Chickpea Curry

Quick and easy meatless meal for you!

Chickpea Curry

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Serves 3

2 cups Rice
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 whole Large Onion, Diced Fine
Salt And Pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons Curry Powder, Any Variety
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 cup Vegetable Stock
2 cans Chickpeas, Drained And Rinsed
1 can (13.5 Ounce) Coconut Milk

2 cups shelled edamame
1 Tablespoon Honey, More To Taste
1 Tablespoon Sriracha Or Hot Sauce (more To Taste)
Lime Wedges, For Serving (optional)
Cilantro Leaves, For Garnish

Cook rice according to the package instructions.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.

Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to turn golden. 

Sprinkle in the curry powder and garlic and stir, cooking for another minute or so. 

Pour in the vegetable stock and stir to scrape up all the brown bits in the pan. 

Add the edamame, coconut milk, honey and a squirt of sriracha. 

Bring to a boil, add the chickpeas, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, honey, or Sriracha (or lime juice, if using.)
Serve the curry over the rice. Garnish with the cilantro.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro Lime Rice

Adapted from Culinary Hill

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups basmati or long-grain rice
2 ¼ Teaspoons salt, divided
1 bay leaf
1 Teaspoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
To cook long-grain rice in a rice-cooker, add rice, water (according to manufacturer's instructions), 2 tsp salt, bay leaf, and oil. Close rice cooker, plug in, and turn on. Cook according to manufacturer's instructions.
When the rice is finished, remove bay leaf. Stir in cilantro, lime juice, and lemon juice. Add additional salt to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Very flavorful! I did not brown the chicken prior to putting into the slow cooker because I was worried that it would over cook. Would I make this again? Maybe. If I did - I would prepare it differently. I didn't think the slow cooker aspect was necessary. As the slow cooker only needs 4 hours (at a maximum), it is tough to start when you would normally be at work.

If I was trying to save time, next time, I would make the sauce the night before and clean and cut the chicken up. Then that evening I would fry/brown/crisp the chicken while the rice was cooking.

But the flavors were great and we did finish it off quickly!

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
Adapted from The Recipe Critic
Serves 4

3-4 boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces (approx 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¾ cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon garlic
pinch of pepper
Sesame seeds (optional)
Scallion, sliced (optional)

1. In the crock pot bowl mix the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, marmalade, brown sugar, salt and pepper. 
2. In a ziplock bag, add the cornstarch and chicken. Shake to coat. 
3. Add chicken to the crock pot OR Pour vegetable oil in the skillet and brown the sides of the covered chicken. The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked since it is going in the crockpot.
4. Add chicken into crockpot with the sauce mixture. 
5. Stir.
6. Cook on low 4-5 hours or high 2-3 hours.
7. To serve, sprinkle with sliced scallion and a handful of sesame seeds!

Rice Pilaf

I grew up eating the boxed rice pilaf and I had a craving for it the other day. The boxed stuff has a lot of sodium so I was curious about making it at home from scratch. This was so easy and I don't know why people use the boxed mix.

I will give you a warning...red onion turns green so you should use the white onion.

Rice Pilaf

Adapted from All Recipes 

Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup diced white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups chicken broth or veg broth

1/2 cup slivered almonds (optional)

Melt the butter in a lidded pot over medium-low heat. Stir in almond and orzo pasta until golden brown. Add onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the rice and chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce, Ginger, and Scallion

Happy Lunar New Year! I used the Steamed Fish with Scallion-Ginger-Soy Sauce recipe from Nomnomcat. What a taste of home! My mom and my grandmother used to make this for the family.

The only change from the recipe is that I omitted the sugar.

At banquets this is an entire steamed fish, not just the fillet. But you can make this with fish fillets and it can be microwaved! I used the individually frozen tilapia fish fillets.

A fresh healthy dinner in less than 10 minutes! And another perk? This recipe pretty much creates NO dishes. Seriously, for dishes I had: a rice pot and lid, a pie plate, a plate, scissors (from the scallion, cilantro, and opening the fish packets), a knife from cutting the ginger, and chop sticks.

If you don't have a rice cooker, here are straight forward white rice directions that I wrote up a while back!

Fish in the soy sauce with ginger on top

yum!

Noonk! This is the rice at the bottom of the rice pot that gets crispy.
Take the rest of the rice out of the pot and leave a thin layer.
While you are eating put the rice pot on low and let the bottom cook.
Pry it out of the pot and put some butter and salt on it and enjoy!

Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce, Ginger, and Scallion
serves 1-2 people

White rice, cooked
2 fish fillets, tilapia, defrosted
2 green onion stems, sliced
3 stems of cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp fresh ginger or 1/4 inch of fresh ginger in chunks

In a glass Pyrex pie plate combine soy sauce, sesame oil, cold water. Mix to combine.
Toss the fish in the mix to coat.
Put the ginger on top of the fish.
Cover with saran wrap tightly.
Cook for 5 minutes, until fish is opaque and flaking.
Carefully remove the saran wrap.
Put rice on the plate, top with fish and garnish with green onion and cilantro. Then pour the sauce from the pan onto the fish and rice.

Italian Chicken with Almond Rice

Happy New Year! My goal this year is to try 2-3 new recipes a month and to get back into the swing of writing. Ready? Here goes a new one! Italian Chicken with Almond Rice. This was adapted from SparkRecipes. 

I couldn't believe how easy this was and the chicken was very tender. Adding the nuts to the rice makes it similar to a rice pilaf. I will be making this again because I almost always have these ingredients in the fridge or pantry!

This time I cooked my rice according to my dad's rice instructions. Next time I would cook the rice in 1 3/4 cup broth + garlic powder + Italian dressing. Then use the remaining broth to cook the broccoli and deglaze the chicken pan. 

Italian Chicken with Almond Rice

2 very hungry grownups

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb), cut into large chunks
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1 can (10 fl oz) low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup white rice, cooked (under cooked by 5 minutes, when the rice has absorbed most of the water)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Cook chicken in 2 tbsp. dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat about 4 minutes on each side or until evenly browned and cooked through. Remove chicken.

Pour in broth, garlic powder and remaining dressing; bring to boil. Add rice, broccoli, and nuts. Cook until rice absorbs most of the liquid and the broccoli is tender. 

Serve chicken over rice.

Chicken Rice Soup

While it is almost 90F… fall is coming! I swear it! So here is a quick and easy chicken soup recipe that you can quickly assemble for those cool evenings. The roux will create a creamer thicker broth for the soup.

If you are cooking for picky kids puree the onion, garlic, and celery in the food processor. You’ll get the flavor but none of the texture. Rice can be substituted for pasta. Left over chicken would work too. And any veggies that may be having a slow death in your crisper drawer could be included in this as well! Flavors that would be tasty would include a few slices of ginger in the broth while cooking (remove before serving) or lemon juice in the broth.

This soup freezes well, just omit the rice/pasta. When you are ready to eat make the pasta/rice when the soup is heating up and then combine. This prevents the rice/pasta from being gummy and mushy.

Chicken Rice Soup
Makes 4-6 servings

2 tbsp oil
Small Onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
4 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp seasoning (oregano, Italian seasoning, or parsley)
1 can of corn (optional)
4-5 cans of chicken broth (it seems like a lot of broth but it will absorb and thicken as then soup sits in the fridge)
3 chicken breasts (cooked)
1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
Salt and pepper

To Cook Chicken:
Preheat oven to 350F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook for about 30 minutes. When it is done take it out and let it cool. Shred and put aside.

To Cook Rice:
1 cup rice in 1 ½ cups of liquid (I do a split between water and chicken both). Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. When liquid is mostly absorbed (after approx. 25 minutes) turn off the heat and put aside.

To Make Soup:
While the chicken and rice are cooking, start making the soup! Heat large pot. Add a little oil and add in the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Let it sauté 5 minutes. Add butter and stir into the veggies. When melted add in the flour. Stir to coat the veggies. Add in seasoning of your choice. Season with salt and pepper. Add ½ can of broth and stir so the broth doesn’t become lumpy. When broth is smooth add in rest of the broth. Add chicken and rice when they are done cooking.

Authentically Based Ma Po Tofu

Wow its good to be back! I have been caught up with so much summertime that I haven't had time to work much on sharing my tasty recipes! I also have a broken laptop screen so I'm chained to a desk and spare monitor which makes it a little less convenient for writing. But I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and here is a little taste of home!

While most people claim their recipe is authentic, this Ma Po Tofu recipe comes right from the lips of one of my aunts. She cooks as authentic as they come, in fact, she often has to make her food less spicy for my poor Americanized taste buds!

This stir fry dish can be chopped, cooked, and on the table in 30 minutes or less. Make sure you chop everything up before starting to cook!

