Burritos!!!

The older the baby gets, the easier it is to entertain her. All i had to do is clean the kitchen floor so it was safe, then give her some plastic ring links and set her on it. She can sit there for quite awhile banging the rings on the linoleum floor.

Anyway, I thought burritos would be fun to make, and after seeing some amazing ones at a restaurant on the Travel channel I tried to make some hearty stuffed ones of my own. This is a pretty cheap meal; for about $10 or so you can feed at least 5-6 people.

Ingredients:

about 1 lb lean ground beef (or you can use any ground meat)
1 can black beans
Medium salsa
1 packet McCormick Burrito Seasoning (not necessary, but it does add a nice flavor to the meat)
1 cup brown rice
1 large ripe avocado
1/4 tsp garlic salt
light sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
large flour tortillas

Prepare the rice as directed (usually 1 cup rice to 1 3/4 cups water, boil, then simmer at least 30 minutes on low). About halfway through the rice cooking, start browning the meat in a large frying pan.
While that cooks, cut the avocado in half and pit it, then peel it and chop the avocado. Mash in a bowl with the garlic salt. This is your guacamole.

Once meat is mostly done browning, add the can of beans, 3/4 cup of water, and the seasoning packet (cut out the water if you're not using the seasoning packet). Mix all together well and cook on low until the rice is done.

Heat a tortilla on a plate in the microwave for about 12 seconds. Top with meat/bean mix, then some rice, then salsa, guacamole, cheese and sour cream. Try not to fill it too much or the tortilla won't close. Wrap it up as tightly as you can and eat! Very tasty.

Cajun Bean and Sausage Soup

Tried something new last night, and experimented on friends. Soak the beans overnight and through the next day until ready to start cooking (they will swell up).

I started cooking at 3pm to eat dinner at 6. This is a huge recipe and will feed 4 people twice over, plus leaving leftovers for the next day. I only added about 3/4 of the spice packet since I'm not a big fan of really spicy dishes, and my husband suggested it might have tasted even better with another can of tomatoes and a shallot.

Ingredients:

15-Bean Cajun soup Mix (with spice packet)
2 quarts water
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup lemon juice
1 (or 2) 14-oz. cans of stewed tomatoes
1-2 pounds sausage, Mild or Sweet

After the beans have soaked, drain the water then put them in a large pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, then leave simmering for 2 1/2 hours. At the 2 hour mark, prepare the sausage (fry in a pan with 1/2 cup of water, covered for 10 minutes, then uncovered another 10 minutes) and fry along with the onion and garlic. At the 2 1/2 hour mark, add the sausage/onion mixture to the soup (cut up the sausages if you cooked them whole) along with the canned tomatoes, lemon juice, spice packet, and a few shakes of salt and pepper. Simmer another 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally, then serve.

I found this to be kind of hot for my tastes, and I think if I make it again I will try using an extra can of tomatoes and a shallot, as my husband and friends suggested. Our friends that came over brought their son, who is only two weeks older than our daughter, so our girl met another baby for the first time. What did she do? Pretended to cry, smacked him in the face and tried to steal his pacifier, while he looked at her completely bewildered.

Medieval Pea Soup

I don't know if she's trying to talk or not, but all that was coming out tonight was a loud humming sound. My daughter is also learning how to fake her cries so Mommy will look at her or come running to get her. I wasn't taking any of it tonight, so I just put her next to the kitchen where she could see me. I blocked her face out for security purposes, but here she is in her rain-forest high chair watching me with Sophie the Giraffe, who had just been in her mouth.
I LOVE this recipe for Pea Soup that I found in the book Medieval Celebrations. I added a few things to make it taste even better, including a trick I learned fro my grandmother to make vegetable dishes taste like they have meat in them. This takes about a half hour to make from start to finish, and will feed a family of four for several days. The most expensive ingredient is the saffron, but once you get a supply of that on hand (this is pretty much the only dish I use it for regularly) it will last you awhile.
This recipe is the same (except for the modern methods of preparation) as from the time the rhyme was written: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old!

Ingredients:

3 pounds frozen peas
3 small (or 2 large) yellow onions, peeled and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth (2 14-oz. cans plus one can filled with water)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. saffron
fresh, coarsely ground pepper (a little in the pot, a little more on top of each bowlful as a garnish)
heaping spoonful of bacon grease/fat

Bring stock and water to a boil (or at least beginning to boil) in a large kettle. I usually throw the onions in as the broth is heating up, mainly because I want them away from my eyes as quickly as possible. Add remaining ingredients to the broth, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until peas and onions are soft.
Puree the soup in a blender in small batches, pouring the pureed soup into a large bowl as each batch is finished and then returning to the pot to reheat once all is blended into a nice green mush.
Can be made ahead, frozen, and/or reheated.
The end result kinda looks like baby poop but it's absolutely delicious! And of course you can leave out the bacon grease if you want it to be vegetarian, but I think it adds a nice subtle hint as if I'd put ham in the soup.