Ham and Beans

When I was growing up, my grandpa would love it when he'd have a ham bone because he could make ham and beans. Honestly I was never really a fan growing up because of my bean aversion, but now that I'm learning to embrace and love the bean I figured it was worth a shot, mostly because I came across a ham bone in my freezer that I needed to use and we were low on grocery money this particular week. Grocery prices lately are driving me nuts, by the way.

I asked my mom about my grandpa's recipe but she didn't know specifics, so I did some searching on Food.com. This sounded good and like what I remembered my grandpa making. Good enough for me!

Ham and Beans
Source: Adapted from Food.com

1 lb great northern bean
1/2 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
7 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1 ham bone

Rinse and sort thru beans (has anyone ever really found a rock in these?). Cover with water and let sit overnight.

In the morning, drain water, rinse again and place beans in the crockpot. Dump in all of the other ingredients (except ham bone) and give it a few good stirs.

Put the ham bone in the crockpot, cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours.

Remove the bay leaf, ham bone and fish out any bones that may have fallen off during cooking. Stir the beans a few times. Remove 1 cup of the beans and place in a bowl, mash them with a potato masher or back of a spoon, then return to the beans and stir; this helps thicken it up a bit.

Take off any meat left on the ham bone, chop and return it to the crockpot.

Stir again and serve!

Nutritional info:
Calories 106.2
Calories from Fat 3
Total Fat 0.4 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 51.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 19.9 g
Dietary Fiber 6.0 g
Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 6.7 g

*****

I really didn't know how my family would react to this as none of them are big soup fans. Turns out the husband and Boy #2 love soup! Boy #1 not so much, but as Meatloaf says, "Two out of three ain't bad." this will be my go-to recipe when I have a ham bone that needs to be used up. Not that it happens very often, but now at least I can hold on to them and use them instead of passing them on to my mom. Sorry, Mama!

Brisket Tostadas

Tap...tap...tap...is this thing on?? I'm back! Did you miss me? Are you still there? The last couple weeks have been crazy with house stuff. I think I've mentioned we're trying to find a new house. Last week I had a minor breakdown that we're never going to find one and would forever be stuck living in our what-used-to-be-nice-but-is-now-ghetto neighborhood. The boys and I went out with our realtor one day last week (after my breakdown) and ended up finding a house that I loved. The husband came and saw it, put an offer on it, and it got accepted!! We're just waiting on the signed contract to come back from the seller then we can move forward with the inspection, appraisal, and all that fun home-buying stuff. What a relief! Of course, once that happens then I have to start cleaning out our house and packing, so I'm sure I won't be updating that often once again. Or I will because I hate packing to move and look for any excuse to procrastinate.

Now...finally I'm going to finish up the rest of my Brisketfest posts!! Well, Brisketfest leftovers anyway. But that was part of the reason to have Brisketfest so we could try a bunch of awesome leftovers using the brisket.

As you know, I heart The Pioneer Woman's cooking website. Since I had used her brisket recipe I thought it was only fair to also use her recipe for Brisket Tostadas. She does a much better job of laying it all out and taking pictures so I'm just going to link to her post:

Pioneer Woman's Brisket Tostadas

I didn't change it up a whole lot, although I bought tostada shells instead of making my own, and I only did two shells per tostada instead of three. I had some leftover Trader Joe's enchilada sauce in the fridge, so I used that instead of the El Pato.

These were so good!! I love tostadas, but I usually just have them with beans. I really liked the addition of the brisket meat. I would definitely make these again, assuming I have leftover brisket again at some point!





I'm soooo wishing I had stuff on hand to make tostadas!!

Rick Bayless Barbecue Baked Beans

Late last year I checked out a cookbook from the library written by Rick Bayless and his daughter Lanie, Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventure. I loved what I saw when I flipped through it, and I ended up buying it on Amazon for $10. Pretty good deal I thought! It's not just Mexican recipes like most of his cookbooks, it covers other ethnic cuisines from places they have traveled as a family--Spain, Morocco, France, Thailand--and recipes from the barbecue restaurant Rick's family had when he was growing up. I'm so glad I thought of that section when I was looking for recipes to make for Brisketfest 2010.

Hickory House Barbecue Baked Beans
Copyright 2004, Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures

1/2 large green or red bell pepper, cut in small pieces
Two 15-ounce cans pinto beans or navy beans, drained and rinsed (or 3 to 3-1/2 cups home-cooked pinto or navy beans well seasoned with salt)
1 cup barbecue sauce, store bought or homemade
1/2 cup water or bean cooking liquid if using home-cooked beans
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

In an 8-inch square baking pan, mix together everything except Worcestershire sauce. Stir well to dissolve sugar completely. Dribble Worcestershire over top. Bake until slightly thickened, glazed and browned on top, and bubbling vigorously around the edges, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool slightly before serving.

