Finally Home

There is just something about sleeping in your own bed. Even if that bed is in a house in the middle of the mountains of Mexico. Ah…to be home.

Sorry about the lack of posting, we have been on the road. Twenty five hours of driving to be exact from the border of Texas all the way back to Las Moras where we live.

Right now we are hosting a team from Living Waters in our home, and just down the hill from our house they are working long days drilling a well so that we can have running, clean water. We are so excited!

Drilling a well is dirty, hard work.

So, life is not quite back to normal…there have been no recipe creations as of late, and honestly working out has been sporadic, but I’m keeping up as I can. I ran 3 1/2 miles this morning, that counts for something right?

I shared some of our swiss chard growing in our herb garden with Quito.

This afternoon I will leave you with a super, simple recipe that you can make tonight with what you have in your pantry! It tastes like indulgent comfort food, and will warm you from the inside out. This recipe is for 2 -4 people, but it is easy to double and bake in a 9×13 pan for a crowd. Enjoy! If you make it, let me know what you think.

Mexican Bake – serves 3-4

What you need:
2 cups brown rice (cooked according to package directions)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 poblano peppers, diced (or you could sub green pepper)
1 Tbsp. of each cumin, paprika, chili powder
2 tsp. garlic
1 – 15oz can black beans drained (or 2 cups cooked)
1 1/2 cups canned enchilada sauce (or thin salsa)
1/2 cup skim mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup black olives chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings(optional): chopped avocado, salsa, hot sauce, fresh chives, or plain yogurt.

First cook rice according to package directions, set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet warm olive oil, then add onion, jalapeno, and peppers and saute until soft, around 7 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Then add the black beans and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir and cook for another five minutes. Stir in rice, and black olives, then taste the mixture, and adjust salt, pepper, and other spices to your liking.
Spread 1/4 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce on the bottom of a square 8×8 baking dish. Spread the rice mixture evenly over the top. Then top the rice mixture with the remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and the mexican bake is bubbling a bit.

Serve a scoop of the Mexican Bake topped with chopped avocado, salsa, hot sauce, chives, or a dollop of plain yogurt!

Moroccan Spiced Hummus

One of my favorite ways to eat garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) is hummus.  I have never met a hummus that I didn’t like,  but one of my personal creations that is absolutely delish is this Moroccan Spiced Hummus. I hope you try it!

I’m traveling and didn’t have a picture of my hummus…but it looks like this one. 🙂

Moroccan Spiced Hummus

2 cups or 15oz.  garbanzo beans, cooked and drained (reserve some of the bean liquid)
2 Tbsp. tahini
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. granulated garlic
2 Tbsp. morrocan seasoning (recipe below)
a handful raisins
salt & pepper to taste
a few sprigs of fresh parsley
reserved bean liquid

Put all ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender and blend until smooth. Keep adding more bean liquid until the hummus is the texture and consistency that you want. To serve sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy!

Moroccan Spice blend:
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. black peppercorns
2 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
*Toast all spices together in a skillet until fragrant. Store in a glass jar.

Note: This Moroccan spice hummus is amazing as a dip for veggies, pretzels, or whole wheat pita chips, but also makes a great base spread for sandwiches in place of mayo.