I've found a new quick-n-easy meal, for those days that there's no leftovers, and I have no creativity (which is often). I have only done boxed mac-n-cheese a few times (I make shells-n-velveeta a couple times a month), but we eat an inordinate amount of hot dogs around here. Anyhow - chicken burritos! And Paul eats them, too.
1-2 cups of dry instant rice (cook in microwave according to directions). Add 1 can of beans (black, pinto, red), 1 can of chicken, a couple handfuls of frozen corn, and a packet of taco seasoning - nuke for about 2 more minutes. I wrap them up in a 8-inch tortilla with lots of cheese, and microwave again for 30 seconds.... The cheese melts and kind of "glues" the burrito together so it's not as messy. I even threw in some cilantro, which Nathan loved - the only time I've ever heard him say, "I like the green stuff!"
I fixed this (or a variation) twice last week. (The variation was a Mexican lasagna type thing with layers of filling, cheese, and tortillas.) I like it because it's tasty, and not a "kiddie" meal, like hot dogs and mac-n-cheese tend to be labeled - I actually had it for lunch when my mom came over last week. It's also relatively healthy - it's got the grains (I use instant brown rice), meat/bean protein, and cheese, and some veggies, too, with the corn. (I also do a vegetarian version with no chicken... The chicken seems to fill the boys up better, though.) And I can have the whole thing ready in the time it takes to get the water to boil for noodles.
I guess the clincher in making it a lunch-time staple was when Paul pronounced it "pretty good" and told me I could make it again. Coming from my anti-poultry husband, that was as good as 5 stars for me. :)
In a related theme - I found a recipe for homemade taco seasoning that I will be using from now on. I used the last package (we normally have a boon on hand, but swore I'd just bought some last month when I did this month's shopping), so found this on Allrecipes.com:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 cups of dry instant rice (cook in microwave according to directions). Add 1 can of beans (black, pinto, red), 1 can of chicken, a couple handfuls of frozen corn, and a packet of taco seasoning - nuke for about 2 more minutes. I wrap them up in a 8-inch tortilla with lots of cheese, and microwave again for 30 seconds.... The cheese melts and kind of "glues" the burrito together so it's not as messy. I even threw in some cilantro, which Nathan loved - the only time I've ever heard him say, "I like the green stuff!"
I fixed this (or a variation) twice last week. (The variation was a Mexican lasagna type thing with layers of filling, cheese, and tortillas.) I like it because it's tasty, and not a "kiddie" meal, like hot dogs and mac-n-cheese tend to be labeled - I actually had it for lunch when my mom came over last week. It's also relatively healthy - it's got the grains (I use instant brown rice), meat/bean protein, and cheese, and some veggies, too, with the corn. (I also do a vegetarian version with no chicken... The chicken seems to fill the boys up better, though.) And I can have the whole thing ready in the time it takes to get the water to boil for noodles.
I guess the clincher in making it a lunch-time staple was when Paul pronounced it "pretty good" and told me I could make it again. Coming from my anti-poultry husband, that was as good as 5 stars for me. :)
In a related theme - I found a recipe for homemade taco seasoning that I will be using from now on. I used the last package (we normally have a boon on hand, but swore I'd just bought some last month when I did this month's shopping), so found this on Allrecipes.com:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
The suggestion is to use 3 Tbsp, but I thought it was spicier than the packaged seasoning, so I'd go with 2. I'm going to make up a jar of it to have ready to use whenever we want it. Even with buying the Always Save brand (33c each), this will be cheaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment