One Pot Mexican Rice Casserole

Yepp. Another one-pot recipe. I'm serious about not doing dishes and feeding my hubby (seriously...if I don't feed him he gets all whiny and it's no fun. Ask anyone with an Italian husband lol.) Anyway, one of the beautiful things about this Mexican Rice Casserole recipe is you can definitely customize it based on your preferences! You can add in onions, peppers, corn, or any other veggies you fancy! You can also add in some cooked meat (so me making chicken and adding it sort of increased the dishes I needed to wash post this recipe but...that's ok! Plus you could just buy pre-prepared chicken or sausage or whatever and throw it in there to maintain the one-pot'dness.) And, although it's pretty healthy to begin with, you can make this dish even better for you by using brown rice (which I did!)

Regardless of any customization you decide to do, the base of the recipe is this: rice, veggies, spices, tomatoes, and cheeeese! It makes an awesome side dish or entree and is full of flavors! It's also colorful...which is pretty important for Michael and his food. He likes for food to be about more than just taste, he gets really into the textures and colors too. It's pretty hilarious, except when he's griping about how I make too many brown "bland" foods---but that's why I make recipes like this one! To keep me sane and make him happy! And so I can share the happiness and sanity-savingness with all of you. This "casserole" is a perfect weeknight meal and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Swai, Rice, and Broccoli in Parchment Paper

As I've mentioned before-Michael is a big fan of variety. And he has a big appetite. So I often struggle with making enough food and enough different kinds of food to keep him satisfied. Which is why I was SO thrilled when I came up with this super simple dinner idea and he loved it!

One of the best parts of this recipe is-in addition to the fact that you cook an entire dinner together in the oven-that you can completely customize the flavorings based upon preferences. I went a slightly spicy route using chili powder and paprika, but you could also do soy sauce and ginger, or garlic and herbs, etc. Also, you can switch out the veggies according to preference-I used broccoli but you could use whatever, or a combo of different vegetables. (Heck, you can even use chicken instead of fish!) And in the end you have flavorful rice, veggies, and fish all cooked up together. It's perfect. My solution to weeknight dinners for my hungry hungry hippo of a fiance' and I know it'll be a great option for your family too! 

Smoked Sausage Fried Rice #HillshireSausage

Michael is a guy who NEEDS variety in his food life! Unfortunately for him...I errr...don't. And I have a difficult time thinking outside of my chicken/potato box oftentimes. Which is why I was THRILLED when I was forced into some creativity by Hillshire Farms when they asked me to make a recipe using their Smoked Sausage.

And...wow...it could not have been simpler!

Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage requires like...no effort. You just take it out of the package and it is ready to be used! Whether you decide to throw it in a pasta sauce, make a chili or stew, put it on a pizza, etc! The options are endless and kind of crazy easy! For more recipe ideas check out the Sausage So Simple tumblr!

Now, I decided to make some fried rice with the smoked sausage because Michael loves Asian food and I never make it, so this was a double opportunity for changing stuff up! And it took me no time to make, which means it is the perfect weeknight dinner option!

The first person who tried this fried rice was my brother and he immediately texted me how good it was! He really loved the flavor the sausage added (which makes sense since Hillshire Farms experts have perfected the pre-seasoning of their sausage over the last 75 years!!) and the fact that it was the perfect post-workout meal (*shrug* he's pretty health conscious these days). And he hoped Michael wouldn't like it so he could have more, hehe. Michael DID like it (a lot), but we were nice and let Josh have some more also. Because when you have the option of making such a quick and perfect dinner...there's no reason not to share!

Rice, Cheddar, & Spinach Pie

Ha...I just realized that I'm posting 2 pies this week. I mean...obviously very very different sorts of pie but still...I am amused. And pleased. Because pie is amazing. And we all need more of it.

I have no clue what I'm doing with rice. I did not grow up in a household where rice was served. Pasta-yes. Rice-not so much. And no one I knew really ate much of it until I got older and moved outside of my little circle. And I know Michael likes rice and I know brown rice is good for you so I really am working on figuring out how to use it more and create rice recipes. And this is my first attempt!

First of all--this rice bake can be either a side dish or a main dish, and it can be vegetarian or...not. I chose to throw some chicken in there when I made it so it would be more of a meal for Michael, but you can substitute that (like for sausage or whatever) or omit it completely and let this just be a vegetarian side! It's cheesy, hearty, filling, and super tasty. A rice success!

Beefy Rice

 I have absolutely no idea what kind of rice this technically is.

I got the recipe from my mom and grandma, who seem to have no idea what kind of rice dish this is either.

I do not know where my grandma got the recipe in the first place but *shrug* whatever. Strangely enough, this is the only rice thing that I've ever really gotten into. I have some fairly vivid memories of eating this when I was young (particularly at my Aunt Shari's...for some odd reason) and then I sort of forgot about it for awhile. Then, this past year, I was at my grandma's at some point and she had made this rice and I ate a little and was like, "Oh yeah, this stuff is good! I bet Michael would like this!" When I tried to describe it to him, however, he did not seem impressed. He was all like, "So...what's in it?....Yeah that sounds bland. Ugh"

Then I made it. And he tried it. And he ate the whole darned dish in record time. He now loves it. And requests it, often. He has since apologized for his doubting me-pshh I know what my boy likes! This is really easy to throw together, pretty much no effort required, and it's a super comforting and full of flavor (beef consomme and onions can go a long way apparently!...and butter). You should definitely give it a try. You'll thank me.

Oh and hey...if you have any clue what this actually is...let me know? (The original recipe has mushrooms in it...if that helps)