Louisiana Dirty Rice

"Dirty Rice" may sound weird and unappetizing but, in fact, it's delicious.  I guess ,because I grew up eating it, it never occurred to me that the name was weird.  I just automatically associated it with goodness.  It was only when a friend (from up North) asked if it was called dirty rice because it fell on the floor that I even thought about the name.  It's just a dish made with white rice that has been colored to look "dirty" by cooking it with meat and seasonings.  You can eat it by itself or use it to stuff bell peppers.  Usually, it's made with giblets (I really don't like giblets. Ugh!), but it can be made with ground beef, which is what I use.  Also, it's a great use for leftover rice (which I always have!).  Here's the easy. quick recipe:

LOUISIANA DIRTY RICE


1 lb ground beef
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1/2 a bell pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked, cold rice (important that it's cold!)
2 TBS tomato paste
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
a few dashes hot sauce
salt/pepper

Brown ground beef with onion and bell pepper in a large skillet.

Drain off any excess grease, but leave a little (that's flavor!).

Season it to taste with salt and pepper.

Add tomato paste and saute for a few minutes.

Add Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Then stir in the cold, cooked rice.  (If it's not cold, it will get way too mushy!  I like to use left over rice that's been in the fridge).

Season it to taste again with salt and pepper.  If it seems too dry, add a little bit of water and stir well.

That's it.  It's so easy and very filling.  Plus it tastes really good!

If you want to go a step further, you can use the dirty rice to stuff some bell peppers.

You can either cut the tops off the peppers, clean the insides out, blanch them in boiling water, then individually fill each with the dirty rice before baking or take the easy way out and do this:

Cut the tops off the peppers then cut them in half and clean out the seeds.  Lay the halves in a casserole dish.

Spoon the dirty rice over the peppers.

Make a "sauce" by mixing ketchup, a few dashes each of hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.  Spread sauce over each.

Pour about 1/4 cup water into the bottom of the casserole dish. The water helps to steam the peppers and soften them without having to blanch them before baking.  Great short-cut!  Cover with foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake 5 minutes more to brown the tops.

This is a much easier version of stuffed bell peppers.

So, whether you stuff peppers with it or eat it by itself, Dirty Rice is a delicious, easy and filling dish.  Don't let the name scare you.

Chicken Dorito Casserole

This casserole is infamous in our house.  My daughter and I love it.  My Old School Italian husband and Pickiest Eater Ever Son, not so much.  In fact, my husband went so far as to call it "Dorito Grosserole".  Yeah.  That happened.  But, in the casserole's defense, he didn't really give it a chance.  He doesn't like anything creamy or cheesy (or anything called a "casserole").  This casserole is both creamy and cheesy, so he barely looked at it.  Forget about actually trying it.

I made it the other day for lunch, secretly hoping my husband would open his mind enough to give it a second chance.  My daughter and I, again, loved it.  What did my husband do?  He said, "Hey it's Dorito Grosserole" and walked out of the room.

Maybe you will have more of an open mind.  Here's the recipe:

*Note:  I halved this recipe because I knew only two of us would be eating it.  But I wish I would have made the whole recipe because it was awesome left over the next day (and the day after that)!

CHICKEN DORITO CASSEROLE

4 TBS butter (or margarine)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz) can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
3 cups cooked shredded chicken (great use for leftovers or use a rotisserie chicken)
1 large bag Doritos
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute the onions in the butter for a few minutes.

Add the broth, soups and Rotel.  Mix well.

Add the chicken and heat through.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish.  (This is an 8x8 dish because I halved the recipe)

Layer the buttered dish with half of the Doritos...

Half of the chicken mixture...

One third of the cheese...

The remainder of the chips...

The remainder of the chicken mixture...

and the remainder of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese melts and it's bubbly on top.

Let it cool a while before cutting (otherwise it will be too gloppy, I'm pretty sure that's a word).

