Mexican Rice Bake

Yeah, I'm on a rice and beans kick! What can I say? It's good, it's cheap, that's about all! :)

There is some chicken in this, and I used the rotisserie chicken from Safeway. It was on sale, AND it was already cooked! BONUS! I am busy this week doing 2 cakes, one of them being my own sons! :) So, what I am saying is I need SUPER easy and fast! ;) This for sure falls in that category! ;)

I put my rice in my rice cooker and let that go. Then I got all the ingredients around and then threw it all in the oven for about 20-30 minutes! Viola, it was done AND good! It passed my hubs taste, even with the beans in there, so, BINGO! It was a winner! :)




Mexican Rice Bake

•1 1/2 cup chicken breast, cooked and shredded
•4 1/2 cups cooked white rice
•1/2 bag of frozen sweet corn, somewhat dethawed
•1 can (15.5) ounce can black beans, drained (or I used the black beans I had soaked and ready in the frig)
•1 tomato, diced
•1-2 tsp cilantro
•1/2 cup sour cream
•1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
•1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
•red pepper flakes, as much or little as you like, it just gives it an extra delish flavor

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the rice. While you are waiting for the rice to cook, mix together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Once rice is done, add to bowl and stir to combine. Place in a 9x13 inch pan. Place in oven for 20-30 minutes until warmed all the way through.

Enjoy! Easy and good! That's how to do it! :)

Egyptian Tabikh

I just love a meal where I have leftovers, and I can use them for another recipe, but not in the same way! Did that make sense?

Take this for instance... I made it one nite, then the "sauce" part I was able to re-heat it for the next nite, but I cooked noodles to put the sauce over instead of the rice like this recipe calls for! That's a major score in my book!! :D

The name sounds complicated, but really, it's sooooo easy! This is one of those meals that if you don't feel like cooking, or don't have the energy, or simply don't want to pick something up from the drive-thru, this is what you can cook!

Also, the possibilities are pretty much endless for this dish! I put in carrots, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and green beans. I think that's all I put in, I don't remember now! ;)


Here are all my cut up veggies!!! Minus the mushrooms....


Here I added some mushrooms! My hubs was like, wanna add some mushrooms to it? He was joking, but it was good with them in there!



Here is it... yummo!!!!


All done! Super delish and healthy!



Egyptian Tabikh

Prepare for cooking:
Green beans
Zucchini, squash
OR a vegetable mixture

Instead of cooking in water, cook in tomato juice.
Thicken the juice with a can of tomato paste, if desired.
Add sauteed onion and seasonings.
Serve over rice.

*Option:
Cook small pieces of meat in the tomato juice until tender. Add vegetables during the last 15-20 minutes.

I got this recipe form More-With-Less cookbook.
I grabbed 2 cans of diced tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste and put them in my Vitamix and blended it all up. Then I put it in a saucepan with all my veggies and cooked until tender. Served it over jasmine rice. SUPER good! The kiddos all loved it! :D
You can add as many veggies to this as you want! If you don't want it chunky like ours was, then add less.... I also cut the carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini, but left the green beans the way they were. ;)
One more thing, I didn't sautee the onions before putting them in, I just cut them up and added it with all my other veggies.. I was being a bit lazy I guess.... ;)

Orange Chicken with Snow Peas

Oh my goodness is this ever GOOD!!!!!!!!! We ALL gobbled this one up with hardly ANY left overs! Which is a good thing and a bad thing.... one, I was going to use the left over rice to make the next day's lunch, and since I didn't have any leftovers, I just decide to not do that lunch... And the other reason, no extras for another lunch! Sigh... oh well... I can totally deal with that! ;)

 Brown your cut up chicken while that is browning, cook your steamer veggies and then combine:

How hard is it to find NON- steamer veggies?  Man, this isn't the first recipe that calls for frozen veggies and the only kinda I can find is the steamers...  Which is fine, but I don't want to cook them BEFORE putting them in the recipe, but oh well...  I did.  I just didn't cook them for the full 7 minutes, I just did it for 4... ;)
You can also use fresh, I will, when they aren't so expensive!  ;)

 your ORANGE JUICE!!!  YUMMO!!!!!!!!!!  :D

 Ginger, ok, I'm gonna be honest, when a recipe calls for ginger, I somewhat cringe, I don't like it.  I don't know why...  When a recipe calls for it, I put only a SMIG (is that even a word?) of what I should be putting in....  But I was a big girl this time and, whoa, what is that?  Two, I mean TWO TEASPOONS!!!!!I had faith in this recipe this time folks!  I jumped in with my 2 feet and my 2 hands!  And let me tell you what, I was not disappointed!!  This very recipe may have opened my eyes to adding the RIGHT amount of ginger to my recipes....  ok, well, maybe....

