Mom's Diner Spanish Rice

What you need:

• Rice pot (unless YOU know how to cook rice on the stove top.. I can't LOL!)
• 2 1/2 cups rice ( I prefer medium grain)
• 1 tsp 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 TBSP Knoor Chicken Tomato Boullion
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5-6 cups water

What you do:

1. Melt butter in a non-stick skellet over mnedium high heat.
2. Add pepper flakes stirring constatnly for 1 minute then add rice.
3. Stir rice to coat with butter, then stir occasionally until it starts browning.
4. Add rice, water (start with 5), salt & boullion to rice pot.
5. Stir occasionally as the rice boils, adding water of it looks necessary. Browned rice will absorb more water than regular.

Shared recipe: Tuna Pasta Salad

I got this tasty sounding tuna pasta salad recipe from my friend and fellow blogger, Jenn - Author at "Is that a Chanel? (Trendy fashions on a budget)"

And it can be used as a Main Dish or a tasty Side!

I'll be buying the ingredients tonight (the very few I don't have in the pantry already)! Hubby has a tuna allergy, so I'll be making it with canned chicken but she assures me that it is just as good!

Tuna Pasta Salad

*Depending on the servings, you can multiply anything you want.
I've written this for servings of four. Anything you or your family doesn't
like, you're welcome to take it out, it still tastes delicious!

Ingredients:

• (2) Cans of Black Olives
• (4) Cans of Tuna
• (1) Bottle of Italian Dressing
• (1) Bottle of Ranch Dressing
• (1) Bag of Pepperoni
• (1) Bag of Shredded Chedder Cheese
• (2) Bags of Pasta shells (use any kind you like, use your imagination!)
  

Directions:

1. Bring about a half a pot full of water to a boil.
2. Stir in noodles, and cook until soft and chewy.
3. Pour noodles in strainer, to get water out. Try to get almost all of it out.
4. Chop up all of the olives in a chopper and pour into the noodles.
5. Pour the tuna, and cheddar cheese into the noodles as well.
6. Stir and put in fridge for about 15 minutes.
7. Take out of the fridge, and pour in the two dressings and extra cheese if wanted (You can add as much or little of the dressings as you want, but I suggest you add a little more Italian than Ranch, because the Ranch can overpower the taste of the Italian, and you won't be able to taste it.).
8. STIR WELL.
9. After stirred, put pepperoni on top, stir only a little, to get some of the pepperoni on the bottom and the middle.
10. Put in a bowl and in the fridge until very cold.

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Why I'm here and Today's Menu

Stay at home moms, working moms, college moms, single moms, married moms, moms in waiting, and moms in dreaming... we all have one thing in common that has to be done daily....

We all have to eat!!!!!!!!!!!!

And someone has to put that food on the table.. usually us!

I have a family of 4 and a small budget. I'm a stay at home/work part time from home/full time college student mom. We have one income and though DH does well, food usually isn't our splurge. We do try to eat out at least once or twice per pay period just to give me a break if nothing else. And we do hit the staples, hot dogs, pizzas (we make those at home and they're SOOOOOO much better!) burgers (though I try to jazz that up too!) We just like to have fun with our food.

I create a menu every two weeks, with a shopping list, and we eat off that until the next pay period. It's not as hard as you think! After I finish this pay period's menu I'll post that too with the cost so you can see how I do it.

I try to bring a minimum of 4 new recipes to the menu per week. That is getting harder and harder as we find new favorites that everyone requests to be on the menu, but I try.




Menu:
Baked Pork Chops (1 1/2 lb @ less than $2/lb)
Foil baked corn on the cob (6 pk $2)
Sauteed Squash (4/$2)
Mashed Potatoes (2 servings @ less than 50¢ serving)
Garlic Bread (1/2 of a $2 box) One of my more expensive mealsabout $9 total or about $2.25 per serving(Fresh veggies are still a little out of season so they cost more.This will go down to soon when the squash and fresh corn hit 4-6/$1)- - - AND - - -There was a full serving to send to work with hubby for lunch!!Wouldn't the ppl at work be jealous to see you show up with this??

No this isn't my plate.. it's the hubby's... mine has no taters :-)


Sauteed squash and mashed potatoes anyone can do so I won't bore you. Whatever your favorite is however you like to do it. The Garlic bread was boxed/frozen I just followed the directions, LOL!

For the pork I defrosted the chops and stabbed then with a fork. I know some foodies will die here but I like to get the marinade IN them faster.

Marinade:

• 1/2 c Italian dressing
• 1/8 c A-1 (yes the steak sauce)
• 1 tsp Herbs d' Provence (you can get it at most stores, if not use Italian seasoning)

Mix all in a zipper bag and shove 4 - 1" chops in. I marinated them for about an hour.


Corn:

• 4-6 ears of corn (I use frozen out of season)
• butter or margarine
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
• 1 Foil sheet per ear

This one is easy. On the foil put a pat of butter, seasonings, corn, roll and seal ends.

Preheat oven to about 35o°.

On your grill pan (so any fat falls away), bake the chops for about 25 minutes then flip for an additional 20 or so until they're done.

The corn can go on a pan in oven at the same time. I prefer this over tossing them on the rack because it catches any butter that escapes.

Voila! A meal!

Hope you enjoy the first installment!

Anne Marie