Mexican Rice

I learned how to make "real" Mexican rice in Mexico. I love it. But honestly it was without a recipe and it doesn't always turn out. It is delicious when it does however. I have been looking for a recipe that tastes similar but has instructions and measurements I can follow. I hit the jackpot with this recipe. It's delicious, easy, and doesn't take too long. Plus it's way healthier than the rice I used to make.

Mexican Rice

2 cups long grain white rice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 medium tomatoes
1/4 onion choped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
4 cups hot chicken broth (Or 4 cups water and 2 bullion cubes)
1/4 cup frozen or fresh peas
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add rice, stir to coat with oil. Lower the heat to medium and cook until each grain is separate and pale golden- approximately 8-10 minutes.
2. While rice cooks place the tomatoes, onions, and garlic (and boullion cubes if you are using instead of chicken broth) in the blender and puree.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and pour tomato mixture over the rice. Mix well.
4. Add hot broth (or hot water) peas, carrots and salt, stir. Replace the lid and let sit for 10-15 minutes. If any liquid remains, replace the lid and cook for several more minutes.

Fuity-O's

This is a Stewart recipe. If my sister-in-law were available to read this blog she would laugh at me for adding this recipe (She's on a mission). I was a skeptic for a long time about this recipe being any good. I for one think Cheerios are disgusting and didn't think there was a way you could make them taste good. The first time she made them for me, I didn't like them at all, but she admits she was a frugal college student and bought all off brand items to make them. The first time I "really" tried these was Christmas 2011 at my in-laws house in Silver City. I was sold! I could not stop eating these yummy simple treats. And best part they are even easier to make than rice crispy treats and a lot less calories. So if you need an easy treat to take to a scout meeting or a neighbor down the street and you have 5 minutes... cook up some Fruity-O's!

Fruity-O's

This is a double batch

1 (3 oz) package of Jell-O
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter (or margarine)
4 cups Cheerios

Grease a 9X9 pan or baking dish. In a large sauce pan, blend dry Jell-O, corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in Cheerios until thoroughly coated. Turn into prepared pan. Grease spoon or spatula and spread mixture in pan. Refrigerate. When set, cut into squares.

Asparagus Cashew Rice Pilaf (with chicken)

My friend Rachel shared this recipe with me. I forgot to ask her if I could share it, but I know she got it from somewhere else so I'm sure it's okay.
I LOVE ASPARAGUS! Growing up it used to grow out at my Grandpa's farm. We would get a couple of bunches each year from him, but there wasn't much and it seemed like a treasure each time. My mom would make Cream of Asparagus soup. We loved it. I don't think she ever bought asparagus, because the only time I remember having this soup was when my grandpa would give it to us. Maybe, it was as expensive then as it is now and that's why she didn't buy it. Regardless, whenever I find it on sale (and sometimes just when I want it) I buy a lot of it. I also make cream of asparagus soup, although I make it different than my mom did growing up, but it is so delicious. I didn't have a lot of other recipes for asparagus so that was mainly what I used it for. Rachel made this for my family one night and I have loved this recipe ever since. It is so light and yummy and for some reason it brings out the asparagus flavor better than any other recipe I've tried. So enjoy!

Asparagus Cashew Rice Pilaf (with chicken)

2 Tbsp Butter
2 oz uncooked spaghetti noodles (broken)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/4 cup uncooked Jasmine rice
3 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
1/2 lb asparagus (cut into inch pieces, and you can use as much or as little as you want. I like more rather than less)
1/2 cup chopped cashews
1 grilled chicken breasts diced or shredded (The original recipe doesn't call for chicken but that's how Rachel served it to us and that's how I've made it. I just rub a little olive oil and salt and pepper and bake it, but it would be so good with grilled chicken)

1. Melt butter over medium low heat. Add rice, onion, and garlic. Saute until rice starts to turn a light golden brown color. Add broken noodles and saute a little longer. Add broth, bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked through and liquid is gone.

2. Grill or cook chicken breast, shred, or cube. Set aside.

3. Broil asparagus on foiled baking sheet for 3-4 minutes. Throw rice, chicken, and asparagus together and serve warm topped with chopped cashews.

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan

After the last successful stuffed pepper recipe I was searching for more delicious recipes. This is one I stumbled on and we love it. I have made it twice already and like I've said before if we make it more than once and my family will eat it, it's a keeper.

Stuffed Green Peppers

1 cup long grain brown rice
4 large green peppers
1 large onion diced
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 links of Italian sausage, browned
1/2 tsp ground fennel
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup mozzarella shredded cheese

(I'm lazy and don't want to type the directions so they are copy and pasted from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2010/09/recipe-for-stuffed-green-peppers-with.html 
It's really not that difficult. It seems like a lot of directions....).

 Cook rice according to package directions, or using a rice cooker. (Rice can be cooked ahead and used in this recipe later.)

