Easy Family Dinners with Homemade Gourmet

In the midst of the hot heat, daydreaming about summer in the Southwest may not allow you to think longingly about a quick visit, but I can assure you that our Southwest Seasoning will.

I had been reading the HG blog about brainstorming vegetarian alternatives for quick and tasty family dinners without much success, so I decided to challenge my mom and sister in law to help me out. My husband is a meat and potatoes guy, but is very gracious when I want to experiment with him. Our five children have learned they eat what is served, therefore being a true delight to try out these new recipes...for the most part:).
I had not been a very proactive meal planner last week, as I was speaking at the NCHE homeschool conference. I had no meat thawed, had hungry troopers, needed something quick.
Plan of attack:
#1. Out comes the rice steamer....that is one of the best investment ever. Perfect rice everytime.
#2. Out comes the Southwest seasoning, and some creative "juices."

Honestly, I could have eaten just the rice mixed with the Southwest seasoning as a meal in itself. It was so yummy....just enough of a kick to lose the "rice meal feel," but I knew I needed to stretch it a bit more to feed seven.

#3. I stirfried green peppers, and onions (that had been already chopped and in the freezer) with some SW seasoning and olive oil. I then added the rice. I was feeling adventurous, pondered what the cowboys of the West would have had on the range, and felt that pinto beans was definitely appropriate. I added a can of those to the mixture, a bit of cheese, and then to get the balance of protein....some eggs (not to mention our chickens are laying like crazy, and I need to use those up). An extra dash of Southwest for good measure, and I was done.
IT WAS A HIT! Yummy, and SO healthy. My kids always ask, "is this healthy?" I think they enjoy eating the seconds alot more when they think it is making them big and strong...hee hee.

So, there you have it....heathly, quick, and tasty....vegetarian success in five minutes. (the rice took longer, but all I had to do was wait for the steamer to say "done.")
We have had some more success since then...I will share my mom and sil's ideas. Even if no one can read this blog yet.:)