Recipe for a cheap, tasty dinner

The list of in-season summer fruits and veggies jogged my memory of a fabulous Brazilian dish I ate last week called Paraiba. It uses lima beans, which are in season. I have not made this recipe, but from eating it I have a good idea of how to make it. Experiment to get the quantities just right. I like this dish because it is simple and very tasty.

Ingredients:

Brown rice, cooked al dente in half chicken broth, half water

Lima Beans, cooked to directions on package or from a can

Cheese (Swiss, Gruyere, cheddar, or mixture), shredded

Steak tips cooked to your liking and seasoned with salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook rice. While rice is cooking, prepare and cook meat. Heat oven to 350. In a clay pot or oven-save dish that you have a lid for, spread an inch thick layer of al dente rice with enough chicken broth to make the rice very moist. Sprinkle a layer of lima beans over the rice. Cover lightly with shredded cheese and heat, covered, in oven for 15 minutes at 350, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, toss steak tips on top and serve. For a cheaper version, leave out the meat or replace the steak with whatever meat is on sale.

This is also a great recipe for left over rice. Just make sure rice is nice and moist when you put it in the oven or it will dry out!