Some differences: She uses soft tofu, I used firm since I couldn't find soft. Soft tofu has a very different texture and will fall apart easily if you don't stir gently. Personally, I like soft tofu better then extra firm. She also uses ground pork while I used ground turkey. I have no real reason for that, I just tend to use ground turkey as my meat of choice.

The measurements for the "sauce" type ingredients are estimated, I just pour into the meat and guess each time.  You may have never used sesame oil, I highly recommend it, you will never be able to stir fry again without it!

I add broccoli or green beans, but that isn't very authentic.

Happy eating!

Ma Po Tofu
serves 4

1 lb Ground turkey or pork
1 big clove Garlic, minced
1 - 2 tbsp Garlic Chili sauce
1 - 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sesame oil
Combine 1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp each minced Cilantro, sliced green onions

Cook the meat until almost done. Add garlic, hot sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and combine. Cook about 2 minutes.
Add broccoli, cook until just about tender.
Add tofu and carefully stir.
Add water/corn starch mix and stir until thickened.
Top with Cilantro and green onion. Serve hot and over rice.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

Cilantro is going bad! What uses up lots of fresh herbs? Why pesto of course! This recipe is from The Washington Post and is a great starting point pesto ideas. The recipe below omits any cheese and the arugula, but I think they would both be great additions for next time I attempt this recipe.

How do you serve pesto? 
Pasta: One night we served it over this new quinoa pasta we wanted to try. The pasta was good and tasted like regular pasta, but when I read the ingredients label it didn't really seem much better than regular pasta. But I didn't look to far into it - it tasted yummy! Add about 1/2 cup for 1 lb of quinoa pasta. 
Rice: Another night we served it combined with left over white rice. Heat rice in a skillet over medium with a little olive oil (1 tbsp) and some water (2 tbsp). Once rice is softened and back to its sticky consistency, add the pesto and stir until pesto is mixed in and rice is hot. The rice was served with homemade tortillas and salsa poached chicken.

You may be wondering about the paprika, I included it but I didn't really taste it. Next time I would add more or omit it to see if I notice a difference.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Pesto

Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro PestoMakes about 1 cup

1/3 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic, to taste
1 large bunch cilantro, roots and larger stems trimmed, washed and thoroughly dried
Squeeze of ½ lime
¼-1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
 ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Place nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add cilantro and lime, and pulverize. Add oil, going gradually; stop machine and taste for herb/oil ratio. Add more if it feels “dry.”

Scrape down sides of bowl as needed, and transfer pesto to a small mixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, if using.

Chicken Fajita Stir Fry

This was a meal that was comprised of many leftovers plus some Trader Joe's taco seasoning. I was inspired by some left over peppers and chicken to make some sort of fajitas.

This was a fast meal to put together especially since the smaller the vegetables and chicken are sliced the faster the meal will cook up.

 

Chicken Fajita Stir Fry
makes 5 servings

1/2 Onion, diced
5 cloves Garlic, crushed in garlic press
1 sliced bell pepper (half red, half orange)
Chicken, approx 2 lbs, bite sized pieces/strips/etc
Handful of sliced baby carrots
Bottom inch of a bag of frozen corn
1/2 bag of baby Spinach

Tortillas/White Rice
The bottom 2 bags of Cheese
1 single serving packet of Guacamole

Salsa, to top the chicken mixture
Trader Joe's Taco Seasoning Packet

Heat large frying pan with some oil.
Saute onion and bell pepper about 2 minutes. Add chicken and the carrots.  Sprinkle with about 1/2 of taco seasoning packet.
When chicken is cooked through add in frozen corn and spinach. Once spinach is just about wilted take off the heat. Taste and add more of the seasoning packet until desired spiciness is reached.
To assemble take tortilla and add a dollop of guacamole, then put a scoop of the chicken mix on top. Add cheese and salsa on top. This mix is also good served on jasmine rice.

Chicken and Rice with Ginger Soup

I was looking for a light soup for dinner tonight, I was inspired by the chicken and rice soup with ginger from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. This makes a very light broth, but the ginger and cooking the chicken in it gives it flavor. I can't find the recipe online to link so I posted it below.

4 cups chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced,
1 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup long grain white rice
3 oz baby spinach (3 cups)
salt & pepper

In medium pot bring broth, 2 cups water, garlic, and ginger to a simmer over medium heat. Add chicken and rice and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, Cover pot and simmer until rice is tender, 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Shred chicken and transfer to pot. Stir in spinach and season with salt & pepper.