*****

I have never been a fan of baked beans, except for a recipe my friend Rebecca makes that has bacon and bacon drippings in it. Who wouldn't like that?! Okay, maybe a vegetarian, but even then I think they'd secretly enjoy it (if they weren't getting sick from it). I figured I have yet to be disappointed by a Rick Bayless recipe, so I was hoping this would turn me on to baked beans.

Man alive, did it ever!! These beans are amazing--so easy to put together, so full of taste and flavor. Yum!! I much prefer making these from just plain pinto beans instead of doctoring up a can of baked beans. This is definitely my go-to baked beans recipe now, and I may even start putting it in my meal plans as a side dish!

Beans ready to be thrown into oven (or gently placed, rather, so they didn't spill everywhere):


Finished product...sorry it's so blurry!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

I have some massive blog updating to do! I was really trying this week to get back into a normal groove and get my house back in order after all the traveling we've been doing, but in doing that my blog fell to the wayside.

As I said in my last post, my challenge this week was to make dinners using only ingredients I had on hand. I cheated only a little and had to buy some chicken broth and brown rice, but that was it. I was excited to realize I had everything on hand for this recipe because it's one we really like, but for some reason I don't make it very often. I definitely need to add it to the rotation more often!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

I had some andouille sausage in the freezer that needed to be used up, so I cooked that in a skillet to render off some of the fat, then I sliced it and threw it in the slow cooker. The husband and I always enjoy this when we have it for dinner, the boy ate it okay, but I was SHOCKED that the baby shoveled it down! He ate about as much as I did! He's going to be my spicy food kid for sure, even though it wasn't that spicy, but I have to imagine for a baby it was.

Cassoulet

I have to say that I'm not really excited about dinner tonight. It sounded good when I read the recipe last week, so I put it on my menu plan for the week, but now I'm not excited. It just sounds too winter-y to me and not overly appealing for a 100+ degree day. But, I don't really want to come up with a new plan, so I'll just have to suck it up and go with it.

This is a recipe from the cookbook my message board put together. Just about every recipe I've made from it has been good, so I'm sure this will follow suit, I'm just not excited for it.

Cassoulet

1 pound chicken sausage, cooked
1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can black beans
1 can tomato sauce
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 small onions, sliced, rings separated
1/2 cup red wine
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp dried thyme

To prepare the sausage, halve lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Rinse and drain the beans well to remove as much salt as possible. Combine all ingredients into a bowl, mixing thoroughly. Transfer to an ungreased baking/casserole dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 60-70 minutes or until carrots are tender.

*****

I guess it's early enough that I still have time to come up with a new dinner idea. The idea of having my oven on for that long isn't appealing either. I'm so torn. I really want to try this, but I just don't know if today is the day.

Rick Bayless' Red Chile Steak and Beans

After having the Chipotle Shrimp recipe last week, I can't get enough Rick Bayless!! My friend Jen B. made this recently and loved it, so I'm excited to try it. I thought it would be a great use for some of the leftover beans from last night, too. I usually try to have a certain cuisine only once a week, but this week we're having Mexican three times. I had slated two meals (this and the tostadas from last nigh), and I needed one more dinner on my menu plan, and the husband suggested fish tacos. He didn't seem to mind that it was the third Mexican dish of the week, so watch for that over the weekend.

Rick Bayless' Red Chile Steak with Beans

2 tablespoons pure olive oil, vegetable oil, or bacon drippings
Two 10-ounce ribeye steaks, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat
2 tablespoons ground ancho chile powder
1/2 tablespoon ground chipotle chile powder
2 garlic cloves, finally chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth, plus additional as needed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
One 15-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes in their juice
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained or 1 3/4 cups home-cooked pinto beans, drained
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
One scallion, thinly sliced, for garnish

Directions:
In a skillet or sauté pan large enough to hold the meat in a single layer, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the meat. Season with salt. Let the meat sear on each side, turning only after each side has browned. Be careful to keep the meat rare as it will cook more in the sauce. Stir in the onions. Once the onions have browned, using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the bacon fat, followed by both chili powders, garlic, and flour. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to make a thick roux-like mixture, about 1 minute. Whisk in half of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the remaining broth and sprinkle in the cumin and oregano. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil. Stir in the beans, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

If the sauce has thickened beyond the consistency of a light cream soup, thin with a little more broth. Add the meat and onions to the pan. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the meat is heated through. Garnish with the cilantro and thinly sliced scallions. Serve immediately.

*****

Thanks to Jen for typing all that out--I took the easy route and copied it from her blog. ;) I don't have steak to use, but I did have some stew meat in the freezer that needed to be used, and since it's way too hot in AZ for beef stew, I thought this would be a great use of it. I'm just going to let it simmer in the sauce for longer, probably 45 minutes to an hour, depending on when I get my ass in gear and get started and how tender the meat is. Not sure what we're going to have with this. I'm tempted to make that Copycat Chipotle Rice, but I thought I'd make that to go with the fish tacos. I really liked it, but twice in a week might be overkill. I might just make some brown rice to soak up the sauce. I have a frozen Southwest veggie blend I might heat up as a vegetable to go with it.

The husband and I have a date night tomorrow to go see the new Harry Potter movie, so I'll be back on Friday!

*****

The flavor of this was really tasty, but I wouldn't recommend using stew meat for it. I ended up letting it simmer for quite awhile as we decided to have dinner after the kids went to bed. I thought that would help the meat get a little more tender, too, but it really didn't do much for it. I will make this again because I know it has potential to be awesome, but I'll use a better cut of meat next time.

Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

I don't know why I've been slacking on posting lately. Monday was a pretty bad day at our house, and our dinner was easy, just tofu stir fry. Yesterday I don't know why I never got around to posting. Who knows. This is what we had. I'd seen a recipe for slow cooker pinto beans in a vegetarian cookbook I have and thought I'd try it. Then I saw my friend Jen B. had a recipe for them, and there is also one in my new favorite cookbook, Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday. I decided to kind of combine all of them into one and see what I got.

Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

1 lb. dried pinto beans
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 slices bacon, cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Ancho chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp coriander
1 can beef broth
5 cups water

Sort through beans for any debris, pebbles, or sticks. Throw everything into slow cooker and cook on low 8-10 hours. When beans are done, strain liquid into a separate container and save for another use. Remove bay leaves and any other chunks you don't want in there (although I left the bacon in and thought it was yummy).

*****

I made refried beans out of some last night. For that I used two tablespoons of butter and probably two cups of the beans and a few ladlefuls of the cooking liquid and mashed it up first with a potato masher and then I switched to using my immersion blender. That worked a lot better.

Oh man...these were fantastic beans!! The flavor of them was so much better than anything I've ever had in a can. I think I'm a homemade refried beans convert now. I used them last night for tostadas, and for that I just fried some tortillas in oil to get them crispy (my oil took forever to heat up--I didn't think we were ever going to eat!) and then topped with the refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. They were quite tasty!! I had leftovers for lunch today and was just as pleased as I was last night!

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

I really like cooking Sunday dinner in the crockpot. It's so nice to get the whole afternoon with my family instead of them getting to have fun while I'm in the kitchen. The husband always calls his parents on Sunday after church, so while he and the boy were talking to them this morning I got this in the crockpot. And now all I have to do is put on some rice to cook in an hour or so. Fantastic!! In fact, I'm sitting outside in our backyard enjoying this FABULOUS 80 degree day while the boy runs through the sprinkler. This is why I love living in AZ (and I'll try to remember that in a couple months when I'm complaining about how freakin' hot it is).

Anyway, we've had this before but not in a long time. I was looking for something in my freezer and saw some frozen sausage, and I knew I had kidney beans in the pantry, so I added it to the menu for this week. It kept getting pushed back for varoius reasons, but it's worked out great now that we're having it tonight.

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
3 cups water
1 cup dried red kidney beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 (14-ounce) package turkey, pork, and beef smoked sausage, thinly sliced (such as Healthy Choice)
1 bay leaf
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Combine first 12 ingredients in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid; cook on high heat for 5 hours. Discard bay leaf; stir in salt. Serve over rice; sprinkle servings evenly with green onions.

*****

Instead of the red pepper and black pepper I added in some Cajun seasoning instead. And my sausage wasn't Healthy Choice, it was Hillshire Farm. I'm so excited for this dinner. I went grocery shopping this afternoon, and the house smelled amazing when I walked in from that. I think we'll probably just have a salad with this and call it good.

I had planned on making a really yummy dessert for tonight, too, because blackberries were on sale this week, but the store was all out of them. I'm so bummed! I did get a rain check at least, and I may stop in there tomorrow to see if they have some so I could still get them and have the rain check for later. On a bright note, I finally spent less than $80--I only spent $37! I feel like I must have forgotten some important things because that seems like way too little to have spent.

Get ready for some yummy dinners this coming week--I'm really excited for the menu line-up I have planned!!

Chili Pasta with Beans

I was going to say "What a day" but haven't I been saying that just about every day lately? Ah, life with a three year old in the house. Always keeps things interesting. It's a good thing I'm nursing the baby because if I wasn't, I'd probably be an alcoholic. Just kidding. Maybe.

Anyway, this was another recipe from last month's Cooking Light, actually from the same article as the falafel recipe I mentioned in my post yesterday. It was on the same page as the falafel, so I happened to notice it when looking at that. I had pretty much everything on hand for it, and as I've been trying to use up items from my freezers and pantry I thought it would be good.

