Best of the Month September 2015

A recap of my most popular posts from last month (September 2015).

Last month's #bestrecipes #BestoftheMonth Sept2015  [Tweet this]

First let's look back at September's best from previous years.

Best of September 2013:

Bacon Wrapped French Toast

Sweet french toast sticks wrapped in crunchy, salty bacon.  A great handheld breakfast.  Now has 1925 views. 35 +1s, and 8 'yum's.  This is one of my most popular posts and I use it in many round-ups (like 8 Game Day Recipes, Bacon Day Round Up, and 30 Recipes for Super Bowl).

#BaconWrapped FrenchToast: #BestoftheMonth Sept2013  [Tweet this]

Best of September 2014:

Cucumber Bites

Crisp, fresh, cucumber slices on baguette spread with cheese.  Now has 586 views, 34 +1, and 46 'yum's.

#Cucumber Bites:  #BestoftheMonth Sept2014  [Tweet this]

Now back to this year's best of September:

Spicy 3 Beans and Rice

A spicy, one-pot, one-dish, vegetarian meal of beans and rice made with 3 different types of beans.  565 views and 86 +1s.  This recipe was popular on Tumblr and re-blogged about 7 times with many likes.  It was also 'Yum'ed 19 times.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: Spicy 3 #BeansandRice  [Tweet this]

8 Game Day Recipes

A round-up of my favorite gameday recipes.  From drinks to breakfasts snacks and meals there is something for everyone.  505 views and 62 +1s.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: 8 #GameDayRecipes  [Tweet this]

Beer Cheese Nacho Sauce

A spicy cheese sauce made with beer.  Great as a dip, on nachos, tacos, or veggies.  485 views, 38 +1s, and 9 'yum's.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: #BeerCheese NachoSauce  [Tweet this]

How to Roast Garlic

A simple tutorial on how to roast garlic.  A repost of my original from February of 2013.  416 views, 83 +1s, and 1 'yum'.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: #Howto RoastGarlic  [Tweet this]

Cucumber and Tomato Dill Salad with Smoked Salmon & Feta

A light and fresh salad with cucumbers and tomatoes tossed in a lemon-dill vinaigrette then topped with smoked salmon and feta.  341 views, 51 +1s, and 4 'yum's.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: CucumberandTomatoDill #Salad  [Tweet this]

My best of the month September from previous years:

Best of the Month September 2014

Best of the Month September 2013

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Spicy 3 Beans and Rice

A spicy, one-pot, one-dish, vegetarian meal of beans and rice made with 3 different types of beans.

Beans and rice is always a great meal.  It's an easy no fuss meal when you don't have much food in the house.  I try to keep many varieties of dried beans in my pantry and always rice.  With just these two simple ingredients, I can throw together many delicious meals (it just takes a little time).  Beans and rice are inexpensive and nutritious too.  Best of all they are a great source of fiber.  Whenever I'm on my own for a while (because my husband is out of town) there is nothing I like more than cooking a big pot of beans and rice to eat on all week.  This recipe is from just such an occasion and it was wonderful.

Spicy 3 Beans&Rice a onedish onepot vegetarian meal.  [Tweet this]

Spicy 3 Beans and Rice

Cook time:  45-60 minutes
Servings:  6-8

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 bell peppers, chopped
3 jalapenos, diced (with or without seeds depending on how spicy you want it)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups or 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cups or 1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cups or 1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp paprika
1 cup dry brown rice
2 cups water
Salt and pepper

**I used dry beans for this recipe so I used 1/2 cup of each type of bean (that's about 2 cups each when cooked) then just cooked them together in the same pot until tender.  I didn't add salt while cooking the beans so I added more salt in the final dish.

In a large stock pot (or I used my big 10-cup rice cooker/slow cooker), saute the peppers and onion, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, in oil until just tender.  I kept the seeds in my jalapenos...it was very spicy and very good.

Add all the rest of the ingredients and stir well to combine.  Increase heat until it begins to boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.  Cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes (my rice cooker has a brown rice setting which is what I used) or until rice is tender.

Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt...I may have used more than just a dollop (omit this if  you want to keep the dish vegan).

Makes 6-8 servings.

Enjoy.

For more one-pot, one-dish meals check out:

Black Beans and Rice

Bean and Barley Stew

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Linked to:  J&J, 2 Cup, Lou Lou, Whimsy, Wonderful, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wake Up, Full Plate, Freedom, Food Friends, Best of the Weekend, Pretty Pintastic

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Beans and Rice Tostadas

Crispy baked corn tortillas topped with beans and rice, cheese, and other toppings.

(Please don't mind that the corn tortillas are broken...sometimes it happens to the last ones left at the end of the pack and I wasn't going to throw them away.)

I love all things taco related. So when there were only 2 corn tortilla  and some Cinnamon Spice Fish Tacos remnants left at the end of the week, I made tostadas for lunch. Tostadas don't have to be just for lunch.  They are quite filling and you can top them with just about anything making them great for any meal.  But for these tostadas, I didn't want to waste any of my leftovers so they are topped with beans and rice, cheese, cabbage, cilantro, and avocado sauce.

