MotleyBits ~ Playing with Your Food

DIY Burritos and Cheesy Hot Rice

2011-01-31T23:19:00.000-08:00

This one gets made so often in my kitchen I may have to designate it as a "Staple". If you have a thing for good Mexican food, then go out to a restaurant and buy yourself some. But if you don't mind a basic attempt at Mexican that might even be edible and good for you, read on!

What you'll need:
It's basically a good idea to keep things like this on hand:

1-2 Servings of your favorite rice (prepared or leftover)
1-2 Tortillas of your choice (I like wheat or whole grain)
1 Handful of Tortilla chips (I have the blue kind here)
1 Can of refried beans (preferably the healthier vegetarian)

Optional bits:

Pepperoncini
Jalapenas
Chili garlic sauce (I like the Vietnamese style)
Cheese or near-cheese of your choice
Parmesan cheese (of course!)
Salsa

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While you're waiting...

Lay out your tortillas separately on a cookie sheet, dollop on a large spoonful (about a quarter of a small can) onto each tortilla. Spread from one end to another in a wide landing strip. Crash land your choice of ingredients from the list. I love Jalapenas or Pepperoncinis here, along with crumbled cheese, and a dribble of salsa. You can add anything you like that you think will work with the beans. Sometimes I even add some rice if I don't want to eat it separately.

Turn up the sides to make a buritto. If you didn't spread things to far to the end, I often don't even try to pinch or fold the ends up, just leave them open. It might leak, but who cares!

Throw this in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the tortillas are about as crispy as YOU like them. I like them really crispy. Some don't--but they're just weird.

Now, while mysterious things happen in your oven, lets make some rice. This rice is going to be some spicy rice, with a questionable pseudo-Mexican-like flavor that will rock your socks off ... or at least make you want to change them.

If the rice isn't cooked, cook a serving or two as directed--otherwise reheat by adding a little water to it and nuking it for a minute or two.

Once it's cooked and steamy, add a smidgen--that's a very technical term that means a lot less than a teaspoon--of the chili garlic sauce, and perhaps a smidgen of butter, to the rice and mix in. You'll know you have it right when the rice turns a very pale reddish orange. I also tend to mix in a little parmesan cheese at this point to give it character and a little creaminess, but that's up to you.

When the burritos are done, arrange on a plate in sexy manner, spread the rice between--or serve in a bowl, if you're feeling extra fancy--and add some tortilla chips for scraping up the bits that escape the ends of the tortillas, because some dope told you to leave them open.

And you're done! Enjoy!! But don't forget . . .

~KISS~ (Keep It Simple, Silly!)

Mac and cheese and stuff

2011-01-13T01:58:00.000-08:00

For our first bachelorette-inspired meal, I give you boxed Mac-n-Cheese! What more tummy-warming staple could there be? The Secret: Adding vegetable matter in an attempt to ward off that bachelor-onset-Scurvy your worried mother keeps harping on you about. Here's today's exciting recipe:

1        box  Mac and Cheese (Kraft or whoever)
1/4-1/2  bag  Frozen vegetables of your choice
              Favorite seasonings (optional)

* Prepare mac-n-cheese as described on the box
BUT--
* About five minutes before the noodles are done, drop in a glob of your favorite frozen vegetables. I find classic Mixed Vegetables (carrots, corn, and green beans) to be a good first choice.
* Return to simmer, removing from heat when both noodles and veggies are about the right consistency (usually about five minutes or so).
* Continue preparation as shown on box.
* Optionally add your own seasonings to spice it up. Tonight I added a little garlic powder and basil to mine.
* Serve and eat! Optionally sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over the top to make it really special.

What... you were expecting rocket science?

~KISS~ (Keep It Simple, Silly)

Playing With Food -- An Introduction

2011-01-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

So, you've got your own kitchen, but you find yourself living on canned beans and top ramen. Ah, a kindred spirit...

Let me ask you this: Do you wonder how your friends get the motivation to cook those culinary masterpieces, when the only ones who are going to take part in them is the cook ... and her dog. When you look at the mouthwatering pictures in your barely-worn five-year-old cookbook, is the first thought that comes to your mind, "So, how many pots and pans will I have to wash after this is done?" Have any of three-quarters of the ingredients you see in any recipe ever seen the inside of your cupboards or refrigerator? Are you thinking right now how driving to Taco Bell might be easier than boiling water for spaghetti noodles?

Take heart! I know exactly how you feel. Some of us--even us women--just weren't wired to get excited about long hours in the kitchen. We have so many other interests, and if we thought about our stomachs that much, there might be far more there to think about--and it wouldn't be happy thoughts.

The problem is that if we keep boring ourselves with our own cooking, we might stop eating altogether. Or we'd go broke--or completely clog our arteries--eating out all the time. That wouldn't be good either.

Maybe we just need to make what we've got more interesting, and perhaps just a smidge more healthy. What this intermittent blog is about is making simple food a little more fun. Not in a party-food kind of way, although I may dabble there once in a while. The idea is to keep making the simple things you like now, but adding just a little panache ... an extra seasoning or two to spruce it up, or simply arranging it on the plate so it LOOKS more like a gourmet meal, since our eyes have to take it in first.

Basically, I'm going to suggest playing with our food!

Now, I'll tell you right now: The majority of people on this planet probably cook fancier than me, and know what they're doing far better than I do. But one thing I've always been good at is arranging things. I've always loved playing with my food. Obviously my parents never told me to stop it when I was a kid, because at least I was eating it (most of the time).

So, don't expect to be knocked out by anything you see here. But if you're about to open your fourth packet of top ramen this week, allow me to offer a way to make this bowl of noodles a little different than yesterday's...