Mexican Rice, Delicious!

2 cups rice

2 Tbs canola oil

2 cups Herdez salsa (or other favorite, homemade, etc., medium or mild)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Brown rice in 2 Tbs canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add Salsa. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Place in oven heated to 350 for 30 minutes.

I made this today in my new cast iron enameled casserole dish (which I LOVE). It was just a touch over done, so if you use anything like that I would recommend checking it at 20 minutes. Also, we used hot salsa which Claire tolerated, but normally she would eat a ton of rice and she only ate half of what I expected. Whoops!

We had it with Chile Verde burritos, but it would go with anything in a tortilla! Pretty easy and way better than the stuff from a packet.

Green Beans WITH BACON

So the traditional cream of mushroom green bean casserole has never been a favorite. Really, I find it disgusting. I found a really awesome, but really complicated version out of my Martha Stewart cookbook. I loved it until I made it the second time, right when my aversion to food was ramping up while I was pregnant with Claire. Since then, I've not been up to the task as it is very labor intensive. I found this alternative last year and I don't think I will ever do it another way. Who doesn't like bacon anyway?

Serves 8

2 lbs Fresh Green Beans

3 tbs Butter

8 slices Thick Cut Bacon

Fresh Ground Pepper

Snap the beans into one inch lengths. Cut the bacon into one inch squares or smaller. Melt the butter in a skillet. Throw in the bacon and cook until crispy. Set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook beans in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain beans and add to bacon/butter mixture. Stir until coated. Add pepper to taste.

Enjoy!