Good looking recipe, however I didn't have chicken broth, real ginger, real garlic, or spinach...So here is my interpretation:

Chicken and Rice with Ginger Soup
Makes approx 2-3 servings

1) I made the rice separate.

2) Meanwhile, I heated 4 cups of water, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, salt, pepper, and 2 frozen chicken breasts over about med high heat in a large pot. Since it was frozen it took closer to 20 minutes. Once chicken was pretty much done I added in large cut carrots (1 carrot) and celery (1 stalk). 10 minutes in the pot is plenty of time for them to soften. Shred the chicken when it is all cooked. Add it all back in and some peas if you'd like. Serve over rice!

Never Fail White Rice

There has been much debate regarding about how to cook the perfect pot of rice. Here is the result:

• Boil 1 3/4 c of water
• Add 1 cup white rice and stir for a second or two
• Cover with a paper towel sandwiched between the pot and the cover (this will let the moisture escape and prevents it from boiling over)

• Set stove to low and cook for 20 minutes (no peeking!!)
• Stir it up and serve!

Enjoy!!

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

My mom makes the best stir fry. I have no idea how she does it, but it always tastes awesome. Stir fry is a very basic idea with some mixture of veggies, some form of protein, and cooked in one pan. Last night I looked at what I had in the fridge and decided to attempt my own version of a stir fry. I defrosted my chicken breast, chopped up my veggies (broccoli, mushrooms, and carrots), and heated up a frying pan.

Once the pan was hot, I added some olive oil and the spices and stirred that around for about 30 seconds. Then I couldn't decide on cooking times for the veggies and chicken. So I put them all in the pan at the same time. In my mind, all the flavors could cook together. (If you were wondering, the mushrooms didn't need to cook as long as the broccoli and chicken. Next time I would probably throw them in a minute or two after the other ingredients). Once the chicken was mostly cooked I added a tbs or so of soy sauce (a few splashes) and some water and let that cook down.

Now, when my mom makes this type of dish she always manages to make a gravy/sauce using corn starch and water mixed into the frying pan with all things being cooked. I couldn't remember the ratio, but I decided about a 1/4 cup of water and a tbs of corn starch was a good place to start. After all, you can always add more! So into the pan it went. I stirred it around until (approx 2-3 minutes) and you can see the gravy start to thicken up. I wanted a little more so I added some more water and corn starch. Be patient during this step because it does take a few minutes to thicken. Eventually I decided I was hungry and that the amount of gravy was good enough. You can play around and add more until it suits your tastes.

Finally, I topped it with some cracked ground pepper.

And I have to admit, while it didn't exactly taste like my mom's stir fry, it was pretty close. And this is a dish I would feel comfortable making for when I have friends over.

Also, I wish I had onions to put in it. If you have onions on hand, I'd toss in a half of a large onion to the stir fry. Put it in the pan after you heat the spices and let it get a little translucent. Then add the rest of the veg.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry
makes 2 servings

Olive Oil
1 tsp Garlic Powder
3/4 tsp Ground Ginger

1 small head Broccoli
2 Carrots
6 Mushrooms
1 Chicken breast- sliced into thin strips or diced into bite size pieces
Splash of water
Soy Sauce
Ground pepper

1/4 c water and 1 tbs corn starch - combined

1. Heat pan over medium high.
2. Once pan is hot, add oil, add spices. Mix approx 30 seconds/fragrant
3. Add veggies* and chicken.
4. Stir occasionally, once chicken (not very pink anymore) and veggies are mostly cooked (stick a fork in veggies to determine if they tender enough for you) add soy sauce and some water
5. Add water/cornstarch mixture a little at a time until desired gravy is there. It will take a little time to thicken so be patient.
6. Serve over rice or pasta or whatever you'd like. You could even put it in a tortilla like a taco, or on top of a flat bread and it it like pizza.

*Depending on the veggies used you may have to adjust the cooking timings.

Enjoy!!

Chickpea and Lettuce Soup

I have had the majority of 2 heads of lettuce sitting in my fridge waiting to be cooked into something tasty. However, I'm not much of a salad person. So what on earth can you do with that much lettuce? Luckily, I found this Chickpea and Romaine Lettuce recipe. I also had all the ingredients- it was fate!

I read the recipe a few times and decided I'm going to make a few changes. I have some celery that is nearing the end of its shelf life, I only had one tomato so that was just going to have to work, and I'm trying to add more protein in my diet so a chicken breast would supplement the chickpeas nicely.