 HEAPING tablespoon of honey, yes, that is a soup spoon, aka, tablespoon in my house.  I think I learned that from my mom?  Or maybe I am just blaming her, I don't remember...  (sorry mom, I love you)

 And the good ole soy sauce!

 That's 3 HUGE cloves of garlic folks!  Go big or go home, ya gotta be able to TASTE it!!!

 Here's that lovely sauce, I know, it looks SOOOOO appetizing doesn't it?  Bur seriously, it's REALLY good!  If only it was  a scratch and sniff pic, you'd be going to make yourself some orange chicken RIGHT now!!

 Once your chicken is about cooked, add those lovely red peppers.  Again, can I say YUMMO! 

 Next add those half cooked snow peas...  Man, I sooo wish I had some right now! I made this about 2 weeks ago and so hungry for this right now at 11:30 at nite!

 Once those veggies and chicken are cooked, go ahead and put those in a plate/bowl for later...  Take that SAME pan and add your juice mixture.  I realized that my sauce wasn't going to get thick unless I added something to it, so I added some cornstarch.  In all honesty, I have NO clue just how much.  I guess start with 1 teaspoon, and see if it starts to thicken up, if not, sprinkle a bit more in and make sure you WHISK it to get rid of all those clumps!

 Ah, this is what I am looking for, it's all bubbly and getting thick, oh does it ever smell good?  Don't ya just want some right now?

 Ok, now the sauce is the thickness I want, I then go ahead and add that chicken and veggie mixture to that lovely orange sauce... Oh the smells coming to my nose, soooo good!!!

 Just look at that!  Ok, so this pic isn't the greatest because my light still isn't fixed at this point, but....

 Just look at THIS!  Serve on top of your choice of rice, mine is jasmine...

Orange Chicken


1 3/4 cup orange juice  (I used that SIMPLY ORANGE brand b/c it's the freshest I get)

2 Tsp ginger, ground

1 heaping tablespoon honey

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 lb chicken breast, cubed, boneless, skinless

1 cup snow peas, halved (buying fresh is WAY crazy out here this time of year, so I bought the frozen pgk)

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch thin strips (I only had half of one from a different recipe, worked just fine)



1. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the chicken cubes for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the vegetables and cook an additional 2 minutes then transfer the chicken vegetable mixture to a bowl.

4. Add the sauce to the pan, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes until reduced by half.

5. Add the chicken and vegetables back into the sauce and cook an additional minute.

6. Serve.


It really is easy!!!
I used the whole package of frozen snow peas.  You can use fresh and use as much as you like!  :D

Chicken and Rice

This is another really easy one!

I am not a huge fan of the "cream of" soups... Don't get me wrong, they are great for when you need them... But have you seen, and I mean REALLY seen how they come out of a can? That really can't be good for you, can it? But of course, they are my go to when I am making a casserole or something. SO I guess I can't say too much, because I really do use them alot! ;) sigh, oh well.. but atleast this time I made something healthy! :) And I didn't use the cream of soups, not just because I don't have a working can opener, (yes, my hand held can opened bit the dust, I am so depressed! Now I need to go buy another one....) but because I wanted to try something different! ;)

There is a bit of prep work involved though, but as long as you REMEMBER to turn your rice cooker on, it's all good! ;) I've forgotten that MINOR detail, alot!!! You would think by now I would remember to hit that button that says cook, but yeah, anyways....


Saute mushrooms and onions


(sorry about the lighting here on these pics... my fan light above my stove is dead, and when you turn the flash on the camera, it's too bright! I just can't win here!!!)
Here are the sauteed mushrooms and onions in a bowl


Now cook your chicken with your minced garlic


Add some sour cream (it's about a cup)


Now the cheese! You can use whatever kind you would like, I use cheddar and mozzarella, because I didn't have enough cheddar.


Then add the rice and cooked chicken and mix it all up...


