This recipe comes from the Monday to Friday Cookbook by Michelle Urvater. I love this cookbook. Not because it is filled with recipes that my family loves, because it isn’t. Michelle Urvater is from New England, and that diet is completely different than the one I grew up on, so the book is filled with recipes using smoked oysters and arugula, instead of black beans and shrimp.
What the cookbook is filled with is notes. Notes from my mother on whether a given recipe turned out well or not. My mother gave the cookbook to me, when I needed some cooking strategies and inspiration. And I have treasured it ever since. Like I said, not every recipe is a winner for our family, but the ones that are are the recipes we make over and over again – Polenta Soup; Mediterranean Skillet Dinner; Barbecued Black Beans and Rice (one of my son’s favorites); Fettuccine with Artichokes, Feta, and Tomatoes; Apple Dill Dressing; and this salad – A Manhattan Salad: Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Rice.
It is tangy, brightly colored, cheesy, and filled with greens. I thought it would be a great candidate for putting in a jar (have you seen the latest thing in salads??), and tried it today. NOM! I made a double batch of the dressing (basic vinaigrette) and put half in another jar for the Vietnamese Pulled Pork Salad I have planned. Then I layered the dressing, a cup of grape tomatoes, 2 oz. of bocconcini cut into bite sized pieces, a handful of watercress, 1/2 cup of cooked rice (short grain, since it was in the fridge all morning and I didn’t want it to be crunchy), and topped off with lettuce. Shake it up, eat it out of the jar.
This was excellent, and I am definitely doing it again.
In Scout's Freezer 
I would love it if you could post the BBQ Black Beans and Rice next time you make it. My library only has the Monday to Friday Chicken book.
Oops, have a cat helping me type here (loves to sit on the keyboard). I meant to add; the salad looks yummy and I am happy you are back to posting.
I guess I’m lucky that my cat likes to sleep behind my head instead of on my keyboard! 🙂 I will definitely post the black bean recipe the next time we have it. It’s one of her “Kid friendly” recipes, and my bean loving boy LOVES it. Of course, finding a good barbecue sauce to use in it makes me want to scream. We had found one that was perfect – tasted good, had ingredients my children understood, and the real kicker? It’s called Dinosaur BBQ sauce! My boy LOVED it just because of the name and wanted to put Dinosaur Sauce on everything. But alas, the search begins anew as the distributor for HEB stopped carrying it. I might have to check and see if it is available online. . . 🙂
Are you putting your own notes in there now?
Of course, I am! That way when I hand it down to my daughter she’ll know what I changed and why. 🙂