Mexican Rice

I have several ways I make this rice but it all stems from the same basic recipe.

You have to decide how much rice you are wanting to make and then follow basic proportion measurements from the rice bag/box/container.

In addition to the rice you will need:

1 Onion, diced

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

Chicken broth/stock measured for the amount of rice you are using

Salt to taste

Oil

The first thing you will do is place the dry rice, onion and oil in a skillet that has a lid.  Fry until the onions begin to turn opaque and the rice is toasty brown.  Once the rice is golden, add the chicken broth/stock and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook on low, covered, until all the broth is absorbed and rice is tender.

Another way I make this rice is to puree the tomatoes, onions and some of the broth in a blender.  Once the rice is golden, I add this mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce and cook, covered, until rice is tender.

I have also added frozen corn, canned corn, cumin, chili powder, garlic...the options are endless.  This is great with some homemade beans with enchiladas or any other Mexican feast!

White Cake with Strawberries and Cream Cheese Frosting

I found a recipe on Pinterest for a white cake that looked really good so I took that recipe and instead of the "Feather Frosting" I used my cream cheese frosting.  One thing that was a little different is I took some frozen strawberries, in sugar, and pressed out all of the juice.  I then placed half of the strawberries between the bottom and middle layer and repeated.  I then put cream cheese frosting over then entire cake.  I will say that the cake recipe was good but the time that it gave produced a cake that was a little dry for my taste.  I would probably bake it for 5 minutes less and/or use the strawberry juice to soak the cakes.  This is problematic because then the cakes are harder to frost.  Next time I make this cake I will also use twice as many strawberries because it just wasn't enough for my taste!  Hope you all enjoy!  


Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick butter softened (yes it must be butter!)
1 8 oz cream cheese softened
1 lb powdered sugar
milk to thin out just a little
1 tsp vanilla


Blend together and that's it!


The web address for the white cake follows:

http://sweetapolita.com/2010/12/pretty-in-pink-old-fashioned-party-cake/

Biscuit bowls and gravy

Saw this and decided to try it...yummy!!!

This has nothing to do with food, but just wanted to say how thankful I am for Jesus in my life.  This morning's service seemed just for me; although I'm sure others were blessed by it as well.  The worship was great, the presence of the Lord was sweet and Pastor's message was well-timed for me.  It was just a great reminder that I need Christ as the center of my life and that I need to waste my life pursuing the goodness of God.  I had forgotten how sweet the presence of the Lord could be and this morning was such a refreshing time for me.  It also made me want to press in and know more of my Father and his wonderful Son.  Lord, I desire above all things to know you more intimately and to know your heart.  Help me to find wisdom in Your Word so that I may have a blessed life.

My version of Taco Roll!

I already had a pound of hamburger used for taco meat the previous day, so I added a few things and voila!  My own version of Taco Roll!  First I laid out the crescent rolls.  The original version called for a circle but I don't have a pizza pan so I did an oval instead!  Next, I put a can of red kidney beans and a can of chili beans into the food processor to blend until smooth and then I added my taco meat  I added my taco meat/bean mixture around the crescent rolls and I sprinkled with cheese.  I folded over the tips of the crescent rolls and put into a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  I cut mine, put on lettuce, tomato, black olives and a mixture of salsa and sour cream.  Delicioso!

Fried Cheese!

I saw this idea on Pinterest but with mozzarella string cheese.  My local Aldi's offers cheddar and cheddar-jack sticks and so that is what I used.  Again, with my trusty fryer set to 375 degrees, I fried until golden brown.  I am sure that you could bake these too!

Fajitas, Mendy style!

OK!  So here is my first blog about what I have done in the kitchen.  A couple of days ago, I seared steak on my stovetop for lunch with baked potatoes and a yummy cauliflower casserole.  I had a lot of steak left over so I went ahead and cut it into strips and stored it in a container in the fridge.  Last night I thought about making fajitas but I had also just seen this recipe for frying string cheese in egg roll wrappers to make fried cheese.  I decided to combine the two ideas.  I sauteed a yellow and red bell pepper and two onions in a little oil.  When they were about half way cooked I added the strips of steak to heat through.  Then I took egg roll wrappers, place a strip of steak and some veggies in the middle and used the "juice" from the pan to seal the edges.  I had preheated my fryer to 375 degrees and fried until golden brown on all sides.  They were DELICIOUS!!!  I served them with sour cream, guacamole and my Mexican rice.  So, here's hoping that you enjoy this amazing way to serve fajitas!