My bowl wasn't big enough to mix everything, so I just dumped it all in my casserole dish and mixed it all up ;)


Here it is before cooking, and in all honesty, it doesn't look much different coming out of the oven! ;)


Here it is ready to be eaten! nice and warm and sooo good! :)



Chicken and Rice


1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Small Onion, diced
1 8oz package Mushrooms, sliced
1 Tsp salt
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Lb Chicken Breasts (about 2), boneless, skinless, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded (plus additional for sprinkling on top)
3 Cups Cooked Rice

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 2 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms, season with 1/2 tsp of salt and cook another 4 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are translucent.
4. Remove the mushroom mixture and place in a bowl.
5. Heat 1 tsp of oil in the sauté pan and cook the chicken, minced garlic and remaining 1/2 tsp of salt for 3 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Combine all the ingredients together, place in an 9 x 13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with additional shredded cheese.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Serve.

*This is sooo easy! Like I said, as long as you remember to turn your rice cooker on! :)
You could also use wild rice for this... I use jasmine rice for pretty much anything, it's sooo good! Not as healthy as brown or wild, but it's good! ;)
You don't have to add all the mushroom either, but the sour cream and mushrooms act like the cream of mushroom soup, just a healthy version. ;)
You also don't need to add all 4 cloves of garlic, but it wasn't too strong! We LOVE garlic! ;)
Also, if you are looking for dairy free, just get the dairy free sour cream and cheese.
Enjoy!!!

Hay Stacks

Yeah, we eat Hay for dinner out here!!!! If we still lived in Iowa, you might actually believe that, but we don't live there anymore, so... ;)

This must be a Indiana meal, because I've had a TON of peeps from Iowa and Maryland ask me, "what int he world is Hay Stacks?"!!!

It's basically anything you want it to be. You have a base of rice, then meat, then the toppings are endless!

I use jasmine rice, then a sloppy joe type of meat mixture, then had lettuce, all colors of peppers, green and black olives, onions, shredded cheddar cheese, tomato, and crushed up Doritos. But again, you can add or take away anything! You could used salsa, or you could use melted cheese sauce instead of the shredded cheddar cheese. You could use more of a taco meat instead of the sloppy joe meat. I've also thought about making guac to put on top as well, and omit the tomatoes....

I used my sloppy joe recipe for the meat base. (you can find that sloppy joe recipe here http://mandysboxofrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/01/sloppy-joes.html)

While the sloppy joes are cooking, you can start chopping up whatever toppings you would like to add. Most of these things you have one hand, so it doesn't require any special ingredients. And the cool thing about this is if you don't have one of them, it's ok, it's not gonna matter! It's kind of a whatever you have on hand recipe! ;)

I don't think I mentioned this in the sloppy joe recipe, but you don't have to put it in the crock pot, you can keep it in the skillet on the stove for about 30 minutes. And if it don't want to wait that long, then that's fine, just make sure it's heated through! :)

here's my sloppy joe version, I added a bit of bbq sauce to it as well... You want this to be a bit saucy...


Yummy!! :oP


Start with rice, then meat, then add whatever you want! And add however much you want! It can be filling though! ;)


Hay stacks with home made applesauce! Super good and super easy!!!



Here I mixed it all up...

Hay Stacks

Ingredients to make sloppy joes :


2 pounds hamburger
1 onion
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Make as recipe says.... ;)

Rice (as much as you need to feed your family)
Lettuce
Green and Black olives
Chopped onions (we use the purple/red onions - you could use green onion, the stick ones if you want)
tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Crushed Doritos

Again, add or take away whatever you want!!! Let me know if you added something and how you liked it!! ENJOY!!!!!!!! :D

Kusherie

I've already had a few people on Facebook ask me what this is and then for the recipe... So instead of waiting any longer, here it is! ;)

This is from More-with-Less... Kusherie is an Egyptian meal that has rice and lentils in it.. Ok, that's pretty much all that's in it! ;) It may look a little bit hard, but it's not. It's pretty easy!

There is a note next to the recipe that says that in Egypt plain yogurt is served as a side dish.
(I didn't do that part of it...)


Left over lentils from the previous post...


Lentils and rice all cooked


This is the sauce with everything in it...


The onions browning for the topping


Layer the cooked rice and lentils on a platter


Then layer the sauce on top then the onions on top of the sauce


Here it is all mixed up, super yummy!!! :oP



Kusherie (Egyptian Rice and Lentils)

Rice and Lentils:
Heat in heavy saucepan or covered skillet:
2 tablespoons oil
Add:
1 1/4 cup lentils

Brown lentils over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add:
3 cups boiling water or stock
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

Cook uncovered 10 minutes over medium heat

Stir in:
1 1/2 cups rice
1 cup boiling water

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 25 minutes without stirring.

