Rice Pad Thai

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

3 cups water

1/2 onion-diced

1 tbs olive oil

1 portobello mushroom-diced

1 head of napa cabbage-cut into bite size pieces

1/2 bag of frozen peas

1/2 cup of corn

1 jar of pad thai sauce

3/4 cup of unsalted peanuts-chopped

3/4 cup of cilantro-minced

1/2 lime-zested

Directions

1. Place rice and water in pan and bring to boil

2. Once the rice is boiling, put the lid on the pan and set it on simmer for 15 mins, then fluff with fork

3. Meanwhile, saute onion in oil for 3 mins

4. Add mushroom and cabbage and cook until the cabbage is wilted

5. Add peas, corn, lime zest, and pad thai sauce-simmer for 5 mins

6. Meanwhile, toast peanuts in dry pan on medium low heat for 3 mins

7. Mix rice into the pad thai mixture

8. Top with peanuts, cilantro, and garnish with a lime wedge

I came up with this recipe last minute tonight because I wanted to use up the prepared pad thai sauce that had been sitting in my cupboard for awhile. Often when I start planning what I am going to make for dinner I look in the fridge and see what is about to spoil first so that I am not wasting any food and then I plan the meal around that ingredient. So the head of cabbage was starting to age, so that's why I threw the whole head in. I was worried it might be too much, but it wilted down and you could barely tell it was in there because it had such a mellow flavor. You can feel good about eating that much cabbage because napa cabbage is a good source of niacin, calcium, potassium, vitamin A & C, folate, iron, copper, and manganese. I thought it would be more unique to make the pad thai with rice rather then the usual noodle. My favorite addition was the toasted peanuts. They added a nice texture to this comforting dish. The only bad thing about this recipe is that it is hard to stop eating!