chipotle's basmati rice

I love Chipotle's rice they add to the burrito bowls! It is SO yummy! Thankfully, I found the recipe online, and it is a TRUE recipe that they use!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter

2 tsp. fresh cilantro

2/3 cup white basmati rice

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Add cilantro after fluffing rice.

{red beans & rice}

I've made this a couple times in my married life. It's a huge dish, but it's very delicious!! It's a little spicy, but not too bad.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c brown or white rice

1 c canned tomatoes (1 can)

1 c grated cheese

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 c cooked red beans (1 can), drained

2 1/2 c water

Heat oil, add onion & garlic, cook over medium heat until soft. Add rice and stir to coat. Add tomatoes, break them up with a spoon. Add chili powder, sugar, salt & cayenne pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add beans & water. (use liquid from tomatoes, if they were canned!). Add cheese. Transfer to an 8 cup casserole and bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.

{potato casserole}

This yummy recipe is always made on holidays for my family. Why only the holidays? Because it's loaded with tons of fat (sour cream, butter, cheese, etc), and frankly because it costs so much money to make! We love it so much though.... I think I need to start making it more often and just freeze half of it in the freezer (9x9 pans). This dish generally goes by Holiday Potatoes, Funeral Potatoes, but I just call it potato casserole.

Ingredients:

3 - 12 oz pkg shredded hash browns, thawed

1/2 c melted butter

1/2 c diced onion

salt, pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup

12 oz sour cream

10 oz cheddar cheese, grated

Mix together, bake at 45 minutes at 350 degrees in a greased 9x13 pan.

Amy's Notes:

*After several years of getting tired of biting into onions that still tasted a bit strong, I started sauteeing them a bit before I added them to the recipe. It takes out the strong onion taste, but still adds to the recipe!

{creamy parmesan mashed potatoes}

(picture is not mine... it's Kraft's)

I love my Kraft Food & Family magazine. It's free, and comes out every quarter. I have tried numerous recipes from them, and they ALL are delicious. This recipe came from my new magazine. We tried it tonight, and it is most definitely a WINNER (and a keeper!). It isn't very calorie friendly, but I think if you use low-fat (or even fat free) cream cheese & sour cream, it could be a little friendlier to your hips.

Ingredients:

2 lb. red potatoes (about 8), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 oz of Philadelphia's 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup Light Sour Cream
3 Tbsp KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

PLACE potatoes in large saucepan. Add broth; cover. Bring to boil on high heat; simmer on medium heat 15 min., stirring after 8 min. Uncover; stir potatoes. Simmmer, uncovered, 5 to 6 min. or until potatoes are tender and most of broth is absorbed.

ADD cream cheese. Reduce heat to low. Mash potatoes slightly until cream cheese is melted. Add sour cream and Parmesan; mash until potatoes are smooth and heated through.

Amy's Notes:

**I thought "uhh... 1 cup of broth isn't enough!" well, it is, and I drained part of my entire can of chicken broth out of my pan to make it about 1 cup of broth. Just make sure you follow the directions CLOSELY!! It really does resemble the mashed potatoes you might find at Applebee's or Chili's!