Mexican-Style Brown Rice Casserole

Here is a super tasty recipe we tried this week. It's from Weight Watchers and I believe it's a fairly new recipe from them so consider it taste tested and approved if your on the plan or trying to watch the fat in your diet. {It is 8 points plus if you are counting.}

It serves 6 people. I considered doubling the recipe at first because I have big appetites over here, including myself. But, the six slices are very big and very thick. It's a filling dish and we had 2 slices leftover for lunch the next day.

Also, it's a versatile dish so if you have anyone in your family that doesn't like or enjoy spinach simply leave it off! I put it in one side of the dish for me and left it off on  my husband's side! {He despises spinach--hehe}

Hope you try this recipe and enjoy! It is not time consuming at all and makes a fantastic presentation! Also, I love having a meatless yet totally hearty dish. :-)

Mexican-Style Brown Rice Casserole

1 spray cooking spray

4 cups cooked brown rice

1 1/4 cups fat free salsa

1 tsp ground cumin

15 oz canned refried beans

10 oz frozen corn, thawed

4 oz canned mild green chili peppers, diced

1 tbsp chilli powder

10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and set to drain in a strainer over a bowl

3/4 cup lowfat shredded cheese, divided

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (optional; for garnish)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat a 2 quart rectangular, round, or oval baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine rice, salsa, and cumin. Spoon 2 cups of rice mixture into prepared baking dish and spread out to evenly cover bottom of dish.

In another large bowl, combine refried beans, corn, chilli peppers, and chilli powder. Using a rubber spatula, scrape bean mixture on top of rice layer and smooth out top.

Squeeze out any excess water from spinach and then spread on top of bean layer; sprinkle with 6 tablespoons of cheese. Top with remaining rice mixture and smooth out top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Place casserole on a large rimmed baking sheet to catch any spillage. Bake until heated through and cheese is browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro {if desired}, cut into 6 pieces and serve!

Be My Valentine Marriage Challenge Week 4

Wow! It's nearing Valentines Day in just a few days! Every year I am a bit caught off gaurd by it, maybe more then other holidays too only because Valentines Day is our anniversary, as well!

Yes, we got married on Valentines Day...along with thousands of others who chose Valentines day to tie the knot. At first I was reluctant to say I do on such a popular day among other couples but the two things that settled it for me were it was the exact day we had our first date and my husband absolutely loves V-Day. He has always been the one in our relationship to look forward to celebrating ....When dating, he would celebrate (and remember!!) the months and little milestones. He was (and is) a sucker for buying a dozen roses, candy, stuffed animals, and well you get the picture!!

Now that we are going on 8 years of marriage and after whole lot of Valentines Day themed presents and novelty we have both toned it down a notch, haha. That is a good thing believe me! :0) This year, my mother in law has offered to come over and watch the children while we go out for a nice dinner. I am so excited. The last time time we went out alone...well...um...hmmm....let's see......*cricketts* Do you get the picture? It has been a long time now!

Linking up with Courtney at Women Living Well I have learned a lot of new ways to celebrate Valentines Day and honor and uplift my hubby. As the years go on there is not so much a need to buy something to tell him I love him but to show him...in the way I speak to him, the way I look at him, the way I touch him, in all the things I do for him! We don't need to go buy gifts (they are nice sometimes!) or honestly, even go outside the home (it is great sometimes!) to prove anything to eachother. Valentines Day and our anniversarys are so special but the special behaviors should be going on all the time! The challenge helps us find new ways and reminders on how to mix it up but our marriages and our husbands should be priority all the time!

Here are some special ways to celebrate Valentines Day without buying anything or going out! And of course they don't have to be done on Valentines Day...a date night can be anytime!

~Stay up late! Rent your favorite movie together and pop some popcorn! Be sure to get out a lot of blankets and pillows! Make a "bed" even!
~Cook together! Make cake or make something you both enjoy but don't get to eat often.
~Get out the old fashioned games! My hubby and I love playing games a lot, we love playing checkers and Battleship right in our bed! We laugh and talk a lot. It's so much fun.
~Watch your wedding video or look at wedding or dating pictures...take a trip down memory lane!
~Plan something together. Think about where you would like to take your next family vacation at or plan the next project for your home.


Courtney from Women Living Well suggests making a red themed dinner. If we were not going out, we would totally do this.

Here is a super easy recipe for cherry (red) cobbler. This is like I said, super easy and is great if your pinched for time or just looking to make something yummy, fast. It's also pretty for Valentines Day. :-)

Easy Cherry Cobbler

1 package Jell-O sugar-free vanilla cook-and-serve pudding mix -- (4 serving size)

1 package Jell-O sugar-free cherry gelatin -- (4 serving size)

2 cups tart red cherries, packed in water -- (one 16-ounce can), undrained

1/2 cup water

1 can Pillsbury refrigerated buttermilk biscuits -- (7.5-ounce)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon Sugar Twin or Sprinkle Sweet



1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, combine dry pudding mix, dry gelatin, undrained cherries, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and starts to boil, being careful not to crush cherries. Remove from heat. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Separate biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Evenly sprinkle biscuit pieces over cherry mixture. Lightly spray top with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and Sugar Twin. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon mixture over top. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes or until top is golden brown. Place baking dish on a wire rack and let set for 5 minutes. Cut into 6 servings. Good warm or cold. This recipe can be frozen.

Have a Happy Valentines Day!

Lemon Squares

How funny it is to post a recipe for lemon squares. Well, funny to me anyway! Here we are in Michigan just having had a blizzard and inches upon inches of snow out our door...and here is me, thinking and craving some refreshing lemon squares. Well, if there ever was a reason for them I believe a stuck-in-the-house-lets-create-SOMETHING-kind of day should be good enough! :o)

Here is a super good, super easy recipe:


Ingredients


1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. of grated lemon peel, if you like

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs



Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.



Mix together flour, butter and powdered sugar in small bowl.



Press evenly with hands in bottom and about 5/8 inch up sides of an ungreased pan, 8x8x2 inch. (If dough is sticky, flour fingers.) Bake about 20 minutes



beat remaining ingredients in a medium bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust.



Bake just until no indentation remains when touched lightly in center. Let stand until cool then cut into 1 1/2 inch squares. Makes about 25 squares.


Taken from one of my favorite cookbooks as a child AND now....Alpha Bakery Children's Cookbook

Recipe for a Cold Midwinter Day

Wanted to share a good and hearty recipe we had for dinner this week! It's called pasta e fagioli. Sounds rather fancy but if you do a quick google search like I did you'll find it is basically beans and pasta! ;o) There are a lot of recipes out there for this particular dish but I'll share the one I have because it is taste tested and family approved. Since there is a combination of beans and pasta it is very filling and I served it with hot rolls and salad. It is meant to be a little juicy, served best probably in a bowl and hot!

Reicpe makes 4 servings, adjust accordingly to make larger quanity

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups drained canned Great Nothern Beans
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned plum tomatoes in juices
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried
1/2 cup small pasta shells, cooked al dente, drained and rinsed with cold water
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. In saucepan, heat the oil. Saute' the onions, carrot, celery, and garlic until soft, about 8 minutes

2. Add the beans, broth, tomatoes and their juice, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer; stir in the pasta, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes longer. Serve and sprinkle with cheese.

5 WW points per serving ;-)