Tag Archives: rice

Burritos with Pork Carnitas

2 Aug

We love a good burrito in my household. I’ve tried lots of different combinations, most of which I have shared on here. Tonight, we did a new combination and here it is!

Burritos with Pork Carnitas

Burritos with Pork Carnitas

– Large, burrito-size flour tortillas
– Cilantro-Lime Rice
– 1 can black beans
– Pork Carnitas (My pork butt wasn’t boneless, I didn’t cut it up, and cooked it in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Still did the broiler part, the crispness is the best part!)
– Shredded cheese
– Salsa (I really wanted pico de gallo, but wasn’t up to making it and couldn’t find it at the store I went to today!)

Heat each tortilla for a few seconds on each side in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Remove tortilla, and spoon in some of each of the fillings listed above. Roll the bottom of the tortilla over the fillings, fold in the sides, and continue to roll. I made 8 burritos, although the last 2 were a little skimpy on the black beans.

Finished Burritos with Pork Carnitas

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Creamy Mushroom, Green Bean, Chicken and Rice Casserole

3 Jul

Now that Katie is moving up a level in American Heritage Girls, she wants to do the next level of the Cooking badge. One of the requirements of the badge is to plan a meal for your family using a casserole as a main dish, checking the food pyramid to balance the meal. So, Katie decided she wanted a casserole with that was a mix of green bean casserole and chicken. To have a grain, she decided to add in rice. It was easy to put together, and quite tasty!

Creamy Mushroom, Green Bean, Chicken, and Rice Casserole

Creamy Mushroom, Green Bean, Chicken and Rice Casserole

What you need:

3/4 cup long grain uncooked rice
3/4 cup water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
2 cans green beans or 4 cups fresh green beans
1 can French’s fried onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ pieces

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with olive oil or with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together rice, water, cream of mushroom soup, milk, green beans, fried onions, garlic salt, and black pepper. Pour into the baking dish. Carefully mix in the pieces of chicken.

Cover dish tightly with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking for 15-25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

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Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Burritos

23 Jun

Since I only used part of a jar of salsa the other night to make our Quesadilla Chicken Sandwiches, I wanted something to use the rest. So, I immediately thought of Sour Cream Salsa Chicken and the burritos I have made with it, but I decided to skip the sour cream. And, instead of Spanish Rice, I thought why not Cilantro Lime Rice and black beans to be like the burritos we get when we eat out at Chipotle?  They turned out perfect, and one burrito each was more than enough to fill us up. This made about 8 burritos, with a little rice and chicken leftover. Again, more to tomorrow for lunch!

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Burritos

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Burritos

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can black beans
Cilantro Lime Rice
Large burrito size tortillas
Shredded cheese

How to make it:

In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and salt.

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Add chicken breasts. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning blend, top with salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, shred chicken.

In a small pot, heat black beans. Use a slotted spoon to stir and then drain when making the burritos.

Place a large skillet or griddle on stove over low heat. Place a tortilla in the skillet and warm for a few minutes. Remove from heat to counter top or cutting board to assemble burrito. Scoop shredded chicken, rice, black beans and shredded cheese onto the tortilla toward one end. Begin to roll from side closest to you, fold in sides, and roll until completely closed. If desired, cut in half for easier eating.

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Burrito Assembly

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Jollof Rice

25 Apr

I wish I had thought to take a picture of this, but maybe next time I make it. For our American Heritage Girls troop, we have been working on a World Heritage badge, and we talked about countries in western Africa. I found this recipe, and decided to make it to bring to share with my unit (Tenderhearts, ages 6-9). I turned back the heat somewhat, but this still turned out fairly spicy. Some loved it, some took one bite and were done. My family ate the leftovers, and they all really enjoyed it, so I’m sure I will be making it again soon. I’m sharing how I made it so I remember and also to share with the parents of the girls who requested that I give their moms the recipe!

