Texas Hash

The photo doesn't do it justice! It tastes better than it looks!

Don’t let the name “hash” scare you. This is an old family recipe that is delicious. It’s just meat, rice and tomatoes, don’t be afraid. I found my Grandmother’s handwritten recipe in my recipe box the other day and had to make it. I think this is actually my dad’s recipe that my grandmother used to make. She note up in the corner “Ernest’s recipe”. Ernest is my daddy and the reason I love cooking. He got his love of cooking from his mother. I’ll let you in on a little secret....he failed the First grade. Yes, surprising isn’t it? Well, apparently he didn’t go to school enough to get a report card! See his little trick was to pretend like he was sick and then he’d just stay home and cook with his mama. Isn’t that sweet? We make fun of him for it so it’s okay if you want to too. He was the baby so she didn’t make him go to school if he was sick (read in a sarcastic tone). It makes me laugh.....but I benefited from it all my life. Sorry Daddy, your secret is out. Love you! :-)

Now that I’ve told my Daddy’s secrets, let’s get started on one of his recipes. This one is so easy and quite delicious too! I apologize for the lack of photos, but it’s such a simple recipe I thought you could probably figure it out. Okay, fine, I actually forgot to take pictures! But I think you’ll be fine if you following these directions. By the way, here's a copy of my grandmother's hand written recipe. I cherish this recipe.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound ground beef (or turkey, which is what I used)

1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 – 16 oz can tomatoes (I like to use the ones with Italian seasoning)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder (or more if desired)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
 

Directions:

In a large skillet brown meat (do not drain) add pepper and onion and cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly. Pour in 2 qt casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. I decided to cut some fresh basil and toss that in at the end too. You can't go wrong with fresh basil, right?

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!

Cilantro Lime Rice

 

Hello, my name is Dawn and I'm a carboholic! Yes, I love all things rice, pasta and bread! You may have suspected that by reading this blog, but I thought I'd go ahead and confess so I'd feel better. Whew, that did help a little.

 

So the hubby doesn't love rice as much as I do so I try to jazz it up so he won't notice that it's just rice. Shhhhhh. I could have it every other meal, but him, not so much. Well, what's left for me really to do but trick him just a little? Please don't tell him that I'm trying to trick him with jazzed up rice. I don't think he's noticed so mum's the word!

 

We were having some quick and easy burrito's one night last week and I thought, "oh boy, here's a night to throw in a delicious rice dish!" But I even stepped it up a notch this night. See, he loves cilantro so I searched the internet looking for a Mexican rice dish with cilantro. I remembered my friend, The Pioneer Woman, making a similar dish so I set out to find it. Well, hers seemed fine, but I thought I could make it better, so I did. I mean, what does she know with her silly blog and cooking show?? I'm practically a chef! Here's my version of Cilantro Lime Rice. The lime juice really makes this taste fresh and yummy!

 

Ingredients

 

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups long grain rice

1 teaspoon salt

3-4 cups chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, I used Rotelle

Juice of 3 limes and zest of 2 (hold back juice of 1 lime for garnish)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

 

Directions

 

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the rice and salt. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to make sure rice doesn’t burn. Add 2 cups of the broth, tomatoes, and the juice and zest of 2 limes and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the rice is done. Add more liquid as needed. I used brown rice so remember you’ll need to cook a little longer and most likely need more liquids as you go. The rice shouldn’t be sticky.

 

 

 

Just before serving stir the juice of 1 lime and cilantro into the rice mixture.

 

Serve with some delicious tacos, burritos, or whatever floats your boat, and enjoy!!

 

Super Easy Parmesan Risotto

OMG, you aren’t even going to believe how easy it is to make this risotto recipe! I love, love, love risotto, but never made it because I don’t have the patience to stand over it, constantly stirring. Well, wait no more people! This is your lucky day!  No constant stirring in this recipe. Yes, you heard me correctly. You do NOT have to stand over this and stir. It starts with the rice, chicken stock and dutch oven. Stick it in the oven and walk away. How easy does that sound?? You guys are so lucky that I watch a ton of the Food Network these days and can find these fabulous and easy recipes for us to try. I saw one of my friends, Barefoot Contessa, make this earlier  this week and could not wait to give it a try.  My husband is my official kitchen tester and he says this is one of the most flavorful dishes I’ve made yet. I think I’ve made some pretty tasty dishes lately so you should know that he is giving this dish super props!

I’m sure you are dying to know how I made it so here we go.....

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade, divided
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese – make sure it’s not the cheese in the jar, use freshly grated. It makes a difference.
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 small package fresh mushrooms
• 15-20 medium frozen shrimp, thawed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. I checked on mine at 40 minutes and it was done.

While rice is cooking in the oven, sauté your mushrooms and set aside. I sautéed them lightly in just a little butter (no additional seasoning) and removed with a slotted spoon.


Remove rice from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the parmesan, wine, butter, salt, and pepper, and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy. Add the peas, mushrooms and shrimp, and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Serves 4-6 (depending on how hungry you are!)


I think I’ll mix it up next time and try it with some pancetta. Yummy, right?


Make this.....seriously, do it very soon!