Cream of Chicken Rice

This is one of our favorite fall-back meals. I make it when I haven't gone shopping for awhile and need something quick. When I took it out of the oven this time, Samantha came in and started jumping up and down saying, "I love this dinner!" That's always a good sign.

Cream of Chicken Rice

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1/2 onion, chopped

2 c. milk

1 c. uncooked rice

Boil chicken for 1 hour on stove (or however you like to cook it). Shred the chicken. Mix all the ingredients together. Pour into casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Stir occasionally so the rice will cook evenly.

I sometimes add broccoli into this mix, or you can top it with buttered cracker crumbs. This is how it looks when it's done.

Our favorite way to serve this is to spoon it onto your plate while it's really hot. Then add a little butter on top and let it melt. Top with salt and pepper.

This time I also served salad with it. The salad was simply red leaf lettuce, chopped spinach leaves, chopped carrots, cucumbers, and green peppers. YUM!

Red Beans over Rice

This meal is one I was introduced to on our trip to Dominican Republic. I never was one to just make a big pot of beans, but it was so delicious I had to try it at home! This was my 2nd time making it and it brought back wonderful memories. It's very filling too. I like it best with fresh fruit to offset the beans and rice.

Red Beans over Rice

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
1 t. dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 t. Accent seasoning
1/2 sm. bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 c. (1 lb.) dried red beans, soaked & cooked
2 t. seasoned salt
salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in pot large enough for all ingredients. Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add oregano, bay leaves, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

Bring to simmer and add cilantro and beans. Add enough water to cover (3-4 cups). Bring to boil, then reduce to low. Simmer and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until beans are tender.

Serve over rice.

Spanish Rice and Beans

I wasn't feeling well yesterday so Jeremy kicked it into high gear and was nice enough to make dinner for the family! :)  He decided to go with a "Mexican" theme and it turned out really good. Probably much better than it looks in the picture!

I wanted something with rice, so he decided to make Spanish rice and then find things to go with it. Everyone enjoyed the meal except Alexandra (she is 2). It was so cute to see the kids all trying "mixed" bites and getting excited. Nathan tried some of the quesadilla with rice on it and said, "Mmmmmm! Try this together - it's SO GOOD!" So Samantha put rice, beans, olives, sour cream and quesadilla in her mouth at the same time and did the same thing. So then the 3 older kids mixed and matched their bites and had quite an evening of discovery! I love seeing them be willing to try new things and actually get excited about the mix of flavors. I'll share how we made it all.

Spanish Tomato Rice
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. green pepper, chopped
1 qt. whole tomatoes
3/4 c. rice
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. pepper

Add all ingredients together in skillet. Stir and bring to boil. Simmer 45 minutes or until rice is tender. Note: For the tomatoes, I used home canned tomatoes and blended them to get rid of the big tomato pieces.

Refried Beans with Cheese
Put 1 can of refried beans into a glass dish and mix with a little water for a scooping consistency. Sprinkle the top with cumin and onion powder. Mix it all together. Add cheese on top and cook in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted.

Quesadillas
Place tortilla on a cookie sheet. Cover the tortilla with cheese and put on the top rack in the oven on broil. When cheese is melted, pull out the cookie sheet and place the 2nd tortilla on top of the melted cheese. Return the covered quesadilla back to the oven until the top tortilla is browned. Then take it out, cut it into pizza-like slices and serve. Sometimes I add green chilis to the cheese when I'm heating it up, but not this time.