Grilled Stuffed Avocados

Grilled Stuffed Avocados

(Rachel – The Vegan-Eatin’ Daughter)

I hit the motherload. Yes, I have a load of amazing mothers in my life.

There is my mother-in-law, Rhonda, who, as we speak, is at the pool with Jackson. Jared is very busy this summer, and she has generously offered to give me writing breaks any time I need them. She walked in this afternoon cheerfully greeting us with her usual “Helloooo, Helloooo.” Her red curly hair tied in a lose ponytail and dressed in a bright colored sundress and flip-flops, she came bearing bubbles and summer toys for Jackson and my favorite french fries. Despite me telling her I wasn’t hungry, I ate them all. She knows me well enough to know I’ll eat the fries if she brings the fries. I love that. Jackson didn’t waste any time crawling over to his Mimi, standing up at the hem of her dress and pointing outside. He knows Mimi takes him outside to play. Mimi is fun and lets him get dirty and play in the mud.

And then there is my step-mom, Pat. She’s a lot like me when it comes to organization and order. I rely on her for any and all communication regarding family events or activities. The Freeman men are not known for their communication skills, but she has somehow learned to speak their language and relay their plans to me. Jackson loves going to Grandma’s house. She and Grandpa take him to the barn to see their horses every other Thursday while we are at home group. Another thing I love about Pat is she loves shopping at Costco. I always leave their house with a bag full of avocados, medjool dates, or berries, because with their busy work schedules they really can’t eat 30 pounds of fresh produce before it spoils. I love that.

Obviously, the mother who carried me for nine months, put up with me through my bratty preteen years and still let me live to share this blog with her, is a pretty good woman. Last time I was at her house, I left her with Jackson for a couple of hours and returned to the kitchen to find a gourmet vegan meal waiting for me and Jackson happily playing with various kitchen utensils in his high chair. She’s like a professional nurturer, able to nurture and love and adore multiple kids of all ages at once. She knows me so well that she called me in Texas all the way from her home in Colorado to tell me she thought I was pregnant, even before I knew. She can tell by the sound of my voice within the first few words exactly how I’m feeling. I don’t have to explain much to her, she just gets me. I love that. We often chat while we are cooking and one of us will say, “I’m making ‘such and such,” and the other will exclaim, “I’m making ‘such and such’ too!” The other day, she sent me her list of upcoming recipes for the blog, including her Confetti Rice Pilaf Stuffed Avocados. I had just returned from the store with ingredients for stuffed avocados myself. So, I give you ANOTHER stuffed avocado recipe. I can’t promise this will be the last time mama and daughter are cooking up the same thing, unbeknownst to each other.

A delicious meatless meal on the grill.

Rachel’s Grilled Stuffed Avocados

Serves 2 entrees (4 appetizers)

Ingredients

Stuffed Avocados
2 avocados, cut lengthwise in half and pitted
2 corn on the cob, soaked & silks removed*
1 poblano pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced into thick rings
2 T. Canola Oil
1 t. kosher salt
juice of 1/2 a lime (~1 T.)

Cilantro Lime Sour Cream Sauce
1/4 c. vegan sour cream (or regular if you eat dairy)
1/4 c. cilantro
1/2 T. lime juice
1/4 t. salt
1/8 c. fresh jalapeno, chopped & seeded
1 clove garlic

Serve with: rice and beans for a complete meal or as a healthy side dish for any Mexican meal

Directions

Prep:

Soak corn in water for 30 minutes and then peel back husks and remove silks. Light coals for charcoal grill. You want the coals to be all white, and no longer flaming. Mix canola oil, salt, and lime in a small bowl.

In a blender or food processor, Blend all ingredients for the cilantro lime sour cream sauce. Set aside.

Brush corn kernels with oil mixture and pull husks back up around kernels. Brush onions with canola oil mixture. Put corn, onions, and poblano pepper (left whole) on the grill. Apply canola mixture as they cook and turn veggies so they cook evenly on all sides. When poblano is charred on all sides, remove it and put it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for a few minutes to loosen the skin. Remove the skins with a wet paper towel. Grill onions and corn for 15-20 minutes until they are cooked through and lightly charred.

Just before taking the veggies off the grill.

Brush avocados with canola mixture and grill flesh side down for 3-4 minutes. Ideally, you’ll get nice grill marks across the avocado (I think our grill wasn’t quite hot enough by the time we got them on so this was not our result, but we decided it didn’t matter because they tasted amazing anyway.)

Cut corn off the cob, dice onions and poblanos to a similar size as the corn kernals. Toss together in a bowl.

Stuff the grilled avocados with the grilled corn, onion, and poblano mixture. Serve two halves nestled on a bed of rice and drizzle with sour cream sauce. Serve beans on the side for a complete meal. Or, just serve one half as an appetizer or side.

This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
The site URL: http://welaughwecrywecook.com
The Title: Grilled Stuffed Avocados
The URL: http://wp.me/p1UwM9-oG
© Copyright 2012 – All Rights Reserved

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Confetti Rice Pilaf Stuffed Avocados (with Feta, Cranberry, Walnuts)

One of my prized possessions is a postcard with a handwritten note from the late marvelous, hilarious, one-and-only Erma Bombeck.  I wrote her a fan letter, telling her I was praying for her health. To my shock and surprise she took time out of her day (and dialysis) to send this encouraging note to me right after I got my first book contract.

One of my favorite columns by Erma was called “The Leftover Food Syndrome.”  It began, “I have never known a woman who can look at a mound of leftover food….and throw it away –the first time around.”  Erma then describes the leftover ritual known (genetically) to all women. After you wrap the left over in a container of your choice (“no leftover is too small to occupy shelf space”), you put it in the fridge and then over the week, each member of the family takes turns opening up the container asking, “What IS this?”

The object of this game is to never throw away the leftover as long as you can still recognize it. “It is not thrown away until it recognizes you,” Erma quipped.

What I love about this recipe below is that it uses up all those little bits of leftovers before they recognize you!  The savory, sweet, nutty, colorful rice makes a great side dish, or with the addition of extra nuts and cheese or little bits of ham or chicken — a wonderful light lunch or dinner.

Confetti Rice Pilaf Stuffed Avocados

Confetti Rice Pilaf Stuffed Avocados

Serves Six

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Olive

1 Tablespoon Butter (or Earth Balance for vegans)

2 cups cooked rice, any combination you like or have leftover (I had brown, jasmine and wild rice on hand)

1/4 cup dried cranberries (raisins or other chopped dried fruit can work as well)

1/2 cup chopped cooked veggies, any combo, whatever you have leftover (I had carrots and edamame today)

1/4 cup toasted nuts (walnuts were on tap for this recipe)

2 T. crumbled feta or goat cheese  (skip this or use a vegan cheese substitute if you are vegan)

3 avocados, cut in half, seed removed

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt butter and oil. Toss in rest of the ingredients until warm and heated through.  Salt and pepper if needed.  Just before serving toss in cheese and stir.  Fill avocado halves with mixture, letting some of the rice fall around the avocado on the plate as well.  One avocado makes a nice side dish, two make a meal in itself!

Variation:  Use leftover grains instead of rice, such a quinoa or bulgur

This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook

The site URL: http://welaughwecrywecook.com

The Title: Confetti Rice Pilaf Stuffed Avocados

The URL: http://wp.me/p1UwM9-nA

© Copyright 2012 – All Rights Reserved