Monday, January 30, 2012

Taco Beans and Rice

YAWN....So slepy tonight! Its been a long day... i've been up since 4:30 this morning and i can totally swear i hear my bed calling! Can't wait! But i also do not want to neglect my blog! I guess the name of this little corner of the blogging world sums up my last few days. 

Tonight, I thought i would review what I have planned for meals for this week and then I thought i would share my lovely Saturday "girl's day" with a good friend! 

First, the meals we are going to eat... Our lunches will be from the lovely Girl Who Ate Everything. This week we are trying out her Fruit and Nut Salad in which I am using my candied walnuts (left over from my Christmas giveaway treat) and without the apples (mostly because I forgot to chop them up and include them into the baggies!) It will definitely be tasty either way! Maybe later on in the week i will decide to get rid of a few apples to put on the side! 

For our dinners, I will share a recipe that i have changed and altered based on my preference. My preference in this case would be: PROTEIN! It is originally a vegetarian recipe, but i add ground turkey. Without further ado...

Taco Beans and Rice

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What you will need:
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
3 large bell peppers (I like red, yellow, and orange) 
1 bag of chopped onions (approx. 2 cups)
1-2 15 oz. cans of kidney beans, rinsed
1 packet taco seasonings
2 cups brown or white rice, frozen or cooked by you!
Shredded cheddar cheese
Restaurant Style Salsa - as much as desired (mild, medium or hot - you choose)
Optional: 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, Cilantro, tortilla chips, sour cream

Here's what to do: 
1. Brown the ground turkey in a dutch oven, making sure to break it into small pieces. While this is browning, chop the bell peppers. Once the turkey is beginning to brown up a little more and most of the pink is gone, put in all chopped onion and bell peppers. Let the turkey and veggies cook for about 5-7 minutes. 
2. Once the veggies have softened a bit you can add the kidney beans and the taco seasoning and let simmer  for another 10 minutes. 
3. Serve over rice and top with cheese and salsa. 
Optional: Skip the rice and scoop up with tortilla chips instead. You can also top with sour cream! 
Enjoy! 

Here's what it looks like:

Hubby said this was a particularly good batch. I think it was cause I happened to add a little bit of taco seasoning cause I had an opened package and an unopened package that I put in this time. He likes the spice! 

Ok... BIG YAWN!!! Off to shower and find my bed! 

PS. I did a little blogger planning yesterday! Excited about what's to come! Even got a pretty good idea of what I might do for a link up party! Gonna let it fester a bit to see which idea I like best! (Plus I gotta figure out how to do it!)