This recipe is very basic. You can pretty much anything you want it. This time I added corn and a splash of fresh lime juice. Next time I want to add black beans and cilantro. Wow. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when starting this recipe. There are a ton of Mexican Rice recipes out there but they’ve always disappointed me.

This Mexican Brown Rice wasn’t disappointing at all. In fact, it’s the best Mexican Brown Rice I’ve ever had. And that’s saying a lot. If you make this, you will love it! It’ll be an instant hit with your family. My kids just gobbled it up, so you know it’s good!

Mexican Brown Rice

recipe adapted from Delightful Repast

Ingredients:

• 3 & 1/2 cup water or chicken broth (I did half and half)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 & 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic
• canned corn, black beans, peas, cilantro, lime (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, put your water and salt. Bring to a simmer, and let go while browning the rice.
2. In a large-sized saucepan, add the rice, olive oil, and garlic clove. Brown on medium heat until rice is browner, about 15-20 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on it. Mine started to brown quickly. When done, remove garlic clove.
3. Slowly add the tomato sauce to the rice, and mix. Then add the water to the rice and bring to a boil. Stir once and then put a lid on it and reduce heat to low. Leave undisturbed until water is gone and rice is tender, about 20-30 minutes. (Mine took the full 30 minutes.) I threw in my corn when there was about 10 minutes left with the rice.
4. Take a peek and make sure the rice is done. If it is, let sit off the heat for 10 minutes.
5. Garnish, serve and enjoy!

– Jill

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A few nights ago I made these awesome chicken tenders. Seriously, best chicken ever. Ever. While I was trying to decide what to make with them, on our counter was a bunch of red potatoes. Chicken and potatoes are so perfect together.

I cut up some potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, and sprinkled a mixture of panko crumbs and freshly grated parmesan cheese on top, baked them for 30 minutes and they were perfect. So perfect. Crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. A perfect side dish. Just wait until you make these, you will love them!

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

recipe original from Reini Days (although there’s potato recipes everywhere on the web!)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb red potatoes, washed and quartered
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 cup Italian style Panko Crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with non-stick spray.
2. Put potatoes on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and then mix them around until they are evenly coated.
3. Sprinkle panko crumbs and cheese on top.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, mixing once, until potatoes are done and fork tender.
5. Enjoy!

– Jill

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These are my favorite side dish when it comes to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any party. They’re so good– cheesy, crunchy, full of potatoe-y goodness. Yum.

I look forward to these every year. My mother-in-law makes them and they are a huge hit!

Party Potatoes

recipe from my MIL

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs frozen hashbrowns
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1-10 oz can of cream of chicken soup
• 2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ C melted butter
• ½ tsp garlic salt
• ½ Cup chopped onion (optional)
• 1 pint sour cream

• ½ C parmesan cheese
• ¼ C melted butter
• 2 Cups crushed cornflakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl mix your hashbrowns, salt, pepper, soup, cheddar cheese,1/2  melted butter, garlic salt, onion, and sour cream. Pour into the greased baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, mix the parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup melted butter, and cornflakes. Sprinkle on top of potatoes, and bake for 45-60 minutes or until done.
4. Enjoy!

– Jill

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These are good. Delicious. A little spicy. And really, can you ever go wrong with potatoes?

And you know what I did? I made some homemade ketchup to go along with it. I love it. That recipe is coming on Friday.

Seasoned Potato Wedges

recipe slightly adapted from The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients:

• potatoes, washed and cut into wedges (I used about 4 lbs. We were hungry!)
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. Mix your potato wedges, oil, chili powder, and garlic powder in a large bowl.
3. In a single layer, spread seasoned potatoes on the baking sheets. Season with salt.
4. Bake 30-40 minutes or until done. I like to flip my wedges about halfway through.
5. Enjoy!

– Jill

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I’ve made this twice already this week, and have plans to make it many times more.

The pictures aren’t much to look at, but I can tell you that this flatbread is wonderful. The first time I made some it was gone in a flash. Reinman and I were huddled around the pan and we couldn’t eat it fast enough.

The herbs and the olive oil are magic in this simple bread recipe. Make it and you won’t be disappointed.