Chili Pasta with Beans
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 pound ground sirloin
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces uncooked ruote (about 2 1/4 cups uncooked wagon wheel–shaped pasta)
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Muir Glen), undrained
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and beef to pan; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender and beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano; cook 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups water and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until pasta is done.

Nutritional Information
Calories:294
Fat:8g (sat 2.3g,mono 3.6g,poly 0.9g)
Protein:18.8g
Carbohydrate:35.4g
Fiber:4.6g
Cholesterol:21mg
Iron:3.7mg
Sodium:644mg
Calcium:59mg

*****

I figured since the nutritional info was posted I'd include it here. I'm changing it up slightly and adding a can of kidney beans instead of the ground beef. I have a ton of ground beef for some reason, but I needed another vegetarian dinner in my meal plan, so I thought that would be a decent substitute. Also, a big THANK YOU to Jen B. for giving me some chili powder since I'm out and didn't want to go to the store with two kids (I still haven't braved that). Oh, and I couldn't find wagon wheel pasta, so I think I got fusilli instead.

I think I'm going to heat up some canned corn (I heart Trader Joe's canned corn so much!!! I've been known to eat it straight from the can. I hope that wasn't TMI.) and some bread to go with it. Had I thought far enough ahead I would have thawed a loaf of frozen bread dough, but I never think to do that with enough time for it to thaw and rise.

*****

This was decent but not something I'll make all the time. If I need a dinner and have everything on hand I'd probably make it again, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to make it. I liked that it was healthy and made a lot, but overall it was just kind of "eh."

(I forgot to take a picture when I made it, so I took a picture of the leftovers when I was having some for lunch one day.)

Slow Cooker Minestrone

This was actually our dinner last night, but I ran out of time to post. Jen B. and I both wanted to get out of our houses as we've been stuck at home with sick kids for longer than we'd like (really, isn't more than a day stuck at home with a toddler--regardless of their health--too much?!), so we went to the mall, lunch, and Trader Joe's. With all of that running around I just didn't have time to post my recipe. What about after the fun, you say? Or after the boy went to bed last night? Well, when we got home I was busy throwing stuff in the crockpot for dinner, then after dinner I spent 45 minutes on the phone with my friend Jess. Then there was stuff on the Tivo to watch...you know how it goes.

Anyway, this is another recipe from Meal Planning 101 blog via Jen B's blog. The husband is taking a bible study class on Wednesday nights for the next 12 weeks (well, I guess 11 weeks since last night's is done), so I'm going to be doing crockpot dinners on Wednesday nights to make sure he gets to eat before he leaves. Jen had really liked this, and I had all the vegetables on hand that needed to be used up, so I figured what the heck. It met my vegetarian criteria and furthers me along in my "embrace the bean" mentality I'm trying to adopt...even though minestrone has never been my favorite soup.

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
3 cloves chopped garlic
4-6 cups of Vegetable Broth or Chicken Stock
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can of Red Kidney Beans
1 can of Great Northern Beans
2 tbsp tomato Paste
2 tsp Italian Seasoning (or 1tsp oregano, 1tsp basil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or combo of cheese and Parm-Reg rinds--see notes)
1/2 cup basil pesto (premade or fresh)
1/2 jar leftover marinara sauce
1 cup macaroni (cooked)

Finely chop onion and slice carrots and onion and add them to your slow cooker. Chop garlic and add. Gradually add stock, tomatoes, mixed beans, tomato paste, spices, Parmesan cheese and pesto. Turn on low heat for 6-8 hours.

After cook time is complete:
Fill a large stove-top pot with water and season with salt and bring to a boil. When boiling add macaroni and simmer according to package directions. When macaroni is done, drain and set aside. Scoop macaroni into bowls and ladle soup over top. Serve immediately.

*****

I can almost guarantee that no one in the history of slow cookers has thrown the ingredients for minestrone soup into the crockpot faster than I did yesterday. We had just gotten home from our day out, the baby was screaming because he was hungry, and I realized I needed to get dinner in the crockpot ASAP so we'd be able to eat before the husband had to leave. If you've never breastfed a baby, you may not understand the urgency with which this task needed to be done, but if you HAVE breastfed a baby and know what it's like to hear them screaming and not be able to feed them right away, well...you know why I hurried. I didn't have any marinara sauce to throw in, nor did I have pesto. I used the whole can of tomato paste to try and make up for the lack of marinara sauce. I put in some basil to try and make up for the pesto.

