Nourishing Frugal Food Carnival- Sides, Salads and Desserts!

Welcome to the second edition of the Nourishing Frugal Food Carnival (if you missed the first week of main dishes at The Nourishing Gourmet, catch it here)!

This week I am honored to host the carnival, where we will focus on frugal yet nourishing salads, side dishes and desserts- yummy!

If you have a blog and would like to join in, please share with us some of your favorite recipes that fit the bill, and then add your name and brief description to the Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog, please leave your ideas and/or recipes in the comments section. For a bit more information, please read this post.

My contribution this week is a really yummy, healthy and extremely cheap salad that I discovered while pregnant with my first. It's from the What to Eat When You're Expecting book (I've adapted it slightly), which I don't entirely agree with nutritionally speaking, but it has many good things to say, suggestions and recipes regardless.

Bean and Brown Rice Salad

4 cups cooked brown rice
1 can (16 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained (I use dry beans and cook the approximate amount)
1 can chickpeas, drained (again, I use dry)
2/3 cup finely minced red onion
1 large, diced red bell pepper (yellow or orange are nice, too)
1 large, diced green bell pepper
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or whole pine nuts (I often use sunflower or pumpkin seeds)
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Sea salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine the rice, beans, chickpeas, onion, peppers and nut or seeds in a large bowl.

2) Whisk the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss until well coated. Refrigerate until cold, preferably overnight.

This lasts for many days in the fridge and still tastes great, although sometimes I need to mix up a bit of fresh dressing to add, as the rice soaks it all up. This is a great, frugal dish to bring to potlucks and it always goes over well- perfect for summer, too!

And a few previous recipe links...

Dijon Scalloped Potatoes (no cheese required, and they are still so yummy!)

Broccoli Salad

Whole Grain Bread Recipes (the ultimate frugal side, perfect with soups, stews, etc.)

Amazing Greek Salad (well, this is only frugal in the summer when produce is cheap or the garden is bountiful, but it's so good, I just had to add it in)

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie (we drink smoothies for dessert all the time!)

Healthy cookie recipes

Carob Delight Smoothie (chocolately banana taste- smooth, creamy and cold!)

And now it's your turn! Please link up to the actual blog post, rather than your homepage, and make sure that you link back to the carnival. Thanks for joining in! :)

Frugal Fridays are hosted by Biblical Womanhood!

Comments

[Ranee @ Arabian Knits]

Thank you for hosting this. I am thrilled to be one of the first to post. I don't think I've ever been this close to the beginning on any blog carnivals.

[trying traditional]

Thanks for putting it up for night-owls. With four sleeping beauties I am able to get so much more done than during the day!

8 recipes this time from me and thank you so much for organizing this. I needed it!

[Kelly the Kitchen Kop]

It's 2:08 am my time and I've got to get to bed, but this is so fun checking out all these recipes!

[Sarah]

Thank you for hosting Stephanie! I make a similar bean and brown rice salad with black beans and corn and make it more "southwestern" flavored - and it is great! I can't wait to try yours as well - along with that Greek salad! Yum!

Best,
Sarah

PS - I'm also about to check out the bread recipes - I've been in baking mode lately!

[Jenn]

Im new to the blogging world and haven't quite figured out the Mr Linky thing, but I've just posted a recipe for a roast vege and quinoa salad on my blog. Pretty basic but very tasty!

[Linds]

This looks great! Thanks for co-hosting this great carnival!