Cheesy Meatball Rice Skillet

This has been on my Tasty Tuesday list to try for a while. I really only like meatballs now with the meatball/meatloaf mix(beef, veal, pork) and I haven't been able to find it! I found some last week so I picked it up with this recipe in mind!

Cheesy Meatball Rice Skillet-adapted from Eat At Home
20 meatballs, cooked
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basil, dry
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 pkg frozen veggies(I used mixed)
2 cups 6 blend italian shredded cheese

Mix together all the ingredients expect for cheese and veggies. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook until rice is cooked through.(This will depend on the rice you use). Once rice is cooked, add in veggies and stir. Let sit for 5 mins. Stir in cheese until throughly melted.

**This took FOREVER to cook...I think it was the brown rice I used. Next time I'll use already cooked rice or even white rice. It was delicious none the less! It would be quick and easy with minute rice and kid friendly too!

Coconut Rice and Sweet Potatoes

I'm not sure what my appeal is to coconut is lately, but I seem to see coconut and I must try the recipe. This one I found in our local paper. The original recipe also calls for a 10 oz bag of edamame, but I did not have it, but it was great without it!

Coconut Rice and Sweet Potatoes
1 tsp olive or canola oil
1 cup peeled, diced sweet potatoes(I used 1.5)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 to 1 1/4 cup jasmine rice*
15 oz can coconut milk(I used lite)
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp lime zest(which I didn't have)
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
coconut

*I use a little bit more than a cup of brown jasmine rice, if you use white go ahead and use 1 1/4 cups.
In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the oil up. Add in sweet potatoes and ginger. Cook for about 4 mins.(Mine did take a little longer as I had to make sure all the potatoes got to the heat). Stir in rice, milk, juice, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 mins.(Mine seemed to take more like 20-25 mins) Use a fork to fluff the rice and add in the lime zest, stir. Serve topped with peanuts and coconut.

**This was delicious! I wasn't sure how it was going to be with the sw. potato even though it sounded really good. I'm sure the zest would have made it even better. The boys almost ate it even...A ate the rice at least.

Black Bean Rice Burgers

Black Bean Rice Burgers-shared by Taste of Home
-we did like this recipe...but i was having trouble keeping them together. K was surprised at how good they were and they were made tasty by the sauce. I did add shredded cheese to the top to help keep them together.

• 
  1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup salsa, divided
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 4 lettuce leaves
• 4 slices reduced-fat cheddar cheese (1 ounce each)
• 4 hamburger buns, split
  
  In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork. Add the rice, onion, egg and 2 tablespoons salsa; mix well. Drop by 1/2 cupfuls into a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Flatten to 1/2-in. thickness. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until firm and browned.
  In a small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining salsa. Place a lettuce leaf, burger, sour cream mixture and slice of cheese on bun. Yield: 4 servings.

• Kids Help: dump, rinse/drain beans, help mash beans, mix ingredients.
  
  
  Next Time: I will use a real egg vs. a substitute, this could have been the cause of why they didn't stick together. I will also make them thicker as that may help as well.

Mango Rice

One side dish I have been struggling with is rice...I love the boxed rice, but hello sodium! So I stumbled on this recipe and decide to give it a try!

Mango Rice-shared from Work it Mom
1/2 cup dried mango, chopped
2 cups brown rice
2 cups broth(chicken or veggie)
2 cups water
1 onion, diced
1 tsp cayene pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cumin

Place all ingredients into rice cooker and turn it on!

OR

Place all ingredients into pot. Bring to a boil. give it a quick stir. Cover and turn heat down as low as it will go.
Cook until rice is done.

**we really liked this...but it was very spicy! So I would cut down on the spices next time I make it. I also topped it with some coconut. YUM!

Orange Chicken

One of the other things we have done is pretty much given up eating out. This is really because we are on a VERY tight budget. Our menu is extensive some weeks and when Monday rolls around...although it may vary because I have been doing my menu planning on Tuesday/Wednesday, you will see that we try out a LOT of different foods/cuisines. We LOVE chinese...but it doesn't always love us. So I made this delicious dinner this evening and K(my husband) said it was much better than the restaurant! Definately a keeper!

Orange Chicken-adapted from Thoughts of a Wanderer
*sorry no picture as of yet...it was quite beautiful, almost too nice to eat!


Chicken;
2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons cornstarch
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil

Sauce:
1 1/2 cup water
1/2  orange, juiced
1 lemon juiced
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion(omitted)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tbsp cornstarch

- Throw chicken pieces, cornstarch, salt and pepper into a large ziplock bag and shake, shake, shake until coated.
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a deep skillet over medium heat and cook chicken until done.
- Remove chicken from skillet and wipe out (or use saucepan if your skillet isn’t deep enough). Add ingredients for sauce except for the cornstarch and bring to a slight boil. Add cornstarch to thicken if you like a thicker sauce (I always do this…it makes it feel more decadent and restaurant-like to me). Add chicken pieces into sauce and heat through, about 5 minutes.
- Serve over your choice of rice. We had it over Brown Jasmine rice and sliced cucumbers for a side.

what I did different: 
- added 3 tsbp cornstarch right to the sauce before I added it to the pan. If you have used cornstarch before, it thickens best in cold liquids this kept it from becoming lumpy.
-did not pack the sugar, as we are also watching our caloric intake.
-in a pinch, you can sub white wine vinegar for rice vinegar(something I learned when I forgot the rice vinegar!)
-zest of whole orange


Kid Help: have them shake the bag of chicken to coat the chicken, help squeeze the lemon/orange for the juice, help measure rice/water, and choose a veggie as a side


Next time: I will either bake the chicken pieces or cook them right in the sauce. We didn't feel that frying the chicken really added to the flavor.