Tuna Pasta Salad

I made this tuna pasta salad last night for 2 reasons:

1. It’s 115 outside today.... I know 🙄 

2. And I’m on a spending freeze right now.  Why? You may ask....

Welp, we’re kinda in the process of buying a house and it’s terrifying and lot of money and really overwhelming and I’m scared to talk about it and I haven’t talked about it much except for the people directly around me because I’m afraid I’ll jinx it and at any point the whole thing will fall through and all my hopes and dreams will come crashing down and I’ll slip deep into the depths of despair so Imma just lay low about it until its all over and official

That entire paragraph is written in a frantic run on sentence because that is a perfect representation of my mind right now.  Frantic and always running…….

Let’s just move on from that right now and talk about something else....like not spending money.  Yea....let’s do that.

So in the spirit of saving, The Boy and I have agreed to a series of cutbacks for the time being.  We cancelled our Playstation Vue, we’re giving up alcohol and other unnecessary drink, no K cups for the Keurig, no eating out, and Mildred (the cat) has agreed to giving up her Sheba sticks (couldn’t get her to budge on the Temptations treats but we will be rationing them out).  Just to name a few, but there’s a ton more.  Lots of little things that add up.

Because of this I am paying close attention to our grocery bill and quickly realizing how much I was over spending.  Whether it be overstocking and buying, letting produce go to waste, or not looking for the best deals possible.  I went a week and a half where I didn’t have to buy groceries at all, and this week I only spent $24 on a few fresh items.  The goal is to eat from the pantry and freezer as much possible.  Not only will it save us money, but we also won’t have to move as much (stop talking about it Whitney!) and can start over with pretty close to a clean slate.  With that will come some more interesting meals and the consumption of a few more carbs than normal....but it is what it is for now.

After I took inventory of everything we had, I knew tuna pasta salad was a must.  I mentioned it to The Boy thinking he’d be all “ehhh” about it and he said “Oh yea! That sounds good!” And he chose it for dinner the next night.  Considering it’s the epitome of white people food, I was a little surprised at his response.  I guess all my casseroles are rubbing off on him……

Tuna Pasta Salad

1 lb. pasta (I used rotini but also like shells and bow ties)

1 ½ cups peas

1 cup small diced red onion

2 stalks celery, finely diced

(3) 5oz cans tuna in water, drained well

1 cup mayo

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. kosher salt.

Cook pasta to al dente and let cool.  Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least an hour before serving.

More #Whitepeoplefood if that’s your thing

Sour Cream Noodle Bake 

Cabbage Patch Stew 

Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole 

Low Carb "Baked Potato"

To many low carbers out there...this is most likely old news to you...but just in case, I thought I would share anyway

In the very beginning of me adapting this lifestyle 3 things quickly became my staples:

Eggs

Cream Cheese

& Cauliflower

As more time passes and I begin experimenting more other things are being added as staples but these 3 were my go tos in the very early days

Now, I already loved cauliflower anyway but once you begin eating LC you realize what an incredibe vegetable it is....it is so versatile

Here is one of my favorite ways to eat it.....as a baked "fauxtatoe"

Here I am having it completely loaded ....bacon, green onion, sour cream,cheese, salt pepper.....all the goods

As you should know low carb means you can eat high fat, so you can have that sour cream, bacon, and that ribeye I have right there and not feeling like you're missing out at all

Just steam (or microwave) cauliflower florettes and eat it just as you would potato. I like to mash it up a little and leave some lumpy...I like the mix of textures

I started doing this alot because at my job we have baked potato bar as an entree every few weeks or so.   It became one of my favorite lunches.  The first time I finally made it at home The Boy gobbled it down and said  "Why have I never had this until now?   We need to do this more often"

I think that means he likes it?.....

Super Fluffy Mexican Rice

Have you ever noticed how the rice in most Mexican restaurants is super duper fluffy?

Well, I don't know how they do it there but I have a method that will give you the absolute fluffiest rice you've ever eaten....like EVER!

It's so much better than those gummy and sticky rices that just feel like glop in your mouth.

The boxed Rice-A-Roni version are the worse culprits in my eyes.

