Tag Archives: corn

Cheesy Mexican Rice Skillet DIsh

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cheeseytacoskillet

This dish was requested by my husband… and once you see the ingredients, you will see why! 🙂 Once again, taco/mexican/salsa etc. ingredients. He’s so funny, I love that he’s predictable in his likes for food. He’s very easy to please and will really eat anything I put in front of him… but he LOVES anything with this specific theme.

So, here is the “skillet” meal:

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 – 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1/4 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus an extra drizzle for cooking the onions
  • 2-3  cups cooked white rice (or leftover frozen rice… I cooked mine in my rice cooker)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cup medium salsa (I use Trader Joes)
  • 1 cup Rotel (or similar)
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 small sweet yellow peppers diced (or 1 small bell pepper)
  • Âľ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (why mozzarella? Because that’s what I had… )
  • 1 avocado, peeled and diced
  • 2 green onions (scallions) diced
  • Fresh cilantro, to taste

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DIRECTIONS
  1. Start the rice in the rice cooker according to package.
  2. Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ground beef (or chicken, turkey, etc.) and break it up a bit with a wooden spoon. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, and cook until the chicken has browned and the onion is translucent.
  3. Stir in the spices, chicken broth, salsa, rotel, peppers, corn, and black beans. Bring the liquids to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low.
  4. Once the rice is done, spoon into the meat mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese, and avocado over the rice and then cover once more until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Then sprinkle with green onion and cilantro and serve!

Filling!! And, if you are so inclined, would be great inside of a burrito shell, I am sure! Great great meal, and quite tasty and filling!!!! YUM!

Enjoy!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Taco Quinoa Skillet Meal (Meat Free!)

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QuinoaTacoSkilletMeal

This is made all in one skillet, ONE PAN!!! Seriously, this made my night SOOO much easier. Mix, simmer, top, serve! Whew! And… gotta say, serve this with chips, and it was really filling! YUM! So, easy, filling, tasty, goes well with chips… winner!

Ingredients:

1 cup organic white quinoa (Rinse well, just as you would rice!!!)
1 TB olive oil
1 can black beans (also rinse!)
1 clove garlic – minced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup Pace Salsa (Med.)
1/2 cup salsa verde (I used Trader Joes)
1/4 onion diced
dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin (orig. recipe called for 1/2 tsp… I was putting it in, and a BUNCH fell in… oops! Turned out great though!)
1 cup frozen corn
Zest and Juice of 1 lime
1 avocado (sliced and diced)
2 TB cilantro chopped
salt and pepper to taste

OPTIONAL: I topped mine with a bit of greek yogurt and shredded cheese… just to add a bit of “protein”. 🙂

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Directions:

  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Stir in quinoa, chicken broth, beans, salsas, corn, chili powder and seasonings; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
  • Remove from  heat when quinoa is close to being clear… no longer specks of white.
  • Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
  • Serve immediately

So easy, and delicious! We will be having this one again!!

And, for the quote of the day:

Proverbs14.15

Proverbs 14;15

Chicken and Veggie Curry with Fresh Herbs Over Coconut Cilantro Rice

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CurriedChickenandVeggiesOnCoconutRice

So, it’s been a long day… and I needed something to go with zucchini… yeah… so somehow I ended up making curry! 🙂 It was delicious though!

I am NOT a spicy fan. I prefer mild curry. I want the taste without the fiery burn making my eyes water. Due to that, if you prefer a slow BURN when you eat curry, making you need to drink milk while you eat it, spice it up. If you like MILD, then leave it as is!!!

Here goes:

Coconut Cilantro Lime Rice:

1 cup bismati rice
1 can light coconut milk (I use Trader Joes organic)
2 TB chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put the 1 cup of rice into a mesh strainer and rinse until the water runs clear. Then, put into a rice cooker (or pot). Then add the coconut milk and salt and pepper. If in rice cooker, just hit cook. It will pop up when done. If in pot, stir and bring to boil, then put on low and put lid on. Let simmer for 20 minutes…. don’t remove the lid!

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Chicken and Veggie Curry:

6 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, diced
1/2 onion diced fine
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or similar)
1 tsp thai red curry paste (orig. recipe called for 3 tablespoons… if you like it spicy… go ahead!)
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 can light organic coconut milk
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 carrot
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
fresh naan , for serving
  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Once hot, add the diced chicken and onions and saute the chicken until browned all over and cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place on a plate.
  2. Add another tablespoon coconut oil to the skillet. Add the red peppers, garlic, carrot and corn, saute 3-4 minutes and then toss in the zucchini, ginger and garlic. Saute the veggies another 5 minutes or until they just begin to soften. Add the chicken back to the skillet and toss everything together.
  3. To the skillet add the curry powder and curry paste and give everything another good toss. Cook 1 minute and then add the coconut milk and soy sauce. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and cilantro.
  4. Serve the curry over the rice. Add a spoonful of the mangos and a sprinkle of feta cheese. Eat with Naan!

