34 weeks, Minestrone Soup and Easy Brown Rice

We've reached 34 weeks! Here's a current photo:

Today I'm making a Minestrone soup from my all time favorite, Ellie Krieger. My dad actually found this recipe and made it the other day, not realizing that it was from Ellie. He and my mother both liked it very much, so that's what I've got on the stove as I write- filling the house with some oh-so-yummy smells. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.


Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the Parmesan and chopped basil.


Per serving (2 cups): Calories 260; Fat 8 g (Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 560 mg; Carbohydrate 37 g; Fiber 10 g; Protein 15 g

Find the website here.

The other recipe I'm posting today is a no-fail brown rice that is easier than putting on my socks at 34 weeks pregnant. Seriously. It's from Alton Brown- a chef mastermind. Here's the wonderful blog that introduced me to this recipe. I made it last week and it. was. amazing. Here's the recipe:

Baked Brown Rice

adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

Boil the water in a saucepan and add the butter and salt. Bring to a boil.

Pour your brown rice into a glass baking dish (I use a square one). Once the water mixture is boiling, pour it over the rice. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven for one hour.

After the hour is up, take out the rice and fluff it with a fork. It will be perfect!