Three-Bean Rice Salad

Long time, no post. Honestly, I haven't had much to blog about. I've been cooking some fabulously delicious vegan food, but they've pretty much been my standards. I also haven't been taking many pictures of my food, even though a lot of it has been very pretty-looking.

I did "invent" a new recipe that is absolutely wonderful, though. I have no idea if this is an original concept, but I threw it together using a Food Network website recipe for three-bean salad...I just added brown rice to bulk it up and help absorb all that delicious dressing. I also cut down on the amounts a bit. This is a delicious and light lunch salad.

Three-Bean Rice Salad
1 cup brown rice
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can green beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. dried minced onions

In a saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add brown rice, cover, reduce heat and cook for 45-50 minutes. While the rice cooks, add kidney beans, chickpeas and green beans in a large bowl. Whisk oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together and pour over bean mixture. Sprinkle with onions, stir well. When the rice is done and slightly cooled, add it to the bean mixture, toss well to coat. This tastes better after it sits for a day and absorbs all the flavors.

Hot Soup on a Cold Day

Temperatures are in the single digits here in our little corner of the Midwest - sounds like a good excuse to make some tasty, hot soup! Especially when you can just dump the ingredients in the Crock-Pot and forget about it for eight hours. (By the way, I'm most impressed with my soup picture - you can even see the steam pouring off it! Not bad for our lower-end camera!)

Vegetable Bean Soup
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced onion (I used Ore Ida frozen diced onion)
1 large green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized dice
1 medium potato, skin left on, cut into bite-sized dice
1 container sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis, not drained
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
1 carton vegetable stock

Add all ingredients to large Crock-Pot. Cook on low for eight hours. Enjoy!