 

Enjoy!!!

And, for the “Quote of the Day”:
from the Hymn Abide With Me, words by Henry Lyte

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Spicy Shrimp Tostado with Refried Black Beans and Guacamole

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spicyshrimpguactostado

These tostados were on my list since I saw them. I changed a few things, so now, the recipe is mine!! 🙂 I needed something pretty quick, but realized I was out of refried beans…. so, I made some out of canned black beans!!!

Recipe for Refried Black Beans:

1 can Organic Black Beans
1/2 cup organic low sodium vegetable broth
1 TB canola oil
3 TB finely diced onion
1 tsp. cumin
1 TB butter
1/8 tsp minced garlic

Refried Black Beans Directions:
Put oil and onion and cumin into sauce pan and stir and simmer until onions start to become translucent. In the mean time, rinse the can of black beans until all of the liquid that it is canned in is gone. I usually do this in a colander. Then, take the black beans and the vegetable broth, and put into a blender, or like me, the nutribullet. Blend until smooth. Then, add into the sauce pan with the onion and oil blend. Stir, and add the butter and garlic. Let simmer until cooked down and thick and able to “pull” from the bottom of the pan.

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Shrimp:

8-10 shrimp
2-3 TB olive oil (or similar oil)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
ground black pepper
Place shrimp into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Then sprinkle on the spices and toss. Place onto tin-foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. (This is for medium sized shrimp, you want to cook until no longer translucent).

Tostada Ingredients:

Shrimp (as cooked above)
Heated up frozen corn(about 2 TB per tostada)
Guacamole (about 2 TB per tostada)
diced tomatoes (as much as you’d like!)
Refried Black Beans (as cooked about) about 2-3 TB, as you’d like

I bought the corn tostadas. Place on a plate. Refried beans first, then guacamole, then the corn, tomatoes, then shrimp. ENJOY!!!!!!

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Grown Ups Grilled Cheese with a Quick Corn Chowder

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grwnupgrldchseandchowder

This was a quick dinner, in total took me about 25 minutes start to finish. Not too shabby since I had no clue what I was going to make when I walked into the kitchen!! I was going to make a type of sandwich and doctor up some soup I had from Trader Joes… but I found out it was expired. OOPS!! So, here’s what I came up with!

Chowder

Ingredients:

1 strip of bacon chopped into small pieces
4 small yukon gold potatoes diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups of milk (I used organic PLAIN coconut milk)
1 TB PLAIN (not vanilla!!) yogurt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 onion chopped
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce (to desired spiciness)
3/4 cup of corn (I used frozen)
Parmesan Cheese as garnish

Directions:

In a large pot (soup size) place the bacon pieces and start cooking to sizzling. Once starting to brown, add the onion and potatoes. Once the onions have started to brown, turn down the heat to 2 (simmer… med/low). Slowly add the milk, not allowing it to boil and then add the water. Cover with a lid and let simmer on low until the potatoes start to soften. Then, add the garlic and the remaining milk and whisk in the yogurt. Add the hot sauce, corn and the salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on low. When serving, add shredded parmesan cheese as garnish on top to add a salty-peppery cheesiness.

Grown up Grilled Cheese

2 slices of sourdough
1 slice aged swiss
1 slice gouda cheese
tomato
Fresh Basil
thinly sliced avocado
(butter on the undersides of the bread for in the skillet).

GrownupGrilledCheese

I put the buttered side down, and then added the cheese. When the cheese was melted, I added the toppings, melted a bit more and made sure the bread was sufficiently toasted, and then made into a sandwich and plated. YUM!

Enjoy!!

 

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Leftover “Crustless Pot Pie”

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Wasn’t even sure what to call this… It started out as me trying to use up leftovers and extra veggies unused in my refrigerator before I go grocery shopping again. Then, as I sat down to eat it… it tasted like pot pie filling… but no crust… and the pieces of chicken were still full tenderloins. Hmmm…. Well? Why not!?

LeftoverCrustlessPotPie

(This will make 3 servings or 4 small servings)

Ingredients:

1/2 bag of fingerling potatoes
1 lg carrot
3 chicken tenderloins
1 cup low sodium free range chicken broth
1 TB olive oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash
salt&pepper to taste
1/2 onion chopped
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cob of corn (I used leftover) with kernels removed from cob
1/2 of a zucchini
Grated Parmesan Cheese (sprinkled on top at the end)

Start out by putting the potatoes in a skillet w/the olive oil and carrots chopped. Stir, and add onions and garlic. After about 5 min add the chicken broth, lemon zest and juice, and seasonings. Drop in the chicken. (Mine was still frozen, but yours can be frozen or thawed). Simmer with lid on for about 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are soft and easily cut through with a fork. Sprinkle in the zucchini and corn, stir and put lid back on pan, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 min. Remove lid, sprinkle with cheese and stir. Add any salt&pepper to taste.

