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Happy Monday, Friends! I trust you had a blessed Easter yesterday! We had a special day celebrating our risen Savior!
After our church’s on-line service, I fixed a Roast Chicken dinner for my husband and me – quite different than it would normally have been, but it was good! However, we Continue reading “Getting the Most Out of Your Easter Dinner Leftovers”
Sunday dinner at our house is typically the traditional southern Sunday meal. We eat a full meal like roast beef or roasted chicken, served with a couple sides and probably a little dessert of some kind.
But sometimes even tradition needs to be changed up just a little. Recently I was pondering what to fix for our Sunday dinner, when it dawned on me that I’d been considering making brunch foods for this first day of the week feast. With that much Continue reading “Sunday Brunch”
If you love Mexican foods the way we love Mexican foods, the title of this recipe alone will draw you in! I mean what could be wrong with combining a fajita and a burrito? You have the sauteed vegetables, the rice, the fresh veggies and sour cream and cheese…yeah, you know what I mean! This past year I was introduced to the Burrito bowl. You take all the stuffings of a burrito and eat it out of a bowl rather than a tortilla. What a great lunch idea! I usually always have all the ingredients for this recipe on hand, so it’s a perfect addition to my menu!
Not only is this recipe DELICIOUS, it’s also super fast and super inexpensive! There is no meat in this fajita – instead there are black beans. Beans are a great source of protein and much cheaper than meat, so if you’re looking to reduce your grocery bill, adding a meal or two a week like this will really help you save! Here’s how you make it:
Fajita/Burrito Bowls
Ingredients:
1 {16 oz} can black beans rinsed and drained
1 sweet pepper sliced
1 onion, sliced
1/2 Cup Corn – Fresh or frozen
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Heat a medium sized skillet with vegetable oil and onion and peppers until cooked through. Add the beans, corn and all the spices and sauté for few minutes more.
Remove from heat and add a little chopped cilantro (I forgot to add that!). Serve over a bed of rice. Serve with your choice of other burrito ingredients such as:
The bowl below might look like a bowl of mush, but it’s soooo good!
Have you ever had a burrito bowl? What did you think?
I hope you’ll give this meat-free recipe a try! Enjoy!
From my country kitchen,
Every Monday I’m showing you what’s been in my Oven that I’m lovin’! Ready?
This was Thanksgiving Dinner at my mom’s last Thursday at 1:00. Don’t you wish every day’s lunch looked like this…
Ha, well, maybe not that much food, but tell me, is it just me, or do others find lunch a difficulty? I’m usually well into a busy day and just need a quick bite to eat, but I find it hard to stop my day and fix something that’s tasty and quick.
As a matter of fact, even breakfast poses problems. I’m not ready to eat when I first get up, and by the time I’m ready for a bite, it’s too late to want to get into any big cooking ordeal to accomplish what I need to give me energy for the rest of the morning!
Recently I prepared these Make-Ahead Omelets and froze them. I made tiny ones for the shower I hosted. I took the leftovers and froze them in a plastic container, putting sheets of waxed paper in between the rows of omelets.
Then I popped a frozen muffin into the microwave and it made the perfect breakfast! In a matter of about 4 minutes everything was hot and ready to eat. That’s better than instant oatmeal – and a lot tastier!
Then another help came for lunch. I had made Sloppy Joe’s for our meal after Sunday night church, and had plenty left over. Wrapping them individually in waxed paper, I warmed them at about 80% power for about 45 seconds.
It dawned on me then – why don’t I make up something like this at the beginning of each week and have it prepared in the fridge? Lunch could be less than a minute away each day! If you take your lunch to work, it would be so easy to have it packed and ready in the morning before you head out the door.
I’ve come up with a few ideas of things that would be made ahead and ready. Here’s my starter list:
Breakfast:
Baked Oatmeal
Lunch:
Sloppy Joes
Broccoli Soup
Salad in a jar – Like this one (I haven’t made this particular recipe, but I made one similar and they are great do-ahead salads!)
