Rating: 💋 💋 💋 😘
God I love rice. And eggs. And avocado... So what better way to show my appreciation for the beautiful foods than by mixing them all up in one big party bowl? It's comfort food at its finest, and I like to tell myself that it's still healthy because it's packed with veggies and brown rice.
Personally, I prefer brown rice to white because it has such a stronger flavor. It takes longer to cook, but it is so worth it. The great thing about rice bowls is, you can really add anything you'd like to them. Any kind of protein, vegetable, or sauce will do, according to taste. For these B.L.T. bowls, I used turkey bacon just because I like the sweet smoky flavor, and I added in spinach for a darker leaf that could stand up to the other strong flavors in the dish. Romaine would pale so much in comparison, and the thought of sautéing Bibb just seemed wrong. For a hot bowl, you need a leaf that cooks well and can stand up to the other flavors. The tomato was a fresh addition to the bowl, but I am looking forward to making these again when it warms up outside and the tomatoes have a stronger taste. Finally, pairing avocado with eggs or bacon is always a heavenly experience, so of course, they took center stage when building this recipe. Even better, the dish is so simple to make, so I didn't mind coming home from work and having to cook. That's a big one. There are so many recipes I have to sadly neglect because by the time I get home from work, shower, and prep myself for the next day, the thought of performing an hour and half recipe just hurts my soul. We have to reserve those for weekends, and hope the leftovers reheat well. These rice bowls? Less than an hour, super keepable and reheatable, and way tastier than a frozen dinner.
B.L.T. Rice Bowls
Time: 40 minutes Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry brown rice
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 8 strips turkey bacon, or regular
- 1 beefsteak tomato
- 2 avocados
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 5 oz baby spinach
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4-8 eggs (1-2 eggs per serving)
- Sauce of choice: Dijon mustard, ketchup, hot sauce mixed with sour cream, etc.
Preparation:
- Boil six cups of water on the stove. When boiling, add tablespoon of minced garlic and a cup of brown rice. Reduce heat slightly, cover, and cook for thirty minutes. Drain water from pot and have rice sit in pot, covered, for another ten minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the bacon to a pan and cook over medium, flipping occasionally, until crisp. Blot the bacon on a paper towel and, once cooled, break into small pieces. Save the bacon-greased pan for the eggs.
- Dice the tomato and slice the avocados into thin strips.
- Add a dash olive oil and one tablespoon minced garlic to a medium-sized pan. Add the spinach, salt, and pepper, and sauté over medium heat until bright green and just wilted.
- Crack the eggs into the bacon pan and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are runny, about 4-5 minutes.
- While eggs are cooking, fluff the rice with a fork and divide between four bowls. Add spinach, bacon, avocado, and tomato to each bowl.
- Top each bowl with one or two eggs, depending on preference, sprinkle some pepper over top, and finish with a sauce of your choice. Serve immediately.
Over the course of building this recipe, I discovered many things:
- Canadian bacon just should not be allowed. Bacon has to have a crunch.
- The spinach, contrarily, should be immediately removed from heat as soon as it is just cooked, because it is no fun when it gets mushy.
- Adding garlic to the rice while cooking is a game-changer and I might never go back. Back in the old days, there was a King of Spain who outlawed anyone from his court who had eaten garlic in the past month. I would not have survived. Garlic is just too important. Thank God we have invented toothpaste, mouthwash, and dental floss since then, so I can eat my garlic in peace.
- As always, the importance of a ripe avocado is crucial. An overripe, mottled, brown avocado can really ruin your day. Thank God I did not have a run in with any of those this time around. I did, unfortunately, have a slightly underripe avocado one night, so I barely got any slices out of that half. It really was sad, as that was one of my favorite parts of the dish, but I just added a bit extra spinach and tried to handle the disappointment with grace and dignity.
- The bowl was always better when mustard was included. Mustard alone? Fabulous. Mustard AND ketchup? Phenomenal. Ketchup alone? Like, okay, I guess... Really you can add any condiment you'd like, maybe even barbecue sauce or ranch if that's your poison. Totally go wild. I've found my love, and it goes by the name of Grey Poupon.
- The reason food bloggers always take pictures of bowls with sections of food rather than mixed up how we actually eat it is because it looks quite ugly mixed up. Definitely mix your bowl, you want to get all those flavors in one bite, but man make sure you took a picture before you stuck your fork in and swirled it all up. Not cute. Delicious though.
- This is not dish specific but Shannon and I were talking about it while I cooked the one night and I just have to say it: What is with those people who has to make a noise of pleasure after every single bite of their meal? I get an occasional "mmmm" or "yum!" or a little happy dance of joy when you get your food, whatever, it's cool. There are some people though who have to dramatically moan about how delicious their food is after every. single. bite. I just don't get it! I love food and I do not understand. It is uncomfortable for everyone else around.
Sighs for days.
Anyway, I hope you are all having a fabulous week! Ttyl!
XX,
MK
Comments