Not that I'm a complete Rice-A-Roni snob,

Heck, if I went on a game show and won a year supply I wouldn't turn it away

I'm just not particulalry fond of their "Spanish Rice" after having perfected my own

There are 3 main steps that contribute to the said "fluffiness" factor

Key Tip #1 is to rinse your rice in a strainer under cold water for about 2 minutes

Mix it around so that each grain of rice gets rinsed thoroughly

The reason this is so important is that it removes much of the excess starch which leads to gumminess

You can use it right away if need be, but if I know I am making the rice ahead of time I like to rinse it then let it sit out and dry 

Next, prep your tomato and onion.  Drain the juice out of your canned diced tomatoes.  Pulse together with the onion in a food processor.  It should look something like this

It should be around 2 cups of this mixture.  I almost never measure it out but if for some reason  it looks like alot more than the 2 cups I would discard the excess

Key Tip #2 is to toast your rice in oil.  This is known as the Pilaf Method.  This helps by coating each individual grain in oil which prevents clumping and stickiness which then leads to......you guessed it....fluffy!

Cook your rice in the oil until it becomes a very light golden brown.  About 5-6 minutes over medium heat

 ^^ I know....this is an absolutely terrible shot.....but I put it on here just to show you that I at least made an attempt to show you the browning rice......even if it is terrible and lame

After the rice is browned a little, add your minced garlic and jalapeno

And yes, those are jarred jalapenos.  You can scoff if you'd like but it's just what works for me.  They are a little more mellow than the fresh and this recipe is one that I generally can make straight out of my pantry without special trips to the store.  I always have rice, tomatoes, garlic, etc.  But I hardly ever have fresh jalapenos.  

What I do have is one of those giant industrial sized jars of jalapeno slices you find on the big giant stuff aisle of Wally World  (at least that's what  I named the aisle)

Use fresh if the idea of this disgusts you

Next stir in your broth, tomato onion mixture, and salt.  

(^This picture is of the rice with the tomato onion mixture but not the broth.  I didn't want you to be confused)

Bring this up to a boil and then transfer the whole pot to a 350 oven.  If you don't have a dutch oven like me, you can always start the rice in a saute pan and just transfer it into a casserole dish covered tightly in foil

Baking the rice is Key #3

I actually prefer to bake all my rices.  The texture is so much better and it's almost no fail for all those people out there who have difficulty making rice

Bake for about 25 minutes, stirring after 15

After I take it out I stir in chopped cilantro.  I've heard some people don't like cilantro.  I think it's a silly myth because in my world.....how could you not love it?  Buncha hearsay nonsense!

 My Mexican husband gives his stamp of approval on this dish!  Pretty darn tasty

Mexican Rice

2 C. long grain white rice

14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 small onion

1/3 C. oil

5 cloves of minced garlic

Jalapenos (optional)  minced

2 C. chicken broth

2 tsp. salt

Rinse rice under cold water for about 2 minutes. Shake dry.  Pulse drained, diced tomatoes and the onion in the food processor.  It should yield about 2 cups. 

Heat oil over medium heat and add the rice, cooking until lightly golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.

Add garlic and jalapeno

Stir in broth, tomato onion mixture, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Transfter into a 350 oven.

Bake covered about 25 minutes, stirring after 15.

When you take it out, let it sit for a few minutes before stirring in chopped cilantro.  Fluff and serve!

Fiesta Corn & Black Beans

My husband has been working for a large catering company here in our area for a few years now.

He's done a few different jobs for them and one of them was to make hot entrees for their corporate catering side.

They put together about 600 hot entrees a day that were put into heat safe containers and then delivered them to various companies and schools that didn't have a cafeteria of their own

It was nice because he always brought home the leftovers and we hardly ever had to cook dinner or even shop for groceries!  Win win!

One of my favorite vegetable sides that they did was this delicious spiced corn.  I could eat my weight in it....and probably did at least twice.  Ive kicked it up a little bit and came up with my own version

The key to the deliciousness is the spice blend. 

 It's called 1, 2, 3 Spice

It's simply a ratio of  

            

 1 part Coriander

2 parts Cumin

      3 parts Chili powder

so you can make how ever much you like whether it be just a few teaspoons or a jar for you to keep in your cabinet

You can use already ground coriander, but I toasted and the whole seeds myself in a dry pan

Then ground them in a coffee grinder

It's sort of lemony in smell.  Alot of people haven't cooked much with coriander, but they really should!  It's delicious!

After your spice is all blended up.....melt a few tablespoons of butter in pan.  Add half a diced medium onion and cook until translucent.  Then add 1 can of black beans that have been drained and rinsed, 1 can of drained corn, and 1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes (don't drain)

Add 3 teaspoons of your 1,2,3 and gently stir until it's heated through.  Season with salt to taste

I served this along side my Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole