Whats for dinner?

Last night I was tried and didn't feel like slaving in the kitchen. I had just bought a box (yes, I said box...don't judge me) of tamales (yes, there is meat in tamales...stop judging me!!!) Which I had decided would be a super quick fix but I knew I wanted to serve it with some thing home made and healthy. This got me thinking about some rice and black beans we had been served at a Mexican cafe not to long ago. So I checked the pantry and I happened to have a can of black beans and plenty of brown rice (all organic of course, gotta make up for those tamales.) So I went to work...but not too much!

Let me just say for the record one thing about rice. ORGANIC!!! Always, always buy organic rice. Rice should be on your top five list of things to always buy organic. I will dedicate a separate post to organic vs. conventional rice some day down the road. But for now lets get back to dinner. I wasn't sure how I was going to go about making this side dish so I figured I had at least better get the rice cooking. I used one cup of organic brown rice and two cups of water. I placed this all in a medium sized sauce pan and brought it to a boil. Once it was boiling I turned the heat to low, put a lid on it and let it simmer for thirty minutes. When my timer went off I checked on this rice and to my surprise it was done cooking. This was a shock to me since normally I have to cook brown rice forever.

Then I popped open my can of black beans, strained the liquid off them and tossed them into the pan of rice. I stirred the two ingredients together, I am sure this would have been ok as is but I knew I wanted something special for my family. So off to the pantry I went, twisting my lips and scratching my head...what could I add? Tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, corn, nope these wouldn't work for what my taste buds were dreaming up. Then I saw my inspiration...

A jar of salsa! Sure, why not. I love and crave salsa daily and normally make my own fresh. But the last time I went to Costco I saw this mega size jar of organic salsa and decided it is way cheaper to buy that then to keep making it fresh. Sure fresh is great and I would never want to stray someone away from making it this way. You have complete control and knowledge of whats going into your salsa. How perfect is that? But I read the ingredient list long and hard and decided to go for the big jar. So I pulled the jar out of the pantry along with my mini food processor. I poured about a cup of salsa into my processor and blended it until it was all one liquid consistency. I added that along with a dash or two of hot sauce, Himalayan pink salt and little pepper.

This turned out awesome, fast, and so easy! Thomas (almost three years old) loved it. Anything that gets his stamp of approval is a keeper in this house hold. I will make it again and next time it will take center stage. If I add slices of bell pepper and potentially any of the following it will make a great burrito. Shrimp, cheese, sour cream, avocado, corn...the list could go on. I hope you try this recipe and add your own swing to it. I am sure its been done before but I just wanted to share what I felt like was an original recipe from me. ENJOY.