Taco night returned last night. Yay! My son mentioned over the weekend that we should make chicken tacos at home this week, just like Chipotles. Sounds great to me son! I love that my kids are starting to embrace Mexican food more than a simple cheese quesadilla – it makes me happy to see them grabbing for fixings to add to their tacos on their plates.

For this week’s taco night I wanted to add a simple side that I’ve made a couple times before using my beloved rice cooker. There are a few small appliances I have picked up over the years that have become lifesavers in the kitchen for me – this rice cooker being one of them (which is why I’m giving one away today!). I have to admit, when I first got my rice cooker, I was a little intimidated by it. I haven’t always cooked a ton of rice, and the water to rice ratio always threw me off for some reason, it just never turned out right. I am happy to report I’ve finally gotten over the intimidation and use my rice cooker almost weekly.

The best thing about this recipe for Mexican Rice that I’m sharing with you today is that I made it all in the rice cooker – at the same time. It is the easiest dish to put together ever! Pair it up with the chicken I cooked in the slow cooker for the tacos and I almost feel guilty about all the compliments I got at dinner last night – it was seriously one of the easiest dinners I’ve made in a while. All I had to really do when it came to dinner time is shred up the chicken and warm up the tortillas. Good stuff.

You can play with this rice a bit. I’ve added pinto beans to the mix before, but this time I tried corn. I always start with the rice and water at the bottom, then put the extras right up on top – without stirring. Once the cooker does it’s magic I fluff it up real good with a fork, drizzle some olive oil over it and season it well with salt and pepper. It’s a perfect side dish for taco night! Enjoy!

(more…)

The post Mexican Wild Rice Recipe appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I really can’t believe we are in the month of May already. The kids have started their countdown until summer vacation starts, and to be honest so have I. It’s always bittersweet ending another school year and watching your kids grow up right before your eyes – but I truly look forward to not having to set an alarm clock or pack lunches or being on any kind of schedule for a couple of months. Lazy days ahead!!

Warm weather dinners, the kind where most of your food is cooked out on the grill or prepped ahead of time and served chilled, are my favorite. I love the early evenings of summer where the kids are jumping into the pool while I’m getting the grill ready for dinner. We had one of those nights recently, though it was a school night it felt like a carefree summer night. The kids were getting into the pool to swim for the first time this season, and although the water was still a little chilly, they hung in there for a good hour or so going back and forth to the hot tub to warm up every now and then. Seeing them outside having so much fun instantly put me into that summer mood…the one where if I wasn’t pregnant I would have poured myself a glass of chilled white wine or made myself a Captain & (diet) Coke with extra lime and sat in the lounger to watch them play. I settled for a glass of ice water instead. 😉

Grilled chicken (like this Italian Herb Grilled Chicken) and veggies always come into play when that summer mood hits and it just happened to be on the menu that night. That and this unbelievably fresh and delicious Herbed Wild Rice Salad. I actually prepped it earlier in the day while the kids were still at school using leftover rice from the night before’s dinner (glad I made a double batch!) and fresh herbs from my little garden. I swear, I could not stop eating this stuff. It’s dressed very simply with a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. But the toasted pine nuts paired with the fresh herbs put this leftover rice over the top.

(more…)

The post Herbed Wild Rice Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.