--I do a few shakes of each and mix.

For the dressing mix and whisk in a separate container:

1/4 c. or so of light rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. or so of toasted or regular sesame oil

1 garlic clove pressed

Add the dressing and some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. I added a little more rice vinegar bc I like mine a little more acidic, but that's just me.

Here is a picture of the leftovers:

It was so easy, in fact I talked on the phone with Stacy the entire time I was cooking it! It serves 6 and has only 202 calories per serving...so of course I had a little more. I am very full and satisfied. I just hate feeling like I want to eat more when I get done with dinner. It also gave Casey that starry look, which is always the goal! (No work, no work!)

I hope you enjoy it!