The result? It was okay. Jen said she thinks my not using real pesto probably impacted it a lot. Since I'm not a big minestrone fan to begin with, I thought it was good considering. However, I have a TON left...almost a whole crockpot full of it. The boy didn't eat it, the husband didn't have a whole lot (he doesn't like soup which I totally don't understand). I made ham and cheese paninis along with the soup, and he liked the sandwich a lot better. I think I'm going to freeze most of what was left because it would take me at least two weeks to eat what's left on my own. I don't think this is one I'd make again, but that's only because it's not my favorite soup, and I already have a lot of it left.

Vegetarian Tamale Casserole

I had a major "mommy brain" moment when I was grocery shopping the other day. One night last week when I was making dinner I noticed a recipe on the back of the bag of cheese I was using. It sounded good, so I threw it on the menu for this week. As I was writing out my grocery list I thought, "Oh I need to look on the bag of cheese to see what I need for that recipe." Did I do it? Nope. Did I realize that before I got to the grocery store? Nope. Did I realize it as I was walking around the store? Yup. I knew I needed a couple cans of beans for it, but that was it. Then, as I was walking out to my car, my mommy brain moment happened. I had shopped at Safeway, and the recipe had been on the back of a Safeway brand bag of cheese. I could have gone over to the cheese aisle (where I had been at one point anyway) and looked on the package to check the recipe. Sigh. So I ran to Walmart last night and got the missing ingredients, since I needed to go buy a second humidifier so both kids have one in their room. Yup, my kids are still sick. I'm pretty tired of hanging out at home.

Anyway, I'm kind of nervous to try another new recipe since last night's dinner was such a failure, but I have high hopes. I'm not a super huge bean fan, but I'm trying to embrace the bean since we're trying to eat more vegetarian dinners. I really like black beans, but the husband doesn't. I like pinto beans, too. So I guess I'm on my way to being a bean lover.

Vegetarian Tamale Casserole
1 can (8-3/4 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15-1/4 oz) red kidney beans, drain half the liquid
1 can (8-3/4 oz) garbanzo, pinto, or black beans, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup green onions with tops, sliced
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 package (8-1/2 oz) cornbread mix

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients but cornbread. Pour into a greased or sprayed 2-quart baking dish or casserole. Make cornbread according to pacakge directions. Pour over top and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden.

*****

I think I may mix in a little salsa to the bean mixture to give it a bit of sauce, I'm concerned otherwise it would be really dry. Jen B. made us a really good tamale pie when the baby was born. I looked up her recipe and saw that it calls for canned tomatoes and chipotle peppers. I think I may have a can of chipotle peppers in the pantry; if I do, I think I'll chop up one or two to add in. I have canned tomatoes, but they're all slated for other uses, so I figure a little salsa will make up for that. Not sure what we'll have with it...some kind of frozen vegetable or just salad.

*****

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. This was YUMMY!!! I will definitely be adding this in to our vegetarian dinner rotation. Easy, inexpensive, and tasty...what could be better?! I ended up adding in one chipotle pepper chopped up and some of the adobo sauce it was canned in, and I added 8 ounces of salsa. It was awesome. I was worried it was too liquidy when it came out of the oven, but after it sat awhile it was fine. I think I'd modify the recipe to sit 5-10 minutes before cutting into it. Oh, and I skipped the chili powder and cumin because I figured adding in the salsa and chipotle pepper would give it enough extra flavor. I saw that Jen uses two boxes of cornbread mix when she makes hers, but of course I didn't have a second box on hand. I think the next times I make this I'd use two boxes as well, as the topping on it was a bit sparse. The husband and I both had seconds, and the boy even ate all of his--without being prodded along!

Chicken and Yellow Rice

I wasn't really "feeling" the dinner I had originally planned for tonight, so I consulted the menu plan to see what I could move around and make tonight instead. This was originally slated for Monday because the husband was going to be gone, but his plans changed, so I also changed dinner plans. I decided it sounded good for tonight because it's super easy, and I didn't feel like cooking. I would have tried to convince the husband to get some kind of take-out (which would not be a hard sell), but my days of cooking dinner are numbered. I had an OB appointment today and am dilated to 5 cm!!! This kid is coming ANY TIME NOW. So, given that, I figured I might as well make dinner while I'm still relatively feeling up to it.

This isn't something we have very often because I don't think the husband is a big fan. Or I never think to make it, not sure which. It's insanely easy and pretty cheap, too, so I don't know why I don't have it in higher dinner rotation. My mom would make chicken and yellow rice when I was growing up, and I had mentioned it to my friend Nanci (Hi, Nanci!!) one time, and she said that her family had it too only they added black beans to it. Actually she may have told me that's what they were having one night and we got to talking about it. I don't know, it was a long time ago. I just don't want her to feel slighted if I got the story wrong. ;) Anyway, I love black beans, so I figured I'd try it that way and have been including black beans ever since. The husband doesn't like them, so I scoop some out for him before adding in the beans. I know, I know...I'm such a good wife.

