Lazy Housewife

Yesterday, around 4pm I realized I had no idea what we were going to do for dinner.  I asked the boys (the girls were not here) what they would like.  Four yelled "I want pasta!"  Sweet.  Boy after my own heart, I tell you.

I needed to be creative since I didn't take anything out for dinner yesterday.   Hmmm.  Pasta-well, I have boxed organic mac and cheese (that is actually safe even with Four's allergies, thank you Annie's Homegrown Organic Mac and Cheese!)  I have peas.  I have...bacon.  Yes, everything is better with bacon.

I made the mac and cheese, per box directions.  I used the broiler pan and cooked the bacon up in the oven.  At the 6 minute mark on the mac and cheese cooking, I dumped in a bag of frozen peas.  Once the water came back up to a boil, I called it done.  I made the cheese sauce, and added 1/4 cup of shredded cheese to the mix.  Add the noodles and peas back to the pan, stir to coat it all.  Crumble the bacon and mix it in.

It was simple, and easy, and quick.

A New Year staple in the south is black eyed peas.  I'm not a black eyed pea fan.  I found this on Pinterest, and thought "oh my word, that sounds delish!"  I went right out and bought what I needed, I did alter the recipe slightly (my version isn't vegan) and let me tell you-it got added to our "regular rotation."  Yum-O!!!

http://madejustright.com/blog/post/quick-vegan-chili-recipe (This link is...I don't know.  It doesn't seem to matter that I tried to link you right to the recipe, you get the main page.  You have to go in to the search box at the top and type in blackeyed pea chili.)


The changes I made:

I used regular stick butter, one and one half sticks (because, honestly, that's what I had.)
I used regular chili powder, and regular paprika (again, it's what I had.)
I didn't add the cilantro or the lime.
I didn't have garlic salt, so I just used a teaspoon of minced garlic.
I also like my chili a little more liquidy (that's not a word, but you know what it means,) so I added a can of tomato sauce to it.
My kielbasa wasn't vegan in any way, shape or form.  Yum.
I 'browned' the kielbasa in the melted butter with the onion, pepper, and garlic.Then I added the seasonings and let it "reduce" some to strengthen the flavor.   Then I added the roasted tomatoes, all the beans and the tomato sauce.  Add the roasted tomatoes and all the beans first, then gauge how liquid you want your chili, and adjust accordingly.

It was so good.  The Punk was mad that I made this while he was out of town, because he likes black eyed peas and I never cook them.  Oops.  There's some in the freezer, babe.

Today-I have to get back to cooking.  I haven't really cooked since Christmas dinner (we've had leftovers, spaghetti, and then these 2 dishes which are really more "dump" and stir than actually COOKING.)