Tex-Mex Confetti Rice

This is seriously the yummiest rice ever! If you like pico de gallo, you will LOVE this! It is so fresh and yummy. You will want to keep eating it, and it's pretty much ok, since it is so full of veggies!

Tex-Mex Confetti Rice


1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 small tomato, chopped
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional and not on grocery list)
2 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or (1 tbsp dried*)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until heated through.

Enjoy!

This weeks Menus

Here are my menus for the week. I don't know what day I will make what. I will just see what I feel like that day!

1. Swedish meatballs
egg noodles
peas

2. french dip sandwiches
oven fries
fruit salad

3. Chicken Cheese Quesadillas
Tex-Mex confetti rice
pico de gallo, guacamole, and chips

4. crockpot lasagna
bacon ranch green beans
garlic bread

5. lemon pepper marinated chicken
couscous
glazed carrots
roasted asparagus

Banana Cupcakes

I made banana cupcakes for Avery's birthday. They were soooo yummy! Too bad she wouldn't eat it! She had a good time licking the frosting however!

This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook,1996 edition.I have made this recipe for banana cake before, and it was really good!I don't know why I haven't made it more often!It is a really moist cake, and not dry at all. Try it!

Banana Cake/Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
3/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

1. Grease and lightly flour 2 8 or 9 inch round baking pans, or 1 9x13 baking pan. Or ine cupcake tin with papers. Set aside.
2.In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Mix together. Add bananas, buttermilk, shortening, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined.Add eggs. beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.Pour batter into prepared pans. I filled the cupcake tins about 2/3 full.
3.Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes for cupcakes,25-30 minuted for round pans, and 35 minutes for 9x13.Test with a wooden toothpick.Cool round cakes for 10 minutes, then turn out on wire rack and cool completely. Cool 9x13 and cupcakes completely before frosting. Makes about 30 cupcakes.

I made a cream cheese frosting for these.

6 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter softened. Add 2 tsps. vanilla and mix together until creamy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar beating well. Gradually add 2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar until desired spreading consistency. Frosts tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layers.

Mediterranean 7-layer dip

I made this dip the other night for book group. It was one of those totally last minute ideas, and while not the usual dip, it was really good, and super easy!This might appeal only to those who like hummus and feta, but it seemed to go over ok at book group.

Mediterranean 7-layer Dip

1 tub Hummus (about 12 oz. or so)
chopped lettuce
chopped tomatoes
chopped cucumbers
chopped olives
chopped red or green onion (I used green)
feta cheese

Spread hummus in a 9-inch pie plate, or other serving dish. Layer the rest of the ingredients on top. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, or pita wedges.Eat up, yum! And it's fairly healthy with all the veggies!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

I got this recipe from Peabody, and made them for New Year's Eve. I made them in a mini muffin tin, and they were so good! They tasted almost like donuts...sooo good!

I will definitely make these again...and big next time! Or small....or some of both! Even if you aren't a snickerdoodle cookie fan, I am sure you will love these!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp cream of tarter
¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 and ¼ cup sour cream
2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar and 2 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling

1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.
2.In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.
3.Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar.. Place muffin in to muffin tin.. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.

** I made them in the mini tins, and only baked them for about 10-12 minutes. I didn't grease the pan, and it worked out fine. I think the sugar and cinnamon coating kind of help keep them from sticking. All I did was scoop about a tablepoon of batter and plop it right into the bowl of sugar and cinnamon. I then used my fingers to cover the batter in the sugar, and once the top was covered, I could pick it up to continue coating it in the sugar without getting my hands sticky. Yummy! enjoy! And be sure to go visit Peabody's food blog to learn a very funny story about these muffins, as well as to see the beautiful pictures!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

My mom made this dessert a lot when I was younger, and it is really yummy! This is the first time I have ever made it, and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I do like nuts, but didn't add them this time because I didn't have any. I didn't take a picture of my own, but you can see one here if you want!


Pumpkin Cake Roll

3 eggs

Beat eggs on high about 5 minutes.
Gradually add to eggs:

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice

In a separate bowl combine the following:

¾ cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg

Add to pumpkin mixture.

Spread into greased and floured 15x10x1 jelly roll pan. Top with 1 cup finely chopped nuts.

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Turn out on towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Starting at narrow end, roll cake and towel together then let cool. Unroll it.

Filling:

1 cup powdered sugar
6 oz. cream cheese
4 Tbls. butter
½ tsp. vanilla
. Beat until smooth.

Spread over the cake, and roll it again. Let it chill. Can sprinkle more powdered sugar on top if needed. Garnish with candied cherries and holly.

Christmas Pumpkin Bread

This is a recipe I adapted from a family cookbook. I usually make mini loaves to give away during the holidays. I didn't do that this year. I still wanted to make some, since I can't let the hholidays pass by without it! It is really tasty!It uses cinnamon chips which kind of melt into the batter and give it a yummy spicy flavor! Sometimes the cinnamon chips can be hard to find. They are made by Hershey's, and come in a dark brown 10 oz. bag.

Pumpkin Bread

Sift together:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg

Mix the following together and add to dry ingredients:

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water 1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs

Stir in:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips*

Grease 2 loaf pans and divide batter between the two pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. I usually make this into 4 mini loaves and only bake around 45 minutes. Check every so often so it doesn't burn!