Friday, March 24, 2006

Ahh... not too hot here - yet!

What a nice spring time day in Phoenix today. We had the doors and windows open as it was sunny and 85 with a nice cool breeze that swept through the house all day. The dogs spent quite a bit of time outside today - of course I caught them rolling in the fresh cut grass ... with a white pup I knew I should have raked some of the clippings up!

Anyway, on to tonight's dinner! Cheesy Beef-and-Rice Casserole has a base of jasmine rice that I cooked with half water half broth to infuse the rice with a bit of flavor. Mixed with the rice was a combination of sour cream, green onions, milk and a few dashes of Frank's red hot sauce. This is the bottom layer of the dish. Spread on top is lean ground sirlion that was browned with onions and smoky fire roasted red peppers. Spices and chunky tomatoes are added in to the beef and allowed to simmer for the flavors to come together. This thick mixture is poured over the rice and then topped with a blend of shredded mozarella, monterey jack and cheddar. Baked until the cheese is melted and the sides are bubbling - the result is a layer of rice that soaked up a bit of the extra liquid from the tomato sauce while the rest of the flavors melded together quite well.

Recipes
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5 comments:

  1. fuzzbert_1999@yahoo.com3/24/2006 09:53:00 PM

    Joe, wonderful layout on your blog, maybe someday, if I work at it I too can have an eye catching page. I started posting my homemade recipes after a suggestion from email friends who wanted to see what they looked like. Mushys Cookings (www.mushyscookings.blogspot.com) thus began.

    Maybe you can find something you like there too. I definitely want to try at least two of your right away.

    Paul

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  2. Barbara3/25/2006 11:12:00 AM

    Looks good, as always!

    I know what you mean about white dogs and freshly cut grass. Sophie's long white hair on her belly is usually a nice bright shade of green after she's tromped through the freshly cut lawn.

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  3. Joe3/25/2006 04:23:00 PM

    Mushy - thanks for checkin us out!

    Barbara - I think Max will have to get a good spray down outside today! It's getting quite warm again.

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  4. Jennifer3/27/2006 01:06:00 AM

    Yum, that casserole sounds really good-right up my alley. I love casseroles.

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  5. Jennifer4/10/2006 10:55:00 PM

    Joe--I finally made this, with a few substitutions based on what was on hand in my pantry!
    It was reall good--I'm taking it for lunch tomorrow.
    I used brown rice cooked in beef broth, 2 cans of rotel tomaotoes with green chilies (one was also w/ habaneros), and when I realized I was out of sour cream, I subbed plain lowfat yogurt that I drained over a fine mesh strainer.
    A definite keeper-and as I showed, I very versatile recipe.

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