Korean Beef

Ahhh! Is it already the end of August? Where oh where did summer go? I feel slightly like a chicken with no head this year. Everytime I sit down to do something on the computer I get distracted by my school timetable and feel the need to pick up my textbook instead of blogging/emailing etc. 

Last summer our meals consisted of a lot of hamburgers and hot dogs. This year buns (or any bread items) are such a premium item around here that we have strayed from that. I have had to find a few other meals that are quick, easy and don't need the oven turned on! 

I came across this recipe on the blog LizzieWrites, and have made it numerous time throughout the last few months. Hubby loves it, the kids gobble it up and it makes the house smell fantastic!! From start to finish this recipe takes approx. 20-30 minutes (and most of that time is waiting for the rice to cook!). All I've changed are some quantities because I found her sauce didn't make enough to decently simmer the meat in.

I've made this so many times and I keep forgetting to take a picture. One day I will learn, one day!

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef,

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce (I use a GF one)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ginger (1 tsp if using fresh ginger minced)

1 tsp crushed red peppers (or more if you want it spicier!)

1 Bunch green onions, diced (optional)

Rice, cooked as directed..

Brown ground beef with garlic. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and red peppers in a bowl. Add to cooked ground beef. Simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavours. Serve over hot rice. Top with diced green onions if desired.

Taco Casserole

I was trying to decide what to make for supper yesterday and came up with this really yummy dish! Not really a super pretty dish, so I once again forgot to take pictures...I'll try to get better at that!

Ingredients
2 Cups Rice - Cook as directed
1lb Ground Beef, Browned
1 Recipe Refried Beans
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Water
2 Cups Salsa
2 Cups Grated Cheese, plus some for topping 
Tortilla Chips, Crushed

Mix together everything over medium heat in a large frying pan (except the rice and the topping cheese). Stir until well mixed (it wont look pretty lol). In a 9x13 pan start layering rice, meat mixture, rice, meat mixture. End with meat mixture and then extra grated cheese on top. Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot, topped with crushed tortilla chips.

Delicious the first time and delicious reheated the next day!

Southwest Breakfast Casserole

Finished and ready to eat!

Before baking.

Our meatless Monday's dish...or this week's Meatless Tuesday lol (we had leftovers that needed eating yesterday).

So simple, so tasty and yes so filling...not to mention economical!

Ingredients
(I have tripled the recipe, and it is enough to feed 3 adults, 2 kids and have 2 lunches leftover (and yes, it reheats quite well! And of course I use more cheese then the original recipe because cheese is wonderful!)


3 Cups Cooked Rice
1 1/2 Cups Salsa
2-3 Cups Cooked Beans
Shredded Cheese (a cup or two)
8-9 Eggs

Mix rice and salsa in the bottom of a casserole dish and press flat. Sprinkle some cheese on top. Spread beans on top. Sprinkle more cheese. Dig 'pockets' in the layers for however many eggs you want to put in. I do 8 or 9 depending on how I space the pockets. Crack eggs into pockets. Sometimes I put 2 in the centre if its a bigger hole :)
Bake at 350°F for 30-50 minutes or until egg whites are no longer runny. Baking time depends on your preference of egg...a little runny yolk or fully cooked. Enjoy!

What's On The Table?

I have finally found a recipe that my husband approves of that doesnt have meat! *squeal of excitement!*
I can finally do Meatless Mondays even if I have to make the same recipe every Monday until I can find another ok'd one!
It's called Southwest Breakfast Casserole. Beans, eggs, rice, salsa and cheese...doesnt get much easier or delicious!

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Crock Pot Taco Chicken

Last night's supper was amazing! And amazingly easy too. I was done making it (except the rice) by 930am! Now that's what I call a win!
BudgetBytes is a new website I have found courtesy of Pinterest, and she's got some pretty neat recipes. Also, they break down the cost of each recipe per serving. It's in American prices, but at least it gives you some sort of idea. It's a website that's worth taking a browse through :)

Ingredients
1.5lbs Chicken Breasts (I used 3 small ones and started with them frozen)
2 Cups Salsa
2 Cups Black Beans (Canned or pre-soaked and cooked)
1 Cup Frozen Corn
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp. Cumin
1/2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic 
1/2 Tsp. Oregano
1/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Tsp. Salt
Pepper, to taste
2 Cups Dry Rice
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (or more!)
Cilantro, to taste (optional)

Add everything to the slow cooker except the rice, cheese and cilantro (if using). Give it a good stir and then make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
Cook on low for 8 hours. (I have a large oval crock pot and it took less then 6, but yours may differ).
Cook rice towards the end of the cooking time.
At the end of the cooking time stir with a fork to shred the chicken.
Build taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro!