Chicken Salad – Ready for sandwiches, or to eat alone.
I hope this encourages you to prepare ahead for your busy mornings and lunchtimes. When you’re heading into Christmas, why not take away a little stress by having some nutritious breakfasts and lunches all ready to serve?
What quick tips do you have for breakfast and lunch?
With love from my country kitchen,
Happy Monday, friends! I trust your weekend was fabulous! I had a weekend of watching God at work! I can’t wait to tell you about it! Thanks to those of you who prayed for me! I’m so grateful!!
I promised I would share the recipes from the gathering here a week ago, so let’s start with one of the savory dishes! When I was making my menu for my Spring Ladies’ Tea I knew I wanted some kind of salad that was refreshing, pretty and satisfying. Then I saw Pioneer woman make an Asian Noodle salad on her show and knew I’d found what I needed! The original recipe calls for spaghetti noodles, but I wanted to keep the menu to need a “fork only,” so I changed it to pasta shells and I was well satisfied. This is so colorful, and it made a ton! The leftovers were really good, too! You could adjust the vegetables to your family’s liking, of course!
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
Salad:
8 ounces thin spaghetti
One 8-ounce bag julienne/fine-cut carrots (about 1 1/2 cups)
One 6-ounce bag baby sweet peppers, seeded and sliced thinly into rings (about 1 cup)
One 4-ounce bag bean sprouts (about 1 cup)
3 English cucumbers, peeled and sliced
3 scallions, sliced
Up to 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 head or more napa cabbage, sliced
1/2 head or more purple cabbage, sliced
1/2 bunch kale, leaves torn off the stalks and shredded
2 cups peanuts, chopped
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
P.S. I added a bottled Peanut Sauce to the salad for a little heat and we loved it!
For the salad: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti to al dente according to the package directions. Drain, rinse and let cool.
Mix together the cooked spaghetti, carrots, peppers, bean sprouts, cucumbers, scallions, cilantro, napa cabbage, purple cabbage and kale. Add the peanuts and toss together.
For the dressing: Whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil and garlic in a medium bowl.
Pour the dressing over the salad and mix together with tongs or your hands. If the salad seems a little dry, just mix up a little more of the wet ingredients of the dressing and throw it in. It’s a very organic process.
Transfer to a large platter and serve.
One of the desserts I served that seemed to be a favorite was Key Lime Tarts. I wish I could say they were so complicated and I labored hours over them, but that is not true at all! They were the easiest thing I made!
I made up my pie crust recipe – 2 Cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 Cup Crisco, ice water and cut out small circles and baked them in a mini tart pan. (If you need a video tutorial on pie making here’s one I did several years ago) https://youtu.be/d3Wn-4bLdWI
I froze the shells early in the week then on the day of the Tea, I pulled them out and piped into each shell some Key Lime filling I purchased at an Amish Store nearby. It was sooo flavorful and delicious! Then, I whipped up fresh cream with a little powdered sugar added, and piped it onto the top of each tart. I finished by zesting a lime and sprinkling the zest on top! Yummy!
I failed to get a good picture of tea Tea punch I made, but it was refreshing and simple, so I need to share it with you! The tea was in the punch bowl below!
Here’s the recipe:
2. Discard tea bags and mint. Pour into a 1-gal. container; add peach nectar, lemonade concentrate, and Simple Sugar Syrup. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.
3. Pour chilled tea mixture into a punch bowl or pitcher. Stir in ginger ale and club soda just before serving. Garnish, if desired.
My menu also included Chicken Salad, Crackers, Cheese Straws, Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Honey Lemon Drop Cookies (here is my outcome of that recipe).
Oh, I made sugar cookies shaped into tea cups…and promptly left them in the freezer! Do you ever do that?!
With love from my country kitchen,
RefreshHer 