Southwest Tart

Crust:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups veggie or chicken broth
1/2 small onion, diced
1 T oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans or almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 can green chilies
1/4 cup low-fat, shredded Mexican or pepper-jack cheese
1 egg

Filling:
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
3/4 cup low-fat, shredded Mexican or pepper-jack cheese
1 med. onion
1 med. bell pepper
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup black beans
1 cup baby spinach leaves
pinch cumin
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

To Prepare Crust:

1) Bring broth, oil and onion to boil.  Add rice and chili powder, cook according to instructions on package.

2) When rice is finished cooking add green chilies, nuts, cheese and egg.  Mix well.

3) Grease or Pam 9-inch pie pan.  Dump rice mixture into pie pan and press into bottom and sides.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and increase heat to 400 degrees.

To Prepare Filling:

1) Saute onion and bell pepper over med heat until onion starts to brown.  Add corn kernels, black beans, cumin, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste.  Warm through.

2) In bowl beat eggs and milk together.

3) Starting with spinach layer half each of the spinach, cheese, onion mixture and egg mixture.  Repeat layering procedure using remaining ingredients.

4) Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 325 and bake 35 minutes or until set.

5) Cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with choice of hot sauce.

Parlay:

This is an adaptation of Suzanne's Italian Tomato Tart (which is delicious) modified to suit the unique tastes of my family and also take advantage of the ingredients we most often have readily available.  My family LOVES this recipe and asks for the dish "with the rice pie crust" all the time.  Leftovers rarely make it a single day before being consumed with much gusto. 

I like this recipe because it is healthy, relatively quick and easy to prepare.  Additionally it is extremely easy to modify - the original uses pesto and Parmesan cheese in the crust and prosciutto, shredded mozzarella and sliced plum tomatoes in the filling.  I want to try a "Greek" variation using pecans, nutmeg and cinnamon in the crust and broccoli, feta and spinach in the filling.  The possibilities are only limited by your imagination (and hopefully a dose of good taste)!