Hot Mexican Salad

I realized recently that one of my favorite things at a Mexican restaurant is the rice and beans that they serve on the side--especially when they have melted cheese and that little bit of lettuce and tomato and sour cream. So I played around a bit and came up with this. I like the contrast of hot and cold, as well as different textures. Rice + beans makes a complete protein so it is filling as well as delicious. Think of it as being like a taco salad...only without the taco bowl!
We have been on an extra-tight budget since being laid off, so one thing I have done is figured out ways to use my WIC vouchers more effectively, to make entire meals rather than just compliment them. This salad is one of those meals. (I know there is some variance between states, but ingredients marked with * can be purchased with WIC vouchers in Alaska.)


serves 2

*2-3 cups cooked white and/or brown rice (1ish cups dry)
*1 can beans (I like black beans) (alternately use about 1 1/2-2 cups cooked beans which is about 3/4c dry)
*1 can diced tomatoes OR 1 largeish fresh tomato
*2/3 cup grated cheese
*1- 1 1/2 cups chopped lettuce
Sour cream, ranch, or other creamy dressing

a note on lettuce--I like the crunch and texture of iceburg lettuce, but you could use a leaf lettuce as well, or some other kind of greens if you prefer.

This can be prepared two different ways--one is to prepare all the parts and then let people put them together at the table. The other is to put the plates together as you prepare them.
For a la carte serving:
Cook rice. Heat beans, then drain. Chop up tomato, or drain/rinse canned diced tomato (if using canned, heat tomatoes, if using fresh, keep them cold). Grate cheese and chop lettuce. Serve everything in little bowls.
For prepared plates:
Cook rice then divide and portion onto plates or wide bowls. Drain and rinse beans, then layer over rice. Sprinkle on grated cheese. If using canned tomatoes, drain and rinse, then layer over rice/beans/cheese, then put the whole thing in the oven or microwave until heated through. If using fresh tomato, then heat plates before adding tomato. Then top warm mixture with cold lettuce (fresh tomato if applicable), and dressing.

If you want to use this as a packed lunch, it does reheat really well. Just use two containers--one for the hot parts and one for the cold parts. Heat the hot parts, then add on the cold parts...voila, easy meal on the go!

Risgrot

"reese-grit"
Rice cereal, a recipe my husband brought home from Norway. I admit I wasn't thinking it sounded very appetizing, but it's really quite good.
It's traditionally served with butter and cardamom, but cinnamon or cinnamon-sugar is good too and may be a more familiar taste for some.



1 cup short grain rice (other white rice will do, but short grain is best)
1 1/2-2 cups water
1 cup milk
butter
cardamom, cinnamon, or cinnamon-sugar

Put water and rice in a saucepan and simmer until water is dissolved (or nearly so). Add milk and keep simmering until all is soft and liquid is gone. Keep a good eye on it so that it doesn't boil over or burn to the bottom of the pan!
Serve hot with butter and cardamom or cinnamon.

Black Bean & Brown Rice Veggie Burgers

I may give up ground beef now. If you leave off the cheese these are easily vegan as well. If you just stack the patty with the veggies and no bun, then it's gluten-free. ☺
Rice + beans = a complete protein, and we find these just as filling as meat burgers. For variations, add barbecue sauce to the mixture, top the burgers with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole instead of traditional burger toppings.

• 1 can black beans rinsed and well drained or about 1/2 cup dry, cooked until soft (alternately, use refried black beans)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice, (1/2 cup dry) cooked until soft (drain any excess liquid)
• Cheddar Cheese (we like grating about 1/2 cup of cheese and mixing it right in with the beans and rice, it helps everything stick together...alternately place a slice of cheese on top of the burger while it's cooking on the second side)

Mash up beans with a fork. Add rice (and cheese if desired) and blend well. Pack into tight balls--I use a round scoop like this --->
and then smoosh them out a bit in the pan, but the scooper compacts them nicely. Fry in a little oil (a cast iron skillet works wonderfully). Cook 4-5 minutes per side, or until the surface of the patty gets a bit browned and crunchy. Don't try to do it faster--they will fall apart!! I put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese. Put on a bun and accessorize as desired. ☺

This makes about 2 1/2 cups of mixture, and the original recipe said that made 4 patties, but we don't make them quite that big or that thick or something, because I was able to get 5 or 6 patties (4-5" across) from a batch. We normally make slightly smaller burgers so I could get 6+ of those.

Leftover bean/rice mix is great rolled up in a tortilla with some sour cream and guacamole by the way. ☺

Harvest [Bean] Pie

My husband is scared of this pie, but he confessed that if I hadn't told him it was made with beans, he would have thought it was a new variation on a pumpkin pie...it has the same spices and texture as a pumpkin pie, but less sugar and more protein. I also happen to like it a little better!

2 cups bean puree (recipe below)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
9" pie shell (uncooked)

Prepare bean puree (it takes overnight)
In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Add bean puree, milk, and evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Add sugar and all spices. Stir until blended. Pour into unbaked shell. Bake 1 hour at 375* or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Serve chilled (it's good with whipped cream!)

Bean Puree
1 cup dried beans
water for soaking
2 1/2 c water
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Soak beans overnight, drain and combine remaining ingredients in a pan. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer until tender--1-1/2 hours. Drain beans, reserving cooking liquid. Blend the beans with around half the liquid in a blender on medium speed (it will be about the consistency of pumpkin from a can). Makes about 2 cups.

Fast, Cheap, and Easy ("bangers & mash" goes American)

In Britain (so I hear) they will take mashed potatoes and then slice up some bangers (a sausage that my husband tells me actually isn't very good) and they mix it together and call it "Bangers and Mash." Here is my variation--the kind of meal that takes 5 minutes to make yet is a step up from PB&J, and even has a hint of healthy.