Herb and Olive Oil Flatbread

recipe from Ultimate Daniel Fast

Ingredients:

• 2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 T flaxseed meal (optional)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Mix flour, flaxseed, rosemary, salt, and water in a large bowl until well-combined. Knead for about 5 minutes, and then let rest at room temp. in bowl covered tightly in plastic wrap for 30-60 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness to cover an oiled 11×17-inch baking sheet. With a fork, poke holes all across dough. Mix the basil, parsley, and garlic with the olive oil. Use a brush, and spread oil mixture on dough. Score dough with a knife to make 12 pieces (you don’t want to actually cut the dough all the way through, so go lightly).
3. Bake 15-20 minutes or until slightly crispy. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes on pan before eating.
4. Enjoy!

– Jill

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I made this salad last week for a get together, and it was so delicious, and so easy I just had to share it.

Lettuce. Pears. Pecans. Feta cheese. Bacon. You can’t go wrong with this salad. Bring it to your next gathering, and everyone will love you!

Autumn Chopped Salad

recipe from Espresso and Cream (love the blog name!)

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
• 2 medium pear, chopped
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• Poppy Seed Salad Dressing (I used Marzetti)
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (I used Kraft)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon, and feta cheese. Drizzle with both dressings. I did about 2/3 cup of Poppy Seed Dressing, and about a 1/3 cup of the Balsamic.
2. Enjoy!

– Jill

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Day 4 of the challenge. So far, it’s been easy. We have a ton of stuff to eat including a tub of ice cream. Needless to say, Reinman and I had ice cream sundaes last night and it might have the been the best thing ever.

A friend of mine gave us a bunch of veggies from her garden, which was very nice of her especially since the only thing that’s been growing in my garden are herbs (and one red pepper, and a tiny watermelon).

When thinking about what to make with all these veggies the first thing that popped into my head was Ratatouille. It was something new to me, and since Ratatouille is my favorite Pixar movie it really was an easy decision.

Ratatouille was a bit of a pain to make, what with mandolining all those veggies, but the end result was so worth it. The veggies still  had some of their crispness, and the Italian seasonings I used gave the dish almost a spaghetti taste. It was very good, and I will be making it again.

So, what to make with Ratatouille? French bread, of course! And this was probably the best bread I have ever made!!!!

Seriously best bread ever. I will be making this again. Probably tomorrow. The outside was crispy, and the middle was chewy. Perfect.

I should also mention that this French Bread was very easy to make. So, you really should give it a try.

Today on my list to make, to try, is homemade hamburger buns. Wish me luck! Last time I attempted them all I got were hard, round rocks. Blah.

Ratatouille and French Bread

Ratatouille recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen and French Bread recipe adapted from Food.com

Ratatouille:

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 onion finely chopped)
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 T olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp italian seasoning, divided
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 long red pepper
• 1 long yellow pepper
• 1 green pepper
• (I also was going to add an eggplant, but it had gone bad– so if you have that go ahead and add it)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put tomato puree into the bottom of an oval baking dish (I used a 2 & 1/2 qt dish). Drop in the minced garlic, onion, 1 T olive oil, 1/2 tsp italian seasoning, and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
3. Trim the ends of the zucchini and squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the peppers, and take out the core, making sure to leave the edges intact.
4. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut the zucchini, squash, and peppers into very thing thin slices, about 1/16-inch thick.
5. On top of the tomato sauce, arrange the veggies from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a little bit of each surface is visible, alternating the vegetables.
6. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on top, along with more salt and pepper, and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top of all of that.
7. Cover the dish with a piece of parchment paper that’s cut to fit the inside.
8. Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling up around the veggies, and you can see the veggies are done but not totally limp. I think I baked mine around 45 minutes.
9. Enjoy immediately!

French Bread
(makes enough for two loaves)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 T yeast
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 5-5 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar in a large bowl. Allow yeast to proof or foam, about 10 minutes.
2. Add oil, salt, and 3 cups of flour; beat for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in 2 cups of flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
6. Punch down and divide in half.
7. Shape dough into two long, slender loaves.
8. Put parchment paper on a large baking sheet, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on pan and cut three large gashes on top of each loaf.
9. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
10. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. You can spray water on the loaves while baking to get a really crispy crust. (I did this twice.)
11. Enjoy!

– Jill

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