Chicken and Yellow Rice
1 package saffron rice mix
1 or 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Cook rice mix according to package directions. Mix in chicken and black beans.

*****

See? Insanely easy. I'm almost embarassed to include it, but I had included it before so what the hell. I was worried it wasn't going to be enough but there's at least one--if not two--servings left. The boy eats it pretty well, too. We didn't have anything fancy with it, just some peas and salad.

I think it would be good in a vegetarian version as well with just black beans and no chicken. Not sure how filling it would be, but it would at least be a good side dish.

Chilaquiles

We're apparently having Benah week at our house...the pumpkin cake (which is gone, by the way), this recipe tonight, and we'll see her tomorrow for dinner, and Will and I are going to see her at the zoo on Sunday. Those last two events of course are contingent on when this baby gets here. Hopefully he at least holds off until tomorrow night so we can catch the LSU vs. Bama game (GEAUX TIGERS!!) and make it to dinner because it's at one of my most favorite places, and I'm worried if I miss it, this kid will have that held over his head for his whole life. I don't want to put that kind of burden on him.

Anyway, I've wanted to make this for awhile, but I'm not sure why I haven't. Pretty much all of the ingredients are things I normally have on hand. I was trying to come up with some new vegetarian options to have for dinner because I feel like I'm in a rut with all the veggie dinners I make. The husband said he likes all of them when I mentioned that to him last night, but I get tired of having the same things over and over and over. I'm just not a "Thursday is meatloaf night" kind of girl. I meant to post this earlier, but I've gotten sucked into reading the Twilight books and couldn't tear myself away this afternoon.

Chilaquiles
Sauce:
1 cup salsa
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
4 ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
14 ounce can pinto or kidney beans, rinsed and strained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Fixings:
1 11-oz bag tortilla chips
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tbsp minced cilantro, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half the sauce into a shallow baking dish (Pyrex 12x7x2) and top with half the chips. Drop small spoonfuls of sour cream all over chips, then sprinkle on half the cheese. Top with remaining chips, sauce, sour cream, and cheese. Bake 35 minutes or until bubbly hot around the edges. Sprinkle top with cilantro.

*****

It sounds really similar to the Taco Crescent Bake I've made before, only no crescent rolls and meatless. I didn't really change anything up in the recipe, although I didn't have enough sour cream, so I used some sour cream and some plain yogurt. I had already run to the store earlier today to buy cheese because I didn't buy enough on my weekly grocery trip on Monday, and no way did I want to brave a grocery store at 5:00 on a Friday. NO THANKS!! Oh, and I did the layers a little differently. Instead of chips, sauce, sour cream, and cheese for the order the second time, I did sauce, chips, sour cream, and cheese to match up with the first. I also spread the sour cream around instead of leaving globs. Tricky business when spreading over chips (oh, which I broke up a little), but I got it to work.

I'm excited to try this and hope it turns out. Especially since I think Benah reads my blog, and I'd hate to give it a bad review and have her read it. ;)

*****

I just realized I never reviewed this. I liked it, the husband and boy weren't quite as sold on it. The husband thought it would be good as a dip, or at least he wanted tortilla chips to dip into it. The boy ate it okay but had to be prodded along (which isn't really anything new for dinner with him at our house).

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps

Okay...after this post I'm all caught up! I told you I didn't cook much last week, and I wasn't lying! Plus I gotta get this done so I can fold laundry--baby clothes--and get them put away so I'm ready for this baby to get here and everything's done and put away. All I have left to do is pack my hospital bag. Oh, and potentially buy a new coming home outfit for the little buy since the temperatures here in AZ are still in the freakin' upper 80s!! Somehow I don't think a cute fleece outfit will work if it stays that warm for the next couple weeks.

Talk about digressing! Anyway, I wasn't motivated at all this morning to come up with dinner plans for the week, but I pushed on through and did it. I saw that my store had refried beans on sale, so I thought we'd have this tonight. I'm not super excited for it, but it's always good, and the husband absolutely loves it. He had me make this for his birthday dinner last year, that's how much he likes it. Plus it's easy, just throw everything in the crockpot and let it do its thing.

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps
1 16-oz can nonfat refried beans
1 8-oz package nonfat cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
1 4-oz can diced green chilies, drained
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup nonfat shredded cheddar cheese
4 98% fat free flour tortillas

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine refried beans, cream cheese, chilies, and green onions in slow cooker and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours or high heat for 2 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking. If cooking on low heat, increase to high. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheesse and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over top. Warm tortillas. Spoon bean mixture into tortillas; roll and serve immediately. Can be served with tortilla chips instead of tortillas.

