Broccoli & Brown Rice in a Peanut Sauce

It’s finally sunny in the mountains again!  I think it had been raining for a month straight over here.  At least things are green and the reservoirs are full, now bring on that sunny weather!  Hope everyone had a nice week.  We’ve been busy working, cooking & catching some amazing music at Red Butte Gardens, in the rain, of course.  Anyways, I’m  super excited to share this recipe today.  It’s got everything going for it.  It would be perfect to take to a picnic at, for example, Red Butte Gardens, but it also makes a perfect warm dinner and has been a great lunch order for MIM Catering as well!  I actually stumbled on this recipe on the Eating Well website and loved it because it was so easy to make and used ingredients I always have.  I didn’t have to make any changes to create what I wanted (besides adding brown rice).  I think next time I will add tofu, marinate it in the same sauce, and stir fry that with the veggies for an extra protein boost.

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1 cup brown rice

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup water

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS soy sauce

1 TBS rice vinegar

2 TBS canola oil

1 large head of broccoli; washed & chopped in florets

1 large red pepper; washed & sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Toppings:  Chopped peanuts, cashews or I think chopped green onions/scallions would be great too!

First cook your rice according to directions.  Next, start by whisking the peanut butter, 1/4 cup of the water, brown sugar, 1 TBS of soy sauce and vinegar together in a medium bowl until the mixture comes together and is smooth.

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Next, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the chopped broccoli and stir frequently until the broccoli starts to soften slightly (about 5-7 minutes).

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Next add in the remaining 1/4 cup water and 1 TBS soy sauce, the bell peppers and the garlic.  Mix together with the broccoli and continue to stir frequently for another few minutes until the pepper is softened and the liquid has evaporated.

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Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut sauce and crushed red pepper.  Combine well.  Spoon over rice and before serving, garnish with the nuts and/or green onions.  Enjoy!!

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With the hubby at the Passion Pit show at Red Butte, a moment in between rain showers!

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