RUM-N-NOODLES

Be Creative      I almost never make the same thing twice.  I have made breakfast burritos dozens of times (pretty much every time the freezer runs out).  But what I put in them changes every time.  How I make them depends on my mood, what I have around, something I'm craving or a story about "Americans don't get enough (insert any vitamin or mineral here)".  I think a recipe should be a starting point but where you go from there depends on what you and your family like.  One trick I like to use is only get crazy with one portion,  for example, I saw a cooking video where the guy used cactus in his omelettes.  I want to try this but I'm not going to commit to a whole batch just in case its horrible, so I'll make all but the last two like normal and add the cactus to those two to try it out.      This works well for me on a few different levels.  I can use up anything I have that is going to go bad or has only a small amount remaining.  It gives me

Tangy Black Bean Burritos      This is the dish I get the most compliments on, and it freezes well if you just want to make up a couple batches and not share.  I am normally all about using the cheapest generic brands I can find, but for this I use Philadelphia cream cheese, it gives the burritos the tang and a much fuller flavor than the other brands.  If Philadelphia brand cream cheese wants to pay me for promoting their product that is great, until then I will just keep watching for it to go on sale and stocking my freezer with these yummy burritos. Ingredients 10 tortilla shells 1 medium onion diced 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies 1 4 oz can mild green chilies 1 cup frozen corn 1 8oz package Philadelphia cream cheese 2 cups black beans 1 table spoon cumin 1 teaspoon paprika (smoked if you have it) 2 cloves garlic salt to taste      Start by cooking the onion in the oil until the onion is soft.  Cut the cream c

Freeze Your Veggies Off      Other than onions and potatoes that will keep a long time I use frozen vegetables whenever i can.  When I go to the store I know what I am planning on making but I never really have a plan for when I'm going to make it.  The frozen varieties will keep for months with out wasting food and money on stuff that goes bad on your counter.  Also the frozen stuff is picked at its peak where "fresh" stuff has to be picked early and ripens as it sits in the truck on the way to the store.  I never sat down and checked the exact prices of fresh in season produce verses frozen, but i know not throwing stuff away saves me money.  And buying out of season is more expensive for sure.  And I like the blends they have for different dishes.  There is no rule that you have to make what the dish the blend is named after.  I'm pretty sure the farmers just want to sell their crops to pay their bills and are not going to complain when i use the fajita blen

Saucy Chicken Stir-Fry      Here is another recipe you will be surprised at how easy it is to make.  You can find frozen veggies that are all ready portioned out for stir-fry or mix and match the ones you like.  I like using  ready made stir fry blend.  The sauce makes the dish,  so once you have that down you can pick and choose veggies you like.  This is also a good way to clean out all the partial bags of veggies that end up in my freezer from recipes that don't use the full bag. Ingredients 3 chicken thighs (cooked and torn into pieces) 2  16 oz packages of frozen stir fry vegitables 2 table spoons corn starch (you can use flour if you don't have corn starch) 2 cups home made chicken stock 3/4 cup hoisin (or Korean BBQ sauce) 3 cloves garlic minced 2 tablespoon ginger minced 4 cups cooked brown rice      Add the packages of stir fry veggies to a non-stick skillet on medium heat stirring occasionally until they start to get cooked.  Add the corn