Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

Tonight for dinner I made a great salad!  I really think this would be something that my mom and my mom-in-law would like, and maybe some of you!  Maida and Skogen couldn't get enough of it, which is awesome, because I feel like it's some-what healthy.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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• 1 (14.5 ounce) can collard greens, drained (I just tore up lettuce from a head of lettuce!)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can green peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can corn kernels, drained
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced black olives (I didn't have any of these.)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style tomatoes, undrained and chopped (I have no idea what Italian-style tomatoes are, I just used a can of diced tomatoes.)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (Erik added hot sauce!)

Directions

1. Bring the brown rice, water, olive oil, and 1//2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes. (I used instant rice, so I used these ingredients, but followed the directions on the box to boil for five minutes and let set for five minutes.  There was extra water at the end, so I drained the rice before putting it into a different bowl.) Scrape into a mixing bowl, fluff with a fork, and refrigerate to room temperature.
2. Stir the collard greens, black beans, green peas, corn, green chiles, olives, and tomatoes into the cooled rice until evenly mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 87 | Total Fat: 1.7g | Cholesterol: 0mg