Dirty Rice and Dragons

*gigglesnort* that title sounds like a really, really bad movie. It pretty much sums up my evening, though. Made a cross between dirty rice and red beans and rice for dinner tonight and have been working steadily on my cross stitch.

Dinner wasn't as pretty, but I'm pretty sure it tasted better than the cross stitch would have. Kidney beans, rice cooked in chicken broth, smoked sausage, onions, garlic, and spices vs. cotton fabric and thread...Hmmm...

Oh! And the new crochet hook I ordered came today! Such excitement! Yep, that's my life, one thrill after another.

Cajun Rice Dinner

3C. Uncooked rice
6C. Chicken broth
1lb smoked sausage, sliced
2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t paprika
3/4 t salt
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t thyme
Sprinkle cayenne (more it you like it hot)
2 T Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed.

Bring broth to a boil, add rice, cover, and cook 20 minutes, until broth is absorbed and rice is tender.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and sausage, cook until onion is tender and sausage is browned. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add beans and seasonings and stir together.

Stir sausage mixture into the rice. Add more Cajun seasoning as needed.
You may add 2 stalks sliced celery and/or 1 chopped bell pepper to the skillet when you cook the onion if you like, my family doesn't care for them.

Fried Rice

So hubby wanted something to take to work for lunch and nothing sounded good.  Veggie fried rice? He loves rice, so...
I make a lot, so feel free to halve it.

Vegetable Fried Rice

4-5 cups cooked rice, leftover is fine.
1 C. Frozen peas, thawed
3 eggs, beaten
1 large onion, chopped (we love onion)
1/2 t. Garlic powder
1/2 C. Soy sauce
1/4 C. Vegetable oil

Scramble eggs, remove from skillet and set aside. Add a drizzle of the oil, then add the onions. Cook, stirring, until soft.  Add peas and cook until heated through.  Add rice and eggs. Stir to combine.  Add remaining oil, soy sauce, and garlic powder, stirring, until well mixed and heated through.

Dinner for 4, less than $10

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to feed us without breaking the bank, especially since our oldest came home.  Who'd have thought one more mouth would raise the food bill so much!
So tonight I really didn't feel like cooking, but we'd already had pizza this week, so...*sigh* guess I was cooking. It's been hot today and my husband works in the heat, which is draining, so I knew he wasn't going to want to stop by the store, and I certainly didn't want to, so that left what I had on hand.
OK, I can do this. Here's what I came up with. There are a lot of similar recipes out there, but, here it is.  After eating it, I think it would be good with rice, too, as long as you used cooked rice. Using uncooked would take too long, and I know I never have any luck with that...there's always so much that doesn't cook either at all or not completely, and if ruins dinner.

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

1 large or 2 small chicken breast halves (or thighs), cooked and shredded
1 box stuffing mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 can cream soup (whatever flavor you like)
1 C. Water
Salt and pepper to taste (and any other seasoning you like)

Heat oven to 350.
Mix butter and stuffing mix and set aside.
Whisk water and soup together and set aside
Spray a 8x8" pan with nonstick spray.
Remove 1/4 C. Stuffing and set aside.
Spread half the stuffing on bottom of pan. Top with half the chicken, then half the soup. Repeat. Sprinkle reserved stuffing on top.
Bake 30 minutes.

If you use rice, I would think about 3 cups would do, and I personally, would season it with salt, pepper, and maybe poultry seasoning, and cook it in. Chicken broth.