I start prepping the ingredients. Chop up the onion, celery, and tomato. I measure out the spices: turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. They are such lovely colors! I was going to take a picture but I spilled the garlic powder over other colors... not so pretty. I've never used turmeric before and I was excited to try it! I defrost the chicken (1 chicken breast, about 20 minutes soaking in cold water before it was soft-ish) and diced that up. Wash and slice up the lettuce into ribbons. Now, I'm ready to cook!

Add the onion and celery into the pot, let it get a little soft, stir in the spices, then add in the chicken.  Now I didn't really know when to add the chicken, but it seemed right. It could absorb the spice flavors, release some of its juices into the bottom of the pot, and be able to saute instead of boil. Once the chicken was mostly cooked I mixed in the tomato and let that cook up for a few minutes.

Then I added in the broth and water and let it cook for a few minutes, then added the lettuce. I dropped several handfuls of lettuce into the pot letting it wilt into the soup. The soup had a nice kick to it (in an Indian food spicy way, not a salsa way) and the broth was a nice rich yellow-y orange color. The lettuce was similar to a cabbage rather than a kale or spinach. I'd make the recipe again and try it with those other green veggies.

I actually had a lot of broth left in the pot that should have been doled out.

The recipe calls for cooking the pasta in a pan, saute style, then letting it cook in the soup for a few minutes. I don't like soggy pasta and made enough of the "base" for several meals so I cooked the pasta separately in an amount that I would be eating for that meal. If I'm bringing soup to work I'll bring rice (rice doesn't get mushy like pasta does...) in a separate container, heat soup and rice up, then combine before eating. That's just me though, I know it doesn't bother most people... :)

Note, I like my food a little spicier, the amounts I used are in parenthesis, but start little and add more. You can always add more, its much harder to take out the spice.

Chickpea and Lettuce Soup
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped (1/4 onion)

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp garlic powder)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric (1/2 tsp)

1/2 teaspoon paprika (3/4 tsp)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (1/2 tsp)

1 chicken breast

2 plum tomatoes, chopped (1 tomato about the size of my fist)

2 cups drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (one 15 oz can)

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock

3 cups water (2 cups)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound vermicelli, broken in half

1/2 head romaine lettuce (about 2/3 pounds), shredded (about 5 cups)

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion, let it cook, add seasonings (approx 5 minutes), add diced chicken, stir some more, stir in the tomatoes (approx 5 minutes)
2. Add the chickpeas, broth, water, and salt. Boil then simmer.
3. Cook pasta according to instructions (at the same time as step 2)

Happy eating!

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ready to heat and eat!

Tonight I needed to use up the last of my cabbage, the lots of tomatoes, and celery I've been accumulating. I found a Stuffed Cabbage Casserole recipe online. Essentially its layers of tender cabbage and a yummy mixture of rice, ground chicken, tomatoes, and seasonings. So I took this idea and made some changes due to the surplus of veggies floating around my kitchen.

This will probably make enough for a 9 x 13 pan or enough to serve 4-6. I split mine up into single serving containers that I can freeze.

I only had 1/2 a head of cabbage so my ratio was off. I'm going to use the rest of the rice mix in a salad!

Oh...I also ate the baked section and forgot to take a picture... So you'll have to settle for the picture of the unbaked casserole!

Ingredients:

• 2 small Carrots
• 2 stalks of Celery
• 1/4 Onion
• 1 lb Ground chicken
• To taste: Oregano, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes, S&P
• 1 pint halved Cherry Tomatoes
• 2-4 oz Tomato paste
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 head of cabbage
• Shredded cheese (I didn't use cheese)

Heat oil in a pot (Use a pot because the mixture gets hard to stir in a frying pan)
Saute carrots, celery, onion (used the lovely, lovely food processor to chop them up!!)
Add ground chicken
Seasonings: Oregano, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes (about 1 tsp each)
Add sliced cherry tomatoes (or whatever tomatoes you have, canned diced tomatoes are fine too)
Add some tomato paste (or tomato sauce, I happened to only have paste in the cabinet)
Stir it up and let it all cook together (tomatoes should sort of dissolve into the mix)
Mix in 2 cups (or so) of cooked rice

In a separate fry pan, wilt the cabbage and season with some salt and pepper

Layer lettuce and the meat/rice mixture twice
Top with cheese
Bake at 350 until it starts to bubble then take off the foil and let it get golden on the top!

Enjoy!!