Sauce:
In a sauce pan, heat together:

3/4 cup tomato paste
3 cups tomato juice, tomato sauce, or pureed tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped
chopped celery leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red chili's to taste
Bring sauce to a boiling, reduce heat, and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Browned onions:
Heat in a small skillet
2 tablespoons onions
Saute over medium heat until brown:
3 onions, sliced
4 gloves garlic, minced

To serve, put rice-lentil mixture on a platter. Pour tomato sauce over. Top with browned onions.

*Again, a few things I did differently.
I used the lentils from the last recipe, so they had already been cooked for 20 minutes...
I used boiling water
For the sauce:
I also used 1 can of tomato paste
I used tomato sauce
I used a heaping teaspoon of cumin
I just sprinkled crushed red chili's
For the browned onions:
I used 1 onion and diced it
I also used 2 cloves of garlic and just diced it really small

While I was stirring the lentils, I put the water in the microwave to bring to boil.
While the 3 cups water and lentils were cooking for 10 minutes, I mixed up the sauce.
So that way when the rice and lentils were done, the sauce was done too.
Super good and super easy! :)

Monterey Beans and Cheese

So for the next 2 weeks we are doing simple, and healthy here. (We are talking hardly any cheese and meat food items! More beans and I guess there are quite a few that has bacon in it...) Ok, so they may not all be super simple, because I do have some gluten free things planned.... ;)

I also planned out breakfast, lunch AND dinner! Typical when making out menus, breakfast and lunch were more of a "go - with - flow", but I decided I want them all planned out, that way I know I have enough bread for their pb and j and not making these extra trips to the store! I am not gonna lie, buying for 2 weeks kinda stinks! Now, I will have to go to get more milk, but I know for a fact that I am covered with the rest of the ingredients, minus milk and bananas! :)
Not gonna lie, planning all 3 meals, whew... But then again using this cookbook I found a few really good looking breakfast ones! Lunch will be pb and j and then leftovers, or more like cracker, cheese and fruit and veggies... Will see how it goes!! :D

My mom had gotten me an AWESOME cookbook and will be taking many recipes from that. It's called More-with-Less.

Tonite I went with a bean recipe again, go figure! Last nite I made tostado's, will put that recipe up once I get the green sauce figured out! :)

Anyways.... This was super easy to make! I just put the beans in a pot and let it come to a slow boil and boiled them for about 3 hours.



Place your bacon in the frying pan...

While bacon is frying, cut up your pepper and onion....


Bacon nice and crispy, yummy!!!


Place your pepper and onion in the bacon fat and saute... Make sure the heat isn't up too high or you will burn those puppies! You want them soft, but not brown.... ;)


While the onions and peppers are frying, cut up the tomato(s)


Ok, so mine got a little brown, but they were nice and soft and now burnt... ;)


Add all the other ingredients next! The beans, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, chili powder...


Stir it up til the cheese is melted


Place your rice on a plate (sorry for the kid-monkey plate... We used kids plates tonite for din-din!)


Place some of your Moneterey Bean and cheese on top...


Mix it all up and ENJOY!!!! Loved it! Such GREAT flavors!!!!


Monterey Beans and Cheese

Fry drain and break into pieces, 2 - 3 slices bacon
Set that aside and saute in bacon fat until tender:
1/2 medium onion
1/2 green pepper
Add:
bacon bits
2 cups cooked kidney beans
1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 ripe tomatoes, diced (or 3/4 cup tomato sauce)
1/4 cup beef broth or tomato juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
Cook slowly, stirring constantly, until ingredients are blended and cheese is smooth- about 5 minutes. Serve with rice.

*I didn't have any beef broth or tomato juice, so I just used water.
I also used 1 tomato instead of 2. My kiddos aren't too big on tomatoes, well, I take that back, 2 of them are fans, then other 2, not so much, so I was trying to please them all and just used 1! :)
I didn't add any salt or pepper.
I also used 3 slices of bacon, recipe calls for one, but we like bacon in this family!!! :)
You could use no cheese, or they have some milk free cheese that you could use instead!
Also, I used Jasmine rice, it is THE best rice out there! I won't every go back to bland, boring white rice! My friend got me HOOKED on this stuff!!!! Not as healthy as brown rice, but hey, baby steps right? ;)


Enjoy, let me know what you think! ;)