Freezer Dinner - Succotash

Something about the warm weather makes me feel the intense need to cram as many colors as possible onto my plate.

On this lazy, hazy Memorial Day I spent two hours trying to decide if I wanted to make anything for dinner or if I wanted ice cream instead. It's truly a testament to the amazing powers of this blog that I actually preferred to make dinner, and a lean one at that! It's always fun to make a healthy and tasty meal without having to go grocery shopping.

I had one goal for my succotash, I wanted it charred and crisp/tender, not soft. So they key was a screaming hot skillet, very little oil, and absolutely no salt until the end. I learned from the Food Network that adding salt softens everything and draws out the water. That's not what I was going for here - so ix-nay on the alt-say.

The other key to this dish is lima beans, and I used frozen ones. Lima beans are fat-free, low calorie, and high in fiber and protein. The bag also tells me they are an excellent source of vitamin C - who knew? I just like them because they're big and kind of meaty.

Succotash

red onion, diced

red bell pepper, diced

1/2 bag frozen corn

1/2 bag frozen lima beans

salt and pepper

red wine vinegar

good quality feta cheese

paprika

Crank the heat on the stove and let your pan heat up. Add a tiny splash of olive oil and the onion. Cook until you see a nice char on the onion, then add the red pepper, corn, and lima beans. These will also start to char, or at least heat through (depending on how much ice is on the frozen veggies/beans it may be too watery to char anything else). Add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan. Top with crumbled feta and a dusting of paprika for more color and spice.