Jollof Rice

What you need:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup diced chicken breast, cooked or uncooked (optional) (I omitted)
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2-3 cloves minced garlic or 1 teaspoon
1 Tablespoon ground paprika
1-2 Tablespoons ground cayenne pepper (I used 1 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 15oz can diced tomatoes, run through food processor for a few pulses
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (optional) (I omitted)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 10-12 oz package frozen peas
2 cups long grain rice
3 cups chicken stock

How to make it:

Add oil to a large stock pot. Next, add the diced chicken breast, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger, and salt. Stir continuously, and cook until chicken is no longer pink inside and vegetables have softened.

Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, curry powder (if using), thyme, and bay leaf. Cook another 3-5 minutes. Add frozen peas and rice. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 30-35 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is soft.

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Ground Beef, Summer Squash, and Rice Skillet

12 Oct

I recently acquired a zucchini and a yellow squash at a Kiwanis Club meeting. I have made plenty of different meals with zucchini and yellow squash, but wanted to try something new. So, I used what I had on hand, and came up with this combination. Even my little one liked it, and she’s been rather picky lately! It also took little time to put all together, which was nice with the busy nights we tend to have lately.

Ground Beef, Summer Squash, and Rice Skillet

Ground Beef, Summer Squash, and Rice Skillet

What you need:

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, sliced
1 cup cooked rice (I made it in my rice steamer)

How to make it:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat. Add in onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent. Next, stir in Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, tomato paste and beef broth. Add sliced zucchini and yellow squash. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until squash has softened. Stir in cooked rice and serve.

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Meatballs in Creamy Dill Sauce

25 Jan

This dish was inspired by the other part of Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals.  His dish was Swedish Meatballs with Celeriac and Spinach Rice.  I liked that he used dill, since I had some fresh dill on hand.  I looked at some other recipes online, and created a blend of a few different meatball recipes.  This was really, really good.  Everyone liked it, and there really wasn’t much leftover.

Below, I have the recipe for the meatballs and sauce.  I served it over rice with spinach, but mashed potatoes or egg noodles would work well with this too.  For the rice, I cooked the rice in my steamer, then put in a large bowl when it was done.  I quickly added chopped spinach to it while still very hot, mixing well.  That way, I got a vegetable in!

Meatballs with Creamy Dill Sauce

 

Meatballs with Creamy Dill Sauce

What you need:

2/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup grated onion
2 tablespoon fresh dill
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 quart beef stock
1/2 cup cream, half and half, or milk
1/4 cup fresh dill

How to make it:

In a large bowl, soak breadcrumbs in the milk for a few minutes.  Mix in onion, 2 tablespoons dill, ground beef, eggs, and salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Roll ground beef into 1″ balls.  Add to the heated skillet and brown each meatball on every side, in batches if necessary.  When browned, remove to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium low and melt butter in the skillet.  Mix in flour.  Cook, stirring often, until you have a brown roux.  Whisk in beef stock, then cream and 1/4 cup fresh dill.  Add meatballs into the sauce.  Cover and turn heat down to low.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until meatballs have cooked through to an internal temperature of 160 F.

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Baked Pesto Chicken

27 Jul

After Katie was born, my mom came and cooked for us and gave me some easy recipes.  One of the recipes was an Easy Parmesan Chicken; place chicken in a baking dish, cover with tomato sauce, cover with foil, bake, sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, bake again until the cheese melts.  I had pesto in the refrigerator to use, so I followed the same instructions as my mom’s recipe, just using  pesto instead of tomato sauce.  It turned out really good, both my kids even liked it!  I served it over pasta.

Baked Pesto Chicken

 

Baked Pesto Chicken

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Spinach Basil Pesto or Kale Pesto or a 8oz jar of pesto
Shredded mozzarella Cheese
Cooked pasta or rice

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Place chicken breasts in baking dish.  Spread pesto over all the chicken breasts.

Cover the baking dish with foil  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove foil.  Top the chicken breasts with the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 5-10  minutes, or until cheese it melted and chicken is cooked through.

Baked Pesto Chicken just out of the oven

Serve over cooked pasta or rice.  I poured the oil and pesto from the bottom of the pan over the pasta first, then served it with the chicken.

