Brown Rice and Vegetable Bake - Our Favourite Frugal Dinner

This recipe is really quick to prepare, you can even cook the rice in advance or use leftover rice.  Just make sure that the rice has been stored correctly and has not been in the fridge too long.  I make this dinner usually once a fortnight.  It's filling, tasty and inexpensive.  You can add more rice and an extra egg to bulk it out if there are hungry teenagers about too.  I sometimes add grated vegetables (carrots, pumpkin or sweet potato) or a finely diced pepper at the same time as the onion so they all soften together.  It just depends what's in the fridge and how far our budget will stretch.

1 cup brown rice

2 onions, finely sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 big chard leaves or 2 handfuls of spinach

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 Tblsp grated Parmesan cheese (or vegetarian equivalent)

2 large tomatoes, sliced

3/4 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Lightly oil a large baking dish with cooking oil spray. Cook the rice according to packet instructions.

Cook finely chopped onions in the oil until soft and slightly caramelised. Remove the stalks from the chard and cook on high in microwave for 2 minutes. If you are using spinach leave the stalks on and cook in the same way. Squeeze out excess moisture then chop it up.

Combine all the ingredients except for the sliced tomatoes and a handful of cheese.  Spoon everything into the prepared dish and flatten down lightly so the top is even. Arrange the tomato slices on top and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes or until firm in the middle and lightly browned. We usually serve this with a large side salad of homegrown greens.