On The Side.

I don't know about you, but coming up with new and interesting ways to create side dishes can be a real task.  There are so many ways to create wonderful dishes with broccoli, beans, etc., but I don't want to spend a lot of time on them on a daily basis.  I though I'd share with you a couple of sides I made last night that were easy to do and did not take a lot of effort---oh, and they really were tasty.

Mushroom and Onion Rice with Parmesan Cheese and Dijon Broccoli

The rice was a great dish and it had a bit of crunch with the lightly cooked onions and mushrooms.  I'm not going to do a recipe--just tell you how to do it.  Feel free to add your own variations.

First, I started cooking the rice.  I always use brown rice and I like to cook it in chicken broth for extra flavor.  You can use the broth starters that they now sell in the soup section to save pennies.  While the rice was cooking, I cleaned the mushrooms and cut them up along with the onions.  I placed them in a microwave dish and cooked it on high for about 2 minutes.  When the rice was finished, I added the vegetables along with salt and pepper to taste. Then I added in about 3 tablespoons of  Parmesan cheese. Very good.

The broccoli was even easier.  I used the pre-cut broccoli you can find in the produce section.  I still clean them off a bit and place them in a microwave dish with a little water (about 2 tablespoons). Cook for 5-6 minutes in the microwave on high.  After cooking the allotted time, drain off the water, spritz with some olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste and about 2 tablespoons for Dijon mustard.  Mix well.  That's it!  I don't love broccoli, but I really liked it cooked this way.  This is also great for brussel sprouts.