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Trim bottom of bell peppers so they have a flat surface to stand on. Cut off a fairly generous amount of the stem end of peppers, then remove seeds. Place hollowed-out peppers in a baking dish that you've sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil. (A dish that's close in size to the peppers will work best.)

Remove stem part from the pepper caps and trim off any white membrane, then dice pepper caps and the onion into fairly small dice. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet, then saute diced pepper and onion for 3-4 minutes, until they are starting to soften but aren't browned. Remove pepper-onion mixture to a bowl, add 1 tsp. more olive oil, then squeeze sausage out of the casing and cook until it's lightly browned, breaking apart with the back of the turner.

Put the onion-pepper mixture back into the pan with the sausage, add the dried spices, and saute 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors. Then add cooked rice and Parmesan cheese, season the mixture with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and cook just long enough to warm, about 1-2 minutes.

Stuff the filling mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, using a spoon to press the mixture down so it's tightly packed into the pepper shell. (A few years ago I stopped pre-cooking the peppers before stuffing, and now I prefer peppers that are stuffed raw.) If you have any extra filling, you can put it in a small ramekin and bake along with the peppers. Bake peppers for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and put a generous pinch of grated mozzarella on top of each pepper. Put peppers back into the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes more, until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

You can freeze leftover peppers for a month or two, although the frozen peppers will be a little softer in texture (but still very tasty.) I cut them in half top-to-bottom before freezing and freeze two halves in a small baking dish with a snap-on lid.

Southwest Salad with Spicy Cilantro Dressing

Here is another good healthy dish. I have made similar salads in the past. They usually call for some sort of Avocado dressing, which are usually delicious, but very messy to make and don't last more than a day. That was my favorite part about this salad. The dressing is very low in fat and delicious for several days after, so left overs are not out of the question. I still don't own a grill so I don't have the luxury of adding grilled chicken but i just bake my chicken breast with a little bit of olive oil, salt and ground pepper and it tastes great.

Southwest Salad with Spicy Cilantro Dressing

Romaine lettuce
Red bell pepper
Corn (canned is good)
Black beans
Green onion
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced grilled chicken breast

Dressing

1- 6 oz plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup minced cilantro
2 Tbsp mayo
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 tsp dill
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (use only a pinch if you don't want it to be as spicy)
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Mix your dressing and top chopped salad ingredients. Yummy!

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing

We have been trying to eat a little healthier in the Stewart home, and that means adding lots of veggies and fruits to our meals. James doesn't usually like some of the really healthy stuff I make but he made a deal with me that if we didn't eat out for a month he would eat anything I cooked including the weird healthy stuff and he also said I could buy the family first aid Doterra Essential Oils I have been wanting for awhile. It's pretty expensive but I know and he knows I would put all of them to good use and try and get others to do the same. (That's another story for my other blog). Anyway, I tried this recipe recently and I LOVED IT!!! Oh my goodness, it is such a fresh and delicious combination of flavors. We ate it as a main dish, but I could see myself making it the next time I'm asked to bring a salad to a ward potluck or something. I really could go on. TRY IT! You'll like it.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing

1 cup uncooked Quinoa
15 oz can garbanzo beans
3 roma tomatoes
1 orange bell pepper
1 1/2 cups of corn (frozen corn, thawed)
4 green onions

Dressing

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tsp basil (fresh if you have it)

Rinse quinoa and cook according to directions (I like to cook mine in chicken broth to add a little bit of flavor).
In a small bowl mix dressing and set aside.
Slice veggies and set aside.
When quinoa is cooked and cooled mix with veggies and dressing. Let cool in fridge and serve. YUM!

Cheese Steak Stuffed Green Peppers

This is a Pinterest "NAIL" as in "NAILED IT!" This is also a popular pin. And it is worth making too. We have already repeated the recipe which is a sure fire way to tell that it is a keeper. I have made changes to the original recipe and I think you should note them. The original recipe calls for WAY TOO MUCH butter and oil. All you need is about a Tablespoon of Olive Oil is all. The original recipe also calls for mushrooms. I made it with mushrooms the first time even though I don't like them, and it was good, but I like it WAY more with out mushrooms. Last time I made them I threw in some sun-dried tomatoes just because I had them in my fridge. It was delicious! Which makes me believe this is a very versatile recipe and you could throw in just about anything and bake it in a green pepper with melted cheese and it would be delicious. YUM!!

Cheese Steak Stuffed Green Peppers

8 oz thinly sliced roast beef (I got mine cut from the deli.... SO GOOD)
8 slices of provolone cheese
2 large green peppers
1 med sweet onion
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of garlic (minced)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice peppers in half, remove stems and seeds
Slice onions and saute over medium heat with garlic and olive oil until onions are translucent/caramelized.  Throw in sliced roast beef and saute for about 5 more minutes.
Line halved peppers with a slice of provolone cheese
Pile onion meat mixture high in the pepper and top with another slice of provolone cheese
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

*If you have some sun-dried tomatoes in your fridge throw those in too. It was good but not necessary.

PS. I have my own picture to add but I left my camera in St. George, so I will add it later.