Rice and Beans

I'm back! I'm back! My computer is all better (I hope!) and I have sooo much to share with you. Here is one of my new favorites...

This was a reader request. She wanted a good rice and beans recipe. I have to be honest here. I have never had rice and beans before, so I had no idea what the flavor profile is, what it's supposed to taste like, or even what kind of beans are usually used. So, I raided the pantry and started dumping stuff in a pot. The end result was pretty tasty, in my opinion, and I ate it for dinner that night, and lunch the next few days until it was gone. Then I made it again a few days later, and again the week after that. I don't generally repeat recipes in the same month, so to make something 3 times in less than 3 weeks, well that's saying something. For me, anyway. I don't know if it was what my reader had in mind, but I hope she likes it!

BBQ Shrimp over Spinach Rice

When I was 13, I went to a barbecue at one of my mom's friend's houses. I'm not really into crowds of people, so I usually pick a spot in the corner and stick to it. This time I hung out with the kid that was manning the grill. Well, he wasn't really a kid at the time; he was 23. I say "kid" now because I am almost 10 years beyond that, but I was 10 years his junior back then - perspective is everything!

Anyway, in addition to the standard burgers, dogs, and chicken, he made barbecue shrimp. I thought this was quite an odd pairing, but he insisted I try it as he taught me how to make them. We ate them straight off the grill and they were so, so good. The sweetness of the shrimp and the smokiness of the barbecue sauce are a surprisingly amazing combination. To this day, it is still one of my favorite shrimp recipes.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

Andrew makes the most amazing beef enchiladas. He uses corn tortillas and a ton of cheese, and they are so, so good. He knew somebody whose sister had a friend who was from Mexico and she made "authentic food". She was kind enough to share a few of her recipes with him. Because of this, Andrew is the go-to guy around here whenever we want mexican food.

I make tacos. From a packet. That's about where my expertise ends. But I decided to give it a shot and see what I could come up with. Andrew looked at me kind of funny when I told him I was making enchiladas and no, it wasn't his recipe. It only got worse when I started talking about beans and rice and such. But when it was all over, he was hooked and we were fighting over the leftovers. K even cleaned his plate before I was half done, and that's saying something. Move over Andrew, Mama's going south of the border.

Confetti Burritos

Tortillas are such a perfect little thing. They come in all different sizes, made of all types of grains, and you can stuff absolutely anything inside them and have a fun, portable meal for the whole family. Most kids will eat anything that's wrapped up taco or burrito-style (hint, hint). Whether you are making peanut butter banana roll-ups for breakfast, turkey and hummus wraps for lunch, or chicken enchiladas for dinner, tortillas are the answer to every time-crunched mom. Try these super-stuffed burritos out on your picky eaters - they just may surprise you. Mine sure did!

Chinese Chicken & Broccoli

Andrew loves chinese food. Sweet and sour chicken, barbecue spare ribs, pork fried rice, and egg rolls are some of his favorites. I personally can't live without crispy cheese wontons and crab rangoon (look for these soon - they are on my 2013 cooking bucket list). Anyway, he's been craving chinese food almost daily these past few weeks and our favorite take-out place is a little on the pricey side. A quick freezer raid turned up some chicken and broccoli and suddenly dinner was born. I believe his exact words were "This is the best chinese food I have ever had." While we were stuffing our faces, we decided that the only thing that could make this dish even better would be to throw some cashews in it next time. Try it both ways and let me know which one you prefer.

DIY Rice-a-Roni




The San Francisco treat has always been one of my favorite go-to side dishes for quick weeknight meals. Then it hit me - I was paying a lot of money for a box of rice and pasta (two of the cheapest foods on the planet) with some seasonings. Since I have been looking for ways to make more things from scratch (chicken broth, pumpkin seeds, granola cereal), I figured I would give this a try.

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice

In honor of Crock Pot Thursday, I really wanted to make Ranch Pork Chops, but my slow cooker is a 6-quart beast and I don't think it would handle 3 tiny pork chops well. I really need to get a small one for those days when I'm not trying to make enough food to feed an army AND hoard leftovers in the freezer for another day, since that's about all this one is good for.

Jasmine Rice Breakfast Pudding

Rice pudding is one of my favorite desserts. Don't get me wrong, I love over-the-top, ganache covered, super decadent after-dinner treats as much as the next girl. But there's something about slightly sweet, cold and creamy, simple rice pudding that just works for me.

Then a friend introduced me to "rice hot cereal" - something she had always served her kids for breakfast. For those of you who aren't familiar with this concept, it's a warm breakfast similar to very creamy oatmeal. It's basically cooked rice in milk with a little sugar and maybe a little cinnamon. Sounds suspiciously like rice pudding, no?

Tangerine Chicken and Veggies over Jasmine Rice

We are big on meal planning around here. My worst nightmare is eating the same 5 or 6 dishes over and over again, week in and week out. Since today is Try Something New Tuesday in our house, I had to get creative. I knew I wanted chicken, and I happened to have a dozen or so tangerines that were taking up space on the counter. A quick search online gave me this recipe from Rachael Ray (love her!). But since I don't like hot sauce or curry, I didn't have green onions or cinnamon sticks, and I have this love/hate relationship with couscous, I changed the recipe to my liking.

Super-Stuffed Peppers

After reading the recipe, you will probably notice that the
peas and carrots are missing from this pepper.
Yup, I totally forgot to put them in.


The last time I went to the little vegetable stand across the street from the grocery store, they had the nicest looking green bell peppers I had seen in a while. I bought like ten of them. I made fajitas with some, froze some, and saved the best ones for stuffed peppers. So simple, so easy, and you can skip the meat if that's your thing. I personally can live without it, but Andrew is still very pro-meat, so I throw a little in there to keep everybody happy. (When I made the Cheesy Chunky Veggie Soup the other day, his only comment was, "This is good - you should definitely add some meat to it, though.")