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ENJOY!

I also made a quick little dessert. I used cherries, brown sugar, raw organic sugar, lemon juice, oatmeal, flax meal and butter. Stirred it all together and baked covered w/tin foil for 30 min. Voila! 🙂

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Copy-Cat Chipotle Burrito Bowls! (With quick chips)

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These were AMAZING!!! I will most likely be repeating this recipe in my kitchen again!! Oh man, they were GOOD!

Ingredients: 

1 large chicken breast, “butterflied” (cut in half, and layed out flat)
2 TB of adobo sauce from a can of Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 TB olive oil

this is for 1 chicken breast, if you cook more, to make food for more than 3-4 people, double or triple the recipe. My recipe fed 4 people.

Combine the seasonings and sauce together with a spoon, and spread over both sides of the chicken breast. Put into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour “marinating”. You can marinate it for as little as 15 minutes, or overnight if you wish. After 

While the chicken is marinating, get the rice going.

After the chicken is done marinating, place on grill, or like me… use your trusty cast iron grill pan! Grill for 7-8 minutes per side, and cut a slice in the thickest part to make sure it’s cooked through and not translucent. Then, cut into 2 inch chunks for on the burrito bowl. ENJOY!

Build a Bowl ingredients: 

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Cilantro Lime Copy-cat rice: http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Chipotle-Cilantro-Lime-Rice-Copycat/step2/Chop-squeeze-mix-and-enjoy/

This recipe for rice that I found on this blog… PERFECT!!

1 cup rice
juice from 1/2 lime plus zest
1/2 TB olive oil (just a drizzle)
salt and pepper seasoning to taste
1/4 cup chopped FRESH cilantro

I cook my rice in a rice cooker. Take the 1 cup of Jasmine Rice, and place into a mesh colander. Wash the rice until it runs clean. Then, put into the rice cooker, and cover with water, just over the top, until if you put your finger to rest on top of the rice, the water will come just to the first “knuckle” on your pointer finger. Then, press cook and forget it! After the rice is done, you take out, fluff, and add the cilantro, lime juice and zest, add a bit of oil and salt and pepper. AMAZING!

Guacamole recipe is listed here: https://dancinandcookininthekitchen.com/2014/06/02/sunday-lunch/

Peppers & Onions: I just sliced up 1/4 of a yellow onion, and half of a red bell pepper, and sauteed in a tiny bit of olive oil until soft.

Scallion: I just sliced up 1 green onion.

Corn: The corn is just a bag of steamed frozen corn. You could also slice leftover grilled corn off of the cob… I imagine that would be AWESOME!

Lettuce: The lettuce is just romaine lettuce cut up.

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CHIPS:

I just took 4 flour tortillas, cut into 6 pieces each, sprayed the cookie sheet w/coconut oil cooking spray, and then the other side of the tortilla w/the cooking spray. Then, I sprinkled fine sea salt onto the one side of the chip. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Voila!

 

 

Mini Pepper “Nachos”

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These mini-pepper nachos are probably now one of my favorite either “snacks” or light and easy dinners. I followed the recipe exactly, so I cannot claim it as my own… and the picture was taken on my husbands cell phone late at night with bad lighting… 🙂

BUT… this is one I HIGHLY recommend. The only difference is that we use PLAIN Organic Greek Yogurt instead of Sour Cream.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/10/mini-pepper-nachos-with-corn-black.html

 

Honey Lime “Guacamole”… or “A Twist on Guacamole”

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HoneyLimeCilantrodip

I could also call this “Messy Bowl” 🙂

original recipe: http://easyrecipestodo.blogspot.com/2013/11/grilled-corn-avocado-and-tomato-salad.html

INGREDIENTS
1 pint grape tomatoes (I’m not a big tomato fan… I only had a few in there for “garnish”…)
1 ripe avocado
1 bag of Steam Fresh sweet corn (or 2 ears freshly grilled corn from original recipe)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
HONEY LIME DRESSING
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS
Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have some brown spots and be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices. Set aside and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half. Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.
HONEY LIME DRESSING
1. Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the avocados. Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle. Enjoy.

30-minute Southwest Chili

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My recipe is adapted from this original recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/southwestern-beef-chili-corn-00000000006977/index.html

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, garlic and bell pepper and 1/4 cup rotel and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
  2. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is slightly darkened, 1 minute.
  4. Stir in the beans, chili powder, 3 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Then add the corn. (I used 1/2 cup of frozen sweet white corn)
  5. Simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the corn.
  6. Divide the chili among bowls and top with the Cheddar and scallions.