Oldie but a Goodie

I’m not really sure how day-after-day of staying at home can be so time consuming.  I guess when rudimentary tasks become your daily routine you can easily fill all the hours of your waking day with busy work. After coffee and breakfast, there is house cleaning, laundry, kid activities (so many activities!), garden stuff, emails and Island Life business, lunch, planning for dinner, making dinner, cleaning up from dinner, relaxing and then bed. It’s amazing that all of those things normally fit into a day where 2/3 of that time is spent at work. I have to think that once our quarantine days are behind us, we are all going to be trying to figure out how to balance a new found appreciation for the jobs within the home with the job we will go back to outside of the home. 
 
I’ve been using this time to try lots of new recipes, some of my own creation and some from my bedside table pile of Bon Apetite and Cook’s Illustrated that I’ve been wanting to try, the other night I made one of my trusty favorites from the Meal Prep rotation: Tomato & Spinach Rice. I love this recipe because it elevates basic ingredients to become super tasty while also being easy to prepare. It is also easy, flexible and made mostly with things found in your pantry, plus it comes together relatively quickly which is always nice even when time isn’t much of a concern.  Enjoy!
 
 
Tomato & Spinach Rice
 
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
 
Makes 6 servings
 
Ingredients:
 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon rosemary
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of crushed red pepper
¼ cup tomato paste
½ teaspoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 small yellow onion, diced
15 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes (can use diced tomatoes, if so add ½ teaspoon smoked paprika and ½ teaspoon chili powder)
15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed or 1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 ½ cups vegetable broth or water
Garnish: Grated parmesan, parsley and lemon slices
 
Instructions:

1. Heat oil in deep skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, red pepper and black pepper, saute for about a minute.
2. Add tomato paste and brown sugar to the pot and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes or until the paste takes on a deep burgundy color. Add the onion and salt and continue to saute for 2 – 3 minutes more until onions become soft and transparent.
3. Add diced tomatoes with juices, cannellini beans, spinach and rice to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and stir briefly to combine the ingredients. 
4. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the contents to come to a boil, then turn heat to low to maintain a simmer. Let the pot simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and let rest undisturbed for 10 minutes.
5. Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork and serve with parmesan, parsley and lemon, if desired.  Enjoy!