Mashed potatoes (I confess to using instant)
1 can of corn (drained)
some hotdogs, bratwursts, or kielbasa.

Make the mashed potatoes, mix in the corn.
Chop up the meat and either mix it in or serve it on the side. (I prefer to serve it on the side because it's easier to adjust proportions, but I do mix them up as I eat...)

Mujadarrah and Masala

I got this recipe from my friend here. It's actually Arab, but when made with the spices it's very reminiscent of Indian cuisine.

It's a lot like the simple lentils that I make, only with some ethnic spices and sweet caramelized onions on top. It's the same ingredients, but it's a very different meal. We liked it!

I just wanted to add my recipe for masala (nope, you don't have to buy the fancy spices, you can use combinations of your own!

MASALA
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Simple Lentils

This is a favorite of mine. It's very simple, pretty fast, and really really good for you. It can seem a little bland (Hubby admitted to being scared of it the first time he saw it!) but in fact it's quite filling, and reheats very well.


Rice (I use a white/brown blend, 1c boiling water to 1/3c rice, cover and simmer 20min)
Lentils (about 4cwater to 1c lentils, cover with a vent and simmer 15-25min)
Grated Cheddar Cheese
BBQ sauce or ketchup

optional additions: garlic powder, salt, onion (cooked in with rice or lentils, or sprinkled on later), tomato, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

Just layer it up, and dig in! We like LOTS of cheese.

Semi-Homemade Taco Soup

Alright, so I figure this is a 'cheating' sort of recipe, because it involves almost no real cooking--just a lot of dumping and stirring. On the other hand, it is yummy, and everybody needs an easy meal sometimes, right?

Prep time--about 5 minutes.

Cooking time--oh, another 5-10 minutes...

Meat (1 lb ground beef or 1 can chicken) (optional--lentils make a nice meat substitute too)

1 med onion, chopped

2-4c broth (anything that goes with your meat choice, amount varies by how thick you like your soup!)

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 can tomatoes (diced or stewed)

1 small can diced chilis

1 packet taco seasoning (or chili powder, salt, etc as desired)

(The soup here was made with canned chicken) --------->

If using beef, place in a large saucepan to brown. Saute onions in with the grease. If using chicken, add a Tbs of oil to saute the onions, then add the chicken second. If using lentils, cook them first. Add taco seasoning to the meat. Drain off extra grease as applicable.

Dump in all canned ingredients--do not drain. Stir a bit, then add as much broth as it takes to get the consistency you want.

Let simmer for a few minutes until warmed through.

Serve topped with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and/or fritos or crumbled corn chips.

Lentil soup

I have to say, in the most serious of tones

"Don't knock it till you try it!!!"

This is one of my favorite soups. I got it from America's Test Kitchen, so I've put their original recipe here, but in the blue are my 'tweaks.'

This takes about an hour to cook, but much of it is just 'let it simmer' time, so it's not actually that labor intensive.

Lentils du Puy, sometimes called French green lentils, are our first choice for this recipe, but brown, black, or regular green lentils are fine, too. I use plain old cheap brown ones and it tastes fine to me! Cooktimes are slightly shorter. Note that cooking times will vary depending on the type of lentils used. Lentils lose flavor with age, and because most packaged lentils do not have expiration dates, try to buy them from a store that specializes in natural foods and grains. Before use, rinse and then carefully sort through the lentils to remove small stones and pebbles. The soup can be made in advance. After adding the lemon juice in step 2, cool the soup to room temperature and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To serve, heat it over medium-low until hot, then stir in the parsley.

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 or 5 slices bacon cut into 1/4-inch pieces cut it before you cook it!
1 onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 carrots , peeled and chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 cloves /1 Tbs garlic , minced I do about 3Tbs. We like garlic.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander or cilantro, or nothing (I never have coriander around)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, or chili powder, or double the amount of paprika, or nothing at all
1 can diced tomatoes (14 1/2 ounces), drained
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
1 cup lentils (7 ounces), rinsed and picked over
2 teaspoon salt don't skimp--I usually cut down the salt in recipes, but ths soup needs it.
ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or just a little more broth or water
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or good homemade bone broth that you've frozen or canned
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves or not, cuz I'm just not fancy like that!

Here is my pretty picture of how I cut the bacon (with scissors, over the pan)

Fry bacon in large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Don't drain off that beautiful bacon fat! Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne; cook until fragrant, a
bout 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Another pretty picture! This is usually the part where the smell makes me begin to drool. No need to resist this very natural urge! Simply try to keep said drool out of the soup, and press forward!

Stir in lentils, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8-10minutes.
Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer. Add chicken broth and water; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.
Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth (or dump into a bowl and mix with an electric mixer), then return to pot; stir in lemon juice and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro and serve, garnishing each bowl with some of remaining cilantro.

By leaving out the bacon and using veggi broth, it would be easy to adapt this to be a vegetarian meal. Please though, use some fat in place of that bacon greast--you'll need it!

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

I adapted this recipe to make it a little healthier (reducing sugar and fat), and also adjusted some proportions so that it can be made with one (small) can of pumpkin (the size to make one pie).

Makes 24-30 muffins

4 eggs

1 1/2 c pumpkin (one small can)

1 1/2 c sugar

1 1/4 oil (I use olive oil, as the pumpkin flavor is strong enough to mask it)

2 3/4 c flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

about 1 c chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 2 c, but that is really overkill if you want to consider this anything but a dessert!)

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil together until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake at 400* for 16-20 min. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing.