Jan Tz - 3-ingredient Genius - Tomato Zucchini Pilaf

Star McDougaller Jan Tz has been developing 3 (4 or 5) ingredient recipes as long as there has been a McDougall presence on-line. She was one of the most prolific posters on the original McDougall forums on VegSource, and for a long time she did the same on the current McDougall forums. Life may take her away from the boards for long stretches of time, but when she comes back, a few new recipes usually herald her return.

A few days ago she made a Christmas appearance and brought this pilaf recipe as her present:

Pilaf with Tomato and Zucchini

2 cups COOKED whole grain, like brown rice or bulgur
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 or 3 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice
1 teaspoon dried or frozen basil
Black pepper, to taste

Cook the vegetables and seasonings in the tomato juice until onion is translucent. Mix in the cooked grain.

My lazy-gal changes:

I used a bit more than 2 cups of rice. I used my cheapo rice cooker and used 2 1/2 of the little plastic cups that came with it, 2 of plain brown rice, and the 1/2 was a multi-grain mix from a local Asian grocery store, just to add a little variety.

I used half a bag of frozen diced onions, and 4 cubes of Dorot frozen minced garlic.

Besides the giant can of whole tomatoes I added an additional 15 oz can of diced.

Used a whole bag of frozen zucchini, because it was already in the freezer from another meal I planned on but never made.

I added almost a tablespoon of dried basil because of the extra rice. I added almost as much black pepper, too.

I popped the grains in the rice cooker, the zuke in the nuker, and after the rice was finished and the cooker clicked to the keep warm setting, started the pot with the onions, garlic, spices and tomato juice. In 5 minutes I added the tomatoes and broke them up into thirds and stirred that around a bit to mix. When all that was warmed, about 5 minutes, I dumped all the rest of the ingredients in and mixed it up, adjusted the spices as mentioned above, and dishes it out.

Another relatively quick and easy winner! The only way this would have been quicker would be to use instant rice, either Success or Minute brands, while the zucchini was cooking and onions and tomatoes were warming. A great meal for a busy weeknight. My husband now wants this on added to the regular rotation of recipes. He's got so many "favorites" I never have to buy a new cookbook for the rest of my life!