Well, it gets dark at 4:30 these days. Lighting in my kitchen is questionable at best, but in the evening, forget it. Last night as I was puttering around in the kitchen making dinner I thought "hey, this recipe should be shared on the blog, people would really appreciate this." Then I started clicking away and the photos I was left with make this dish look anything but appetizing. Bad photos aside, please trust me and make these. You won't be disappointed. 
The reason I thought you might appreciate this is because if your family is anything like mine, you can safely say this economy is kicking your fanny in all sorts of new and unpleasant directions. Don't even get me started on the unemployment rate... or having a $100,000 education and no job. Nada. Like, you can't even get a 3rd shift job at the shipping warehouse because you are over qualified... really!? And although you don't believe the holidays to be about stuff, the idea of barely a thing under the Christmas tree is utterly depressing...
So we learn to cut back even more than we already do, hold onto the few pennies we have with hopes to make the mortgage payment or fix the brakes in the car. We all know that cooking from scratch is more economical, but what exactly can we cook that is whole, nutritious, and not pasta! It's too easy to grab that box of spaghetti. I love pasta, but grains are more important, and they need to be delivered in a way that my ten year old will actually love... how about Brown Rice Patties? I serve them with applesauce from the pantry and a green salad. Everyone is happy, especially the very particular ten year old. The first time I made these my husband thought they were potato pancakes. Now who doesn't love a potato pancake?
Brown Rice Patties
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3 cups leftover brown rice
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1 cup grated carrot grated in food processor
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1 medium onion, grated in food processor
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2 cloves minced garlic, minced in food processor
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1 t salt
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½ t pepper
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2 eggs
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½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
Vegetable oil of your liking for frying
If you do not have a food processor you can use a box grater instead. Just make sure any onion juice makes it into the bowl, lots of flavor there!
Combine all ingredients except the oil. If you have the time to make this in advance and let it sit for a bit the garlic and onion flavors will blend even more, but it's not necessary, just nice. If the patties don’t hold together because they are too dry then add another egg. If they are too wet add a little flour.
Heat a frying pan or griddle on med - med/high heat until hot and add oil. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out the rice mixture and gently lay them on the frying pan. Use the back side of the measuring cup to flatten out each patty. Cook until golden brown on each side, you might want to keep the oven on 250 with a baking sheet in there to put the finished ones on as you cook the rest. Enjoy!
I hope you try it, recipes like this will seriously stretch your grocery dollars, and I think we can all use a little extra stretching right now.