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Spanish Rice

5 Apr

This has been on the to-do list for WAY too long.   I used to just buy a packet, add water, cook, and be done.  But, since I have been cutting back on as packaged foods as possible, I wanted to give this a try tonight since I had all the ingredients on hand.  It actually wasn’t too bad time-wise, just a little extra prep work.  And, it turned out really good, my husband was really impressed and he’s been hard to please lately!

Spanish RiceSpanish Rice

What you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup long grain rice*
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth*
1 pound tomatoes, diced in food processor
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
*Note: Check the liquid to rice ratio recommended on the package of rice you are using and adjust rice and chicken broth quantity as needed

How to make it:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Pour rice into skillet to brown.  Stir in the onion and garlic, stirring continuously, until onions become translucent.

Meanwhile, add chicken broth, tomatoes, and all seasonings  to a medium saucepan.  Bring to a simmer.

Stir rice mixture into the liquid.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover.

Simmer while covered for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked.

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Orange Honey Sesame Chicken

14 Feb

Sesame Chicken has been a favorite in our house for quite a while now.  It’s a go to dish when we have vegetables to use up that are good in a stir fry, or just as a chicken dish to throw in the weekly meal plan.  I have gotten a ton of oranges lately from Bountiful Baskets and Sunizona FarmBoxes, so I decided to try to incorporate fresh squeezed orange juice somehow.  Also, the Sesame Chicken uses white sugar, but this time I decided to use honey in its place.  I have a lot of honey from a Bountiful Baskets 12 pound bucket to use, plus it’s more natural than the sugar I have.  It turned out really great!  It’s not overly orange tasting, which is what I was going for.  I also added in some fresh grated ginger, which I think I may do with the Sesame Chicken in the future as well.  (Quick tip for ginger, keep it in the freezer to keep longer, then just take it out, grate what you need, and put it back!)

Orange Honey Sesame Chicken

 

 

Orange Honey Sesame Chicken

What you need:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1″-2″ pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Veggies of your choice (tonight I used broccoli and green onions)
Cooked rice

How to make it:

Place flour and chicken in a gallon size zipper bag.  Shake to coat chicken in flour.  Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet in batches and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until white and no longer pink.

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized skillet, combine the soy sauce and honey in the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the honey is mixed well with the soy sauce. Stir in the orange juice, grated ginger, sesame oil and sesame seeds.  Pour over the chicken in the larger skillet and stir to coat.

Add in any chopped veggies you want.  For this batch, I used just broccoli.  Other times I have used different combinations of broccoli, onion, green, yellow, and red peppers, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, snow peas, water chestnuts, and mushrooms.  Cover your skillet and cook until veggies have softened.  I tend to leave the veggies a little crispy still because my husband likes them still crispy.  After other veggies have softened, add the green onions.

Serve over cooked rice.

Note: You can buy toasted sesame seeds, usually with in the section with other Asian grocery items.  If you can’t find them, to toast sesame seeds, place in a dry skillet and toast, shaking the pan, over medium high heat for a minute or so, or until fragrant and lightly browned. Do this first and cook the chicken in the same skillet to pick up more sesame flavor.  Also, if you are using a lot of veggies, you may want to double the ingredients for the sauce so there is some for the veggies.

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Sausage, Spinach, and Rice

7 Jan

Sausage, Spinach, and Rice

One of my favorite dishes I make at Thanksgiving is Wild Rice & Sausage Casserole.  And, while it’s great, it’s a little time-consuming considering it has to go in the oven.  So, I decided to try a little variation, use Italian sausage in place of breakfast sausage, add spinach, and do it in the skillet.  Turns out, this makes a nice, quick standalone meal!  The Italian sausage has enough spices that you don’t really need to add any more seasoning.  My kids both gobbled it down!

Sausage, Spinach, and Rice

What you need:

1 pound Italian sausage, hot or mild, casings removed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, wild, brown, or white, your choice
Grated Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Break up and brown sausage in a large skillet.  Add onions, and continue to cook until onions are soft and translucent.  Add spinach, and cook until wilted.  Stir in rice and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.  Serve into bowls and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese onto each serving.

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