*****

I've probably posted this at least 15 times before, so I won't go in to too much detail. I didn't have any green onions. Rather, the grocery store didn't have any. For the life of me I couldn't find them anywhere, and I walked around the produce section three times searching. There was an older woman there looking for them too and didn't have any luck. Weird, right? So we're doing without the green onions, but I don't think it should make too much difference.

There you go Jen...all caught up. ARe you happy now?!

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps

I feel so behind but only because I've been in the kitchen like a fiend lately. This week--along with making dinners--I've made Chex Mix, banana bread, and a strawberry pie. Maybe I'm nesting, who knows. Last night for dinner we had Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps. I hadn't made them in awhile, and I had most of the stuff for it, plus the husband was supposed to have a church meeting at 6:30 last night, so I figured a crockpot dinner would be easiest.

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps
1 16-oz can nonfat refried beans
1 8-oz package nonfat cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
1 4-oz can diced green chilies, drained
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup nonfat shredded cheddar cheese
4 98% fat free flour tortillas

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine refried beans, cream cheese, chilies, and green onions in slow cooker and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours or high heat for 2 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking. If cooking on low heat, increase to high. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheesse and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over top. Warm tortillas. Spoon bean mixture into tortillas; roll and serve immediately. Can be served with tortilla chips instead of tortillas.

*****

I forgot to add in the can of green chilies, but I don't think any of us noticed. They were so yummy. I had about half a can of refried beans in the fridge, so I threw those in as well to use them up. I always skip the cheese on top and just add it on to the beans once they're on the tortilla.

I wish I had some tortilla chips to eat the rest as a dip!

Chicken and Yellow Rice

The boy and I are on our own for dinner the next couple nights, so I wanted easy stuff and things that the husband doesn't necessarily like. ;) Tonight's dinner is super easy and one of my favorites. And it's relatively cheap.

Chicken and Yellow Rice
1 package saffron rice mix
1 or 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Cook rice mix according to package directions. Mix in chicken and black beans.

*****

See what I mean, super easy. If I don't add the black beans, I'd probably do two chicken breasts, but since the beans add some substance to the dish, I think I'll just do one chicken breast.

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Oh man...I didn't even realize that my Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps from last night was my 300th post!! How exciting!

So tonight we're having red beans and rice. It's kind of a heavy dish for a hot day like today, but I had andouille sausage in my freezer I wanted to use up, so we'll just deal. My mom got the sausage for me on Manager's Special at Sprouts Market. I love my mom, and I love Sprouts! I wish one would open near me. The recipe doesn't call for andouille, but I had it, and other than gumbo I didn't know what to make with it. It's way too hot for gumbo for sure. Andouille is pretty hard to find here in AZ for a reasonable price, so I heart my mom even more for finding some for us!

I found this recipe on the Cooking Light website a few years ago when doing a search for crockpot recipes. I've tried to do it vegetarian without the sausage, and it just isn't the same. It was okay, but it's definitely better with the flavor of the sausage in it. I don't know if I've made this since I've had my blog...seems like it's been quite awhile since we've had it.

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
3 cups water
1 cup dried red kidney beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 (14-ounce) package turkey, pork, and beef smoked sausage, thinly sliced (such as Healthy Choice)
1 bay leaf
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Combine first 12 ingredients in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid; cook on high heat for 5 hours. Discard bay leaf; stir in salt. Serve over rice; sprinkle servings evenly with green onions.

*****

First, I think it's funny that it says "electric slow cooker." Personally I've never seen anything BUT an electric slow cooker. Do they have gas powered ones? Propane slow cookers? Hand crank slow cookers? Second, like I said above I'm using andouille sausage instead of the healthy options listed in the recipe. I normally use some kind of turkey sausage in it to be more health-conscious. I sliced up my andouille and then cooked it for awhile in a skillet to brown it and get rid of some of the fat. Once it was browned and cooked I tossed it in with everything else.

God only knows when we'll end up eating dinner tonight. The boy switched from his crib to a big boy bed over the weekend, and I'm having one heck of a time getting him to nap now. I had hoped to get everything in the crockpot by 1:30, but it was after 2:30 when I was done because I had to keep coming upstairs to deal with him. I'd better go make the most of naptime since I have no idea how long he'll sleep. He used to nap 3 to 3.5 hours every day...yesterday it was slightly more than 90 minutes. :(

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps

Okay, I may have missed a couple, but if I did it wasn't any great thing. Don't worry, you aren't missing out on the newest most best ever recipe. Even this coming week I just don't feel really motivated to cook. Or I guess I should say I didn't feel motivated to plan out dinners. I'm trying to use up some stuff we have on hand, but none of what I've planned really sounds good to me. You know what does sound good? The assortment bag of Mother's Cookies I bought at the grocery store today. I'm ashamed to say how many I've eaten, so I won't go into any more detail.

