Taco Casserole August 4, 2010

I made this a few weeks ago and we ate until we were ready to pop.  And then we ate some more.  This is definitely not a healthy meal, but some days, you just don’t care.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef (ground turkey would work, too)
1 packet taco seasoning powder
1 15oz can whole kernel corn (I prefer white shoepeg)
1 15oz can black beans
appx 2 cups cooked brown rice (I use the family size boil-in-bag variety)
16 oz shredded Mexican cheese blend
appx 1/4 cup taco sauce, any flavor
Tortilla/corn chips (any variety)

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Brown ground beef in a skillet, drain, then add taco seasoning powder, following cooking instructions on packet. Continue to simmer until most of the liquid has cooked out of the pan.  You can cook the rice and beef at the same time.

In a large bowl, combine beef, corn, black beans, rice, taco sauce, and roughly half of the shredded Mexican cheese blend. Spoon mixture into 9 x 9 pan, filling it halfway. Top with cheese. Spoon remaining mixture on top of cheese layer, and top with remaining cheese.

Spread tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, avoiding overlap. Bake casserole and chips until cheese is bubbly, roughly 20-25 minutes. Feeds at least six (or four hungry, greedy adults).

I apologize for the cell-phone quality picture…I’ll be using a camera shortly!

The Foodie August 4, 2010

I’ve posted a few pictures on facebook of meals I’ve attempted and have had several requests for recipes.  I decided a great place to showcase my (fairly) simple meals would be this blog.  I know, I know, another food blog *yawn* but I promise I’ll do my best to keep things interesting, light, and most importantly, EASY.

Besides, this blog should really reflect my personality and what I’m passionate about, and there’s not much that I’m more passionate about than food.

I practically grew up beside the stove; I have wonderful aunts that taught me the importance of being able to do more than simply prepare different recipes-they taught me how to cook.  My mother used to joke that I’d never go hungry as I could make something out of anything in the pantry.  When the mood strikes, I really do enjoy playing in the kitchen, and I love it when an experiment goes well (I’m not afraid to call for pizza when one does not).  I’ll post those successful experiments, and hopefully encourage those that are afraid of the kitchen to get in there and try something new!

I’m not a super fancy person, and most of my meals reflect that.  I love southern cooking (real comfort food), and I have a husband who is picky with vegetables, so you’ll see me trying to expand his culinary horizons without getting too crazy.  I don’t want him to be afraid of me going into the kitchen.

All that being said, I promise not to post anything I haven’t tried first.  I tend to take a lot of inspiration from recipes and use them as a jumping off point, so I will also do my best to measure while I cook (this will be hard, I’m very much a cook by sight person…adding ingredients until it “looks right.”), so I can give you an accurate recipe.  I also promise to use what I consider “normal” foods (all ingredients can be found in your local Publix/other grocer) at a reasonable cost (we’re newlyweds here!).  Lastly, as a working wife who takes evening classes twice a week, I aim for convenience!  Other than that, the sky’s the limit, and I hope you enjoy!