I think you could get away with adding double the beans and make this recipe go even farther. Everything is so flavourful that extra beans would just make it better :)
I love that I was able to make this with frozen chicken breasts. Freezer to crock pot to plate. I love it!



This recipe makes about 8 Servings. It's hard for me to estimate because hubby eats enough for 2 adults most of the time! We had a wonderful supper plus I had enough left over for 2 lunches for him and 1 lunch for me. I think this is my new favourite crock pot recipe!

I haven't tried it yet, but the original poster of this recipe said it freezes wonderfully, rice, cheese and all! Just throw in the microwave to reheat!

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Rice Milk...Take 2

I made rice milk again today and Im happy to say a mesh strainer makes ALL the difference!! Apparently I wasted a lot of milk last time with all the pouring and restraining because I got almost double the amount! I strained it twice and it was done!
I think Im going to try to use rice milk for all my baking and see how much it cuts our grocery bill :) I go through a lot of milk since I bake so much!! I flavoured most of it with vanilla and I like the slight taste it adds to everything :)

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Rice Milk

Again, I'm not turning vegan, but I am enjoying how creative these people are! I love a challenge and decided that making rice milk should be my next one :)
I did this yesterday and it tasted ok last night, but after a night of sitting in the fridge, I'd have to say it's actually quite good. I go through a lot of milk around here. From Sunday to Wednesday I went through about 5L! Obviously I still want my kids to drink whole milk since they don't have any allergies, but for baking and extras, I think I might try to use this. 1 Cup of Rice yielded about 7 Cups of milk. I did sweeten it on the recommendation of the author of the article, and I added a little oil for flavour as well. 1/3 of the milk I scraped out a vanilla bean and re-blended it. So I have 2 jars of plain sweetened rice milk, and 1 jar of vanilla rice milk...yummy!
To give credit where credit is absolutely due, please read this lady's article at VeganReader. She has a very interesting site, and is very informative. I will just give a brief recipe summary here for those of you that just want to make and don't want to read about it!
I will point out that you will be doing yourself a HUGE favour if you go to your local dollar store or wherever and buy a mesh strainer! I did not have this, and it took a long time to try and get all the gunk out! It's too heavy for cheese cloth, and the pieces are too small for a regular plastic strainer (as I found out the hard way!)

Ingredients
1 Cup Uncooked Long Grain Brown Rice
8 Cups Water for Cooking
Water for Diluting
1 Tsp. Salt
4-5 Tbsp. Maple Syrup (Optional)
2 Tbsp. Oil (Optional)
Vanilla Bean or Vanilla Extract (Optional)

Items Needed:
MESH strainer
Glass Mason Jars for Storage (Plastic will work, but things always taste better in glass!)
A Blender (Doesn't have to be anything special)

1. Thoroughly wash the rice.
2. Bring the 8 cups of water to a boil in a LARGE pot over high heat.
3. Pour in the rice.
4. Cover the pot and reduce to low heat and let the water simmer.
5. Cook for 3 hours. 

At the end of 3 hours, you will be left with a disgusting mash of soupy rice! Add the salt and stir well. 
6. In batches fill your blender 1/2 way with the soupy mixture and 1/2 way with water. 
7. Blend until very smooth. 
8. Strain twice through a fine mesh strainer. Continue on with the rest of the milk. 
9. Once strained add oil, maple syrup and vanilla/vanilla bean, if doing so, and re-blend. 
10. Pour into mason jars and screw the lids on tightly to prevent your milk from taking on a 'fridgy' smell!

This should store in the fridge for a week tightly covered, maybe longer :)

Apparently this is a lot thicker then Rice Dream, so if you are used to thinner, just dilute it until it's how you like it.
Shake the jar before using the milk as some settling will occur.

If you want to make a blended rice/nut milk, just add some blanched raw almonds, hazelnuts or some cashews at the blending stage.

As I mentioned above, it tastes a lot better after a night in the fridge :) I think you could probably do the rice in your slow cooker and cut down on cooking time, but you would have to experiment. You can also do this with white rice, but brown has more nutritional value. And the milk still comes out white!

I hope this can help someone who has no choice but to drink rice milk or just wants to lessen their grocery bill in the milk department! This is a lot more economical then the small boxes in the store. If you are worried about the nutritional value, since Rice Dream is fortified, please read article linked to above as she discusses that. Personally if I was going to drink this all the time, I would probably just make sure I was getting enough vitamins etc. from food and/or take a good multivitamin, but that's me. I am NOT a doctor, so especially if this is for your kids, I would recommend you consult their doctor if you are concerned!!