This is one of our favorite dinners, and I don't think we've had it in awhile. I have quite a few crockpot meals planned this week, so be ready! That reminds me, I need to get out the meat for tomorrow night's dinner while I'm thinking of it. These burritos are super easy to throw together and just let sit in the crockpot for a few hours. I'm all about easy dinners.

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps
1 16-oz can nonfat refried beans
1 8-oz package nonfat cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
1 4-oz can diced green chilies, drained
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup nonfat shredded cheddar cheese
4 98% fat free flour tortillas

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine refried beans, cream cheese, chilies, and green onions in slow cooker and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours or high heat for 2 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking. If cooking on low heat, increase to high. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheesse and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over top. Warm tortillas. Spoon bean mixture into tortillas; roll and serve immediately. Can be served with tortilla chips instead of tortillas.

*****

Now, my son isn't big on spicy, so he doesn't eat these, even though they aren't THAT spicy. I usually just make him a quesadilla instead. But the husband and I heart this very much, and since everything is low in fat (I buy Rosarita Fat Free Green Chili and Lime refried beans), it's pretty darn healthy too. As long as you don't eat the whole pot of beans. ;)

Tortilla Pie

Okay, I think I'm caught up and current now. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I wanted something Mexican for dinner tonight. I went through my blog to find something other than the chicken taco idea that first popped in my head. I saw this recipe and realized we haven't had it in quite awhile, so this is what it will be. I'm excited for it...it's super yummy.

Tortilla Pie
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup chunky salsa, divided
2 (4 or 6 ounce) cartons guacamole
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Mexican cheese blend

Combine first three ingredients, stirring well. Place one tortilla in a lightly greased 9-inch cake pan; spread with half of bean mixture and top with another tortilla. Spread with 1/2 cup salsa and top with another tortilla. Spread with half of guacamole and top with another tortilla. Sprinkle with half of cheese and top with another tortilla.

Repeat layers with remaining ingredients except cheese. Pan will be full. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 more minutes. Cut into wedges to serve. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole if desired.

*****

I use a springform pan instead of a cake pan; I've found that makes it a lot easier to slice and serve. I also use taco seasoning instead of the chili powder and cumin. I make my own guacamole, too. It's really easy, so don't be intimidated if you've never tried it. Slice an avocado in half the long way. Plunk a sharp knife down onto the pit and twist to remove the pit. Then dice up the avocado in the shell (if I think of it, I'll take a picture when I'm doing this tonight) and then toss it out into a bowl. Add in a few spoonfuls of salsa and mix. Add a little salt, too. Then taste it and see how it is. Add more salsa if you need it. Start slow with the salsa because if you add to much, you'll need to add more avocado, which is fine if you have more avocado...you just don't want to run to the store in an angry fit because you need another avocado.

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps

Have you guys missed me? Sorry I've been MIA! My dinner plans last week got a big messed up, then Friday night my mom kept the boy so the husband and I could have a date night, and Saturday night we went to my uncle's and he grilled us ahi tuna steaks. I love my uncle. I don't remember what we had Sunday night, so it couldn't have been anything too spectacular. I did bake a chocolate cake. Oh! We had grilled pizzas. Last night we had some Trader Joe's chicken burgers (thanks, Jen B!) that were just a throw-on-the-grill-and-heat.

I had originally planned on having this for dinner tomorrow night, but I don't feel like cooking tonight, so a crockpot dinner is the perfect solution. Plus the boy was up for several hours in the middle of the night puking his guts out, so I'm tired and a shortcut dinner sounds pretty darn good. By the way, if you know why kids always get sick in the middle of the night and not, say, in the middle of the morning, I'd love to know why that is. Thankfully this hasn't happened too many times. And also thankfully, my wonderful husband went in to work late this morning so I could go back to sleep for awhile after having spent a few hours with a puking kid sitting on my lap in the middle of the night.

Chili Cheese Tortilla Wraps
1 16-oz can nonfat refried beans
1 8-oz package nonfat cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened
1 4-oz can diced green chilies, drained
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup nonfat shredded cheddar cheese
4 98% fat free flour tortillas

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine refried beans, cream cheese, chilies, and green onions in slow cooker and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours or high heat for 2 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking. If cooking on low heat, increase to high. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheesse and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over top. Warm tortillas. Spoon bean mixture into tortillas; roll and serve immediately. Can be served with tortilla chips instead of tortillas.

*****

Guess I'd better get this thrown together. I'm ashamed to admit (okay, not really) that I have a sink full of dirty dishes from yesterday. I ran the dishwasher Sunday night then forgot to empty it yesterday. When it came time to do dishes after dinner, I wasn't motivated to empty it then, so they stayed sitting in there and the dirty dishes festered in the sink. If I don't work on it now, I hate to see what it would look like tomorrow.