I love all things taco related. [Tweet this]

These are delicious enough to make beans and rice just specifically for tostadas (not just to use up leftovers) and you could add any other toppings you prefer (lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, just about anything you have on hand).  Beans and rice make these tostadas an inexpensive and vegetarian meal (omit the cheese and sour cream and this would be vegan too).

An inexpensive and #vegetarian meal. [Tweet this]

Beans and Rice Tostadas

Cook time:  15 minutes
Servings: 1 (2 tostadas)

Ingredients:

2 corn tortillas
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup beans and rice *see note below
1/4 cup shredded cheese
Cabbage slaw (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Avocado Lime Dressing or Avocado Sour Cream  (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit

Lightly brush the tortillas with oil (or if you have spray oil spritz them). Lay them on a baking sheet and bake at 400 F for about 10 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.  I just used my toaster oven...no need to heat up the big oven for only 2 tostadas (I love my toaster oven)

Don't heat up the oven for only 2 tostadas (I love my #toasteroven). [Tweet this]

Spread about 1/2 cup of beans and rice on each crispy tortilla.

*Note:  the beans and rice can be any kind of beans and rice such as my Black Beans and Rice, Red Beans and Rice, Bean and Rice (Taco Salad), or just simply a can of beans cooked with a cup of dry rice + water, a can of tomatoes, and your favorite spices.

Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of cheese (more or less to your liking) on top of the beans and rice.

Then, broil for a couple of minutes until the beans and rice are re-heated and the cheese is melted.

Top with any optional ingredients or any toppings you choose.  Some ideas are lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, salsa, and/or guacamole.

Makes 1 serving of 2 tostadas.  You can easily multiply this recipe to feed more.

Enjoy.

Check out all the other recipes mentioned in this post:

Black Beans and Rice	Red Beans and Rice	Salsa (How to Make)
Bean and Rice (Taco Salad)	Cinnamon Spice Fish Tacos	Guacamole (Quick & Easy)

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, 2 Cup, Treasure Box, Lou Lou Girls Tickle My Tastebuds, Wakeup, Whimsy, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends, Favorites

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Beans and Rice Taco Salad

A vegetarian meal of tortilla chips and lettuce, topped with spicy rice and beans, and finished with avocado sour cream and cilantro.

Oh no, not another taco salad recipe.  Yes another taco salad recipe.  As I'm sure you all know by now I love taco salad.  Not only is it my favorite meal but it's also a great way to reuse leftovers.

I had leftover cilantro, avocado lime dressing, and a jalapeno from my Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos.  I also had some leftover rice...from something...and plenty of tortilla chips from the huge Costco bag that we frequently buy.  So in my mind the only way to use all of these leftovers is taco salad.  I could probably make taco salad with just abut anything. I could have also just made rice and beans but I always eat my rice and beans with tortilla chips on the side (to satisfy my crunchy fetish) so I just put it all together for one simple and delicious, meatless meal.  This can easily be made vegan by omitting the sour cream.

Bean and Rice Taco Salad

Ingredients:

1 jalapeno, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups beans (I used red beans but black beans or pinto would be great too)
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup salsa, hot
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
lettuce
tortilla chips
cilantro
*Avocado Sour Cream

*Avocado Sour Cream:  Blend together about 1/4-1/2 cup Avocado lime dressing (optional), 1 small avocado, and 8 oz sour cream.  Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time to thin it to what ever consistency you prefer.  

In a large skillet or stock pot (over medium heat) cook jalapenos, in a bit of oil, until soft.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.

Then add the rice, beans, salsa, spices, and salt & pepper to taste.  Mix thoroughly.  Cover and cook until heated through and salsa cooks down.

Serve atop lettuce and tortilla chips with cilantro and Avocado sour cream.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Merry Monday, Two Cup, LouLou Girls, Tasty Tuesday, Teach me Tuesday, Brag About It, Whimsy Wednesday, Wednesday Roundup, Full Plate, Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend

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Red Beans and Rice

A one dish meal of red kidney beans flavored with bacon and peppers served over rice.

My husband's job requires him to travel frequently.  This leaves me home alone for 2 weeks to a month at a time.  I love being alone.  I'm very introverted, I enjoy time by myself more than I enjoy being around a lot of people.  I love my husband but it's nice to live alone for a little bit.  When it's just me I like to cook big meals that will last a whole week, and I like to have everything in one dish.  I make a lot of chillies and stews where I can have my proteins and vegetables all together and just reheat a big pot of it for dinner every night (for a week).  My husband is away for the month of August so I will be sharing someone dish meals.  I hope you enjoy them.

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight
3 strips bacon
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 jalapenos, diced
2 small onions, diced
2 cups tomato puree
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
cayenne pepper to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry in a large pot over medium heat (do not drain).  Once bacon is cooked add the peppers and onions (you can dice them by hand but I was lazy and blitzed them in my food processor which made them a very fine dice) and cook until tender.

Add the pre-soaked and drained beans then the tomato puree, chicken broth, thyme and oregano.  Allow to come to a boil and lower heat to simmer.  Cover the pot and simmer until beans are tender.  This can take up to 3 hours (you could also make in a slow cooker and cook on low all day, or use canned beans for quicker cooking).  Once beans are tender add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.

Serve over white rice.  Makes 5-6 servings.

Enjoy.

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