This is basically a chicken tortilla casserole.  Doritos are just fried corn tortillas, so when they are baked in the broth and tomatoes, they soften and the corn flavor really shines through.  The seasoning on the chips give this casserole a nice flavor.  So, even though it may sound weird, it's really not.  It's just short-cut Tex-Mex.

Even though my husband is not a fan (actually, won't even give it a try), I hope you will.  It's actually delicious.  (I should know, I ate it for lunch three days in a row).

Classic Cornbread

Cornbread is probably one of the oldest foods in America.  The corn that was grown by Native Americans was ground and mixed with water then fried on hot stones.  As time went by, other ingredients were added, such as leavening agents and sweeteners, but cornbread remained a staple.  When something has been around that long, there's a reason.  It's good!

I consider myself a cornbread aficionado.  I love to order it in restaurants and try different recipes at home.  I have eaten many versions over the years (bacon, jalepeno, cheddar, crawfish, etc), but this is still my favorite.  Plain, simple, classic cornbread.  There's just something about it.  It's great corn flavor, hint of sweetness, and lovely dense texture are wonderful.  Spread some butter on a warm piece and it's pretty close to perfection in my book.

   
CLASSIC CORNBREAD

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cups oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a big bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  I use a whisk to mix it together.

In a large measuring cup, mix milk, oil and egg.  Whisk together thoroughly.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Do not over mix!

One of the great things about this cornbread is the crispy crust it gets on the bottom.  That comes from preheating the cast iron skillet you bake it in.  You can do this one of two ways.  Place it on the stove top over medium heat until hot or place it in the oven while you preheat it.

Once it's hot, melt some margarine (I like margarine for this because it adds some flavor and doesn't burn as easily as butter) in the skillet and brush it all over so the cornbread won't stick.

After you grease it, while it's still hot, pour the batter in.  This is how you get a crispy crust.  Yum!

Put it in the oven and bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until light golden on the edges.

See how easy it slides out of the skillet?  And look at that crispy crust on the bottom!

You can see how dense this cornbread is.  I love the texture.

This went perfectly with the red beans and rice I made for supper last night.  I ate it again this morning with a cup of coffee and some strawberry preserves.

I know it might seem silly to get so excited about something so simple, but I can't help it.  I love food.  If you're a foodie, you get it.  If not, that's OK.  Either way, I hope you make this cornbread.  Just give it a try.  That's the reason I write this blog, to share simple recipes so that others can enjoy making food as much as I do (and enjoy eating it, too!).

Crockpot Chicken Soft Tacos

This recipe is so easy you won't believe it.  You just throw a few ingredients in the crockpot and in three hours you've got supper.

CROCKPOT CHICKEN SOFT TACOS

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 package fajita seasoning mix
tortillas
your favorite taco fillings

Place chicken breasts in the crockpot.

 

I have picky eaters who don't like chunks of tomatoes, so I zip the diced tomatoes in the blender to puree them.  This makes for a smooth sauce, but, if you like chunks of tomato, you can skip that step.

Next, mix the tomatoes with the fajita seasoning in a large measuring cup.  Add enough water to bring it up to 2 cups of liquid total, like this:

Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken breasts.

Cover and cook on High for 3 hours.

Remove the chicken to a plate.

Shred with two forks.

You get a lot out of two chicken breasts!

Return the shredded chicken to the sauce in the crockpot and stir GENTLY.  You don't want to break up the meat too much.  

Serve the chicken on warm corn or flour tortillas with whatever fillings you like.

This is delicious!  The chicken comes out tender and seasoned just right.  You can substitute taco seasoning for the fajita seasoning if that's what you have on hand.  This chicken also makes great nachos!  Just heat some tortilla chips in a 375 degree oven until warm and toasty (I like to use a cast iron skillet for this).  Then pile the chicken on and top with your favorite nacho toppings.

See, I told you this recipe was super easy.  Taco night will never be the same!