Stovetop Dinner

Last night I realized I still had a bunch of Rainbow Chard in the fridge from my bacon chard fusilli that was about to go bad.  So I sauteed it.  With garlic.  Mmm.  But simply chard does not a meal make.  So here's another October Unprocessed meal from the kitchen usually filled with sugar, butter and chocolate. All cooked on the stovetop.  All in about 20 minutes (that includes the time needed for the pasta water to boil).

BROWN RICE SPAGHETTI

I'm not obsessed with Trader Joe's, but I am obsessed with a few of their products.  First?  Their Organic Brown Rice Pasta.  Only ingredients?  Organic brown rice and water.  And the perfect complement for this is TJ's Traditional Marinara Sauce.  Ingredients: tomatoes, salt, soybean oil, garlic, onions, basil, oregano.  No sugar.  Amazing.  Most pre-made pasta sauces are loaded with sugar the way soups are loaded with salt.  Usually I'll just make my own sauce by simmering some tomatoes, olive oil and basil, but when you're lazy, this all-natural sauce is a life saver.  So boil that pasta, heat up a pan, brown some Organic Ground Turkey Meat, add half a cup of sauce to the turkey, pour that over the pasta, and you've got yourself a main dish.

GARLIC CHARD
This is easy.  Heat some olive oil in a pan.  Chop a clove of garlic.  Saute the garlic until browned.  Rinse and chop a 3 or 4 Big Chard Leaves (it really shrinks in the pan, not as much a spinach, but still a lot) and add it to the garlic pan, saute until limp.

Dinner Time!

Oh, and want to make sure your veggies stay fresh without having to invest in those crazy infomercial green bags?  Here are some tips:

Basil - Trim the ends and stick the sprigs in a jar of water, like you would with flowers.
Leafy Greens - Add a paper towel to the bag they're in.  It will absorb moisture and keep your lettuce/spinach/chard/etc crisp.
Mushrooms - Store in a brown paper bag in the fridge.  Thank you, lady at the farmer's market.

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