Slimey Okra?

This is probably a new favorite for me. Jeremy grew up on stewed tomatoes and okra, but I had never even heard of such a thing until this year. Honestly, it sounded pretty nasty. I'm not a fan of slimey okra, so I've only ever eaten it fried. Since I am not one to write off any kind of food because it looks or sounds gross (Well, except liver and onions. I will never try that.), I found a recipe that looked good and I tried it. Much to my surprise, it was delicious! This recipe is pretty easy, and it goes with just about any meat.

Stewed Tomatoes and Okra

My first thought when I saw this recipe was, “Gross!” When okra gets wet, it is slimey. I wasn’t very excited about making “slimey tomatoes & okra”. LOL!  For some reason, this works tho. It is really good over rice and you can serve it with just about any meat you like. My favorite is baked chicken breast, and I make the rice with a little chicken bouillon in it (I’ll add that recipe to the bottom). If you make this meal, you can cook the rice and the chicken together in the oven and when it only has 20 min or so left, start the okra & tomatoes. Ta-daaa, everything’s done at the same time! =)

4 slices of bacon (cut into ½ inch slices)

1 medium onion; diced

3 cups frozen okra

1 (15 oz.) can of diced tomatoes

1 small clove of garlic; minced (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)

1 teaspoon dried savory (or ½ teaspoon ground savory)

Salt & Pepper

(you can also add a can of corn if you’d like)

• Heat your pan over medium to medium-high heat (an iron skillet works best), add the bacon and render until crisp.

• Remove the bacon and set it aside.

• Add the onion to the bacon fat and sauté till it’s tender.

• Stir in the okra, tomatoes, garlic, savory, and salt & pepper to taste. (and the corn if you are adding it)

• Simmer for 15 minutes or until okra is warmed through. (If it starts to get dry, you can add a little water or chicken broth.

Chicken Flavored Rice

1 cup regular long grain rice

1 teaspoon butter

2 cups water

1 heaping tablespoon of chicken boullion

• Preheat oven to 375°.

• Put the uncooked rice in a casserole dish with the butter and microwave it for about 20-30 seconds. (just to melt the butter) Then mix the butter in, coating the rice so it doesn’t stick.

• Pour in the water and add the boullion, then give it a little stir to mix everything.

• Cover the dish and bake for about 40-45 min. (The length of time it takes to cook is always different for me. I usually just keep checking it after about 30 min, when the rice has absorbed all of the broth, it’s done.)