Green Rice

We love the cilantro lime rice at Chipotle. We've tried to research recipes to recreate it as closely as possible, but so far everything's fallen short. I like the imitations, but they're nothing like the original to me. Anyway, last night we had enchiladas, and I really wanted a new rice recipe to go with it. I remember seeing Bobby Flay (maybe on a Throwdown episode, but I can't remember) making a green sauce with sauteed spinach for rice one time, so I incorporated that idea but with my own spin. We were very pleased with the result, so here it is.

Alicia's Green Rice

(serves 4)

1 cup basmati rice

2 Tbsp butter

juice of 1 lime

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For Sauce:

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/8 cup green chile enchilada sauce (or enough to make your desired consistency)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add rice and the juice of half a lime, and stir over the heat for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil stirring often. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes (or until the rice has absorbed all of the chicken stock). Add the rest of the lime juice and the chopped cilantro, then stir in the green sauce (directions below).

Green sauce: Process spinach, cilantro, and enchilada sauce in a food processor until smooth. (Note: I always use Pict Sweet frozen chopped spinach. It's very handy because you can keep it in the freezer and measure out as much as you need to thaw since it's not in a big block like boxed sauteed spinach.)

Enjoy!

New spin on an old classic

I absolutely love the green rice recipe I've been making for quite some time now. But tonight I made these enchiladas (HIGHLY recommend them...and everything else I've tried from this site!), and I didn't have any green enchilada sauce. I made a few changes, and I think I may even prefer this way now. I made the rice in the exact same way. I also made the same sauce base just without the enchilada sauce. Instead I put the cilantro, spinach, and some lime juice in the food processor with 1/4 chopped onion, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, and 1 garlic clove. I pulsed it until it all came together, then dumped it into the rice after it was done cooking. We haven't sat down to dinner yet, but I can't keep myself from grabbing a spoonful from the bowl every time I walk past the kitchen. Yum!

2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated our little girl's second birthday a little early this past weekend. I was hoping to not be in labor or have a days-old newborn for the party, and it worked out well. I thought I'd share some pictures and ideas that worked well for us.

First, the theme. My daughter loves Elmo. I thought that would be a fun theme to work with, but I'm not a big fan of spending tons of money on licensed-character things. I decided to use the Elmo things she already has to decorate and fill in the rest with red and aqua. So all the plates, cups, napkins, etc. were red, not Elmo. It was inexpensive, and I think it turned out very cute. To decorate, I made red and aqua tissue paper flowers and picture garlands made from pictures of the past year tied onto twine with red and aqua ribbons.

The menu: Since I'm very pregnant, and we wanted to go small, we planned a family and close friends party right around dinner time. Elmo's favorite food is pizza, so we jumped on that idea. Instead of ordering a bunch of pizzas, we chose to do a make-your-own pizza bar. I made a bunch of pizza dough (using this recipe - scroll down to find it) and formed it into individual-sized balls. Then we listed a bunch of topping ideas and sauces and prepared them the day before. We had marinara, alfredo, and barbecue for the sauces. Then I had pepperoni, ham, bacon, roasted chicken, black olives, green bell peppers, fresh onion, caramelized onion, wilted spinach, artichoke hearts, pineapple, tomatoes, mushrooms, and an assortment of cheeses for toppings. People just grabbed a ball of dough, spread it to their desired thickness, and topped it with whatever their heart desired. We baked them in the center of the oven at 500 degrees for 7-9 minutes. They were delicious! Everything was very easy to do ahead of time, so I had literally no cooking or prep to do the day of the party. I just opened air-tight containers and dumped them into the dishes.For dessert I did red velvet cupcakes (from a box) and cream cheese frosting tinted aqua (3 packs of cream cheese and 2 sticks of salted butter softened whipped with 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 3/4 pound of powdered sugar). They were topped with Elmo Oreo balls (recipe here and inspiration here). This was a fun project. I had a good friend over to help me a week or two ago, and we froze them until the party.For favors I used little tin buckets I found at WalMart after Valentine's Day for 30 cents. I made chocolate-covered pretzel rods decorated with red and aqua sprinkles and chocolate-covered Rice Krispie treats. Easy and delicious.Everything was simple but fun. Hannah had a blast which is absolutely most important. I'm so thankful our sweet boy held off until the party was finished. Hope you find some good ideas and inspiration for your next party.

Homemade Babyfood Tutorial, Part One

UPDATED TO ADD: Thank you so much, Jenny! I forgot to mention that it is not recommended to make your own cereals. There is absolutely no nutritional value in rice. So, even though it is easy and cheap, there is no need for a baby to have a homemade cereal - it would be a filler only and would keep them from being hungry enough for the nutritional things they need. Instead, the commercial cereals are fortified heavily in iron and other nutritional needs. Please keep commenting with your tips and suggestions throughout this blog series! I'd love to learn as we go.

I've been taking pictures here and there and filing away basic hints for making homemade babyfood. I know several of my friends are interested in a tutorial, so I thought I'd post it here. I make all of Hannah's food. My reasoning is strictly financial, but we have found enormous benefits additionally. Here is the basic argument for making your own baby food:

• You control what goes into the food - quality, quantity, and extras
• There are no preservatives (something we found out after the fact that Hannah is very sensitive to!)
• It is VERY cost-effective
• It's easy
• The purees taste just like the real thing, so the transition to table food is much easier
• The possibilities of food combinations are endless!

Okay, here are the tools I use most frequently. 1) Steamer - We got this one from WalMart on sale for $20. It has honestly been the best investment that I've ever made in an appliance. I almost use it once a day! I'd highly recommend this one because every part is dishwasher safe - awesome.

2) Ice Cube Trays - I go through these quickly. I'm about to invest in all silicone because I find the plastic ones break very easily with how frequently they're used around here.

3) Freezer Bags - I buy quart and gallon-sized

4) Food Processor - This one is the Cuisinart Mini Prep - cheap, high-quality, and all dishwasher safe

5) Pastry Blender - I rarely use the food processor at this point in Hannah's development. I typically mash everything with either this pastry blender or my mix n' chop (see #7).

6) Fine Mesh Strainer - After pureeing things like peas, green beans, corn, or anything that's stringy or has a skin to it, you'll want to press it through a fine or medium mesh strainer to achieve a more desirable consistency for your baby at first.

7) Pampered Chef Mix n' Chop - This has become my favorite all-purpose kitchen tool. It is safe for non-stick pans, so I can use it to chop up ground beef or turkey, it is very sturdy so I can use it to mash fairly firm things, and it was a very good buy at $9.50. Lucky for you, I'm hosting a Pampered Chef catalog show now through January 30th. Let me know if you're interested in buying one of these or anything else!

8) Steamer basket - I have only used this a couple of times, but I got it for $1 in Target's dollar section. It's worth it if you don't want to buy the countertop steamer or if you want to steam multiple things at once.