Monday, March 17, 2008

Long Overdue!

I can't believe my last blog post was in December! It has been a long, busy winter for sure and I am so glad Spring is almost here! Chris has just 96 days left in his horrible Surgical Intern year. Things are looking up as we look to purchase our first home together and have more time to spend together once this year is over. (It ends in June.)
This weekend I got a reminder of how wonderful it is to spend time with Chris. He had FOUR ENTIRE DAYS OFF (unheard of)! We traveled to Chris' parents house in Amish County. When we were there we hiked in the snow and mud to look at a water fall near his parents' house. It was a lot of fun. I also helped prepare a Mexican dinner while visiting. Chris' mom asked that I teach her how to make my Mexican Rice. We served that with tacos and corn souffle. It turned out great! And it was really fun cooking dinner with my mother-in-law. Enjoy!


(Sorry about the picture. I took it with my cell phone!)


Original Mexican Rice Recipe (modified from www.cooking.com)

Olive Oil (enough to coat saucepan)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped white onions

1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers

2 cups converted long-grain rice

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons chipotle taco seasoning (recommended: Ortega)

4 cups chicken stock



**Chopped green onions

**Sour cream

In a medium saucepan (with lid), add garlic, onion, and pepper and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add rice and cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, seasoning, and stock in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve with green onions and sour cream as garnish.


Ashleigh’s version

In place of taco seasoning pack add:


2 teaspoons of chili powder.

Salt to taste (1 1/2 teaspoons of salt)

Pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon black pepper)

1 teaspoon of ground cumin.

3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves (or sub. cilantro spice)


(Note: On a hectic weeknight, you can also substitute a jar of your favorite chunky salsa and omit the chopping/cooking/adding of the white onion, green pepper, and tomatoes. :)

5 comments:

Jaime said...

glad to see you posting again :) i understand how you feel completely... my DH is in his 3rd year of medical school and surgery has by far been his hardest rotation...so i can only imagine how hard interning must be!

i love mexican rice but have never made it myself. would love to try this :)

~Amber~ said...

Welcome back to the blogging world, you have been missed. You should stop by the Nest if you have time.
I am glad to hear that everything is going well for you.
This recipe sounds great, thank you for sharing.

Annie said...

Hi Ashleigh!!! I've been missing you on the Nest, and on your blog. So happy to see a post from you! I'm sure this has been a very tough year for you guys. I'd love to hear from you if you ever have time - page me on the Nest if you get a chance.

Anonymous said...
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LYNN said...

Welcome back! I wanted to let you know that you've been tagged...
http://lunchwithlynn.blogspot.com/2008/03/meme-ive-been-tagged.html