Fritoes and Rice

I have certain recipes that I call "poor man meals" because they are inexpensive to make. This is one of those. Don't let that name deceive you, this is pretty darn good and has impressed many people.

What you will need:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
brown rice
1 bag fritoes
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
cheddar cheese

Cook rice according to package directions. Brown ground beef. Add diced tomatoes and seasonings to taste. Let simmer until tomatoes have broken down and sauce has thickened.

To serve:

Place a handful of fritoes in bottom of a bowl, top with rice (this is a protective coating so fritoes don't get soggy too fast), add beef/tomato mixture and then top with grated cheese.

This is my attempt to show you the layers. I used a glass bowl so you could see, but I didn't take into account that the heat from the sauce would cause so much condensation on the side of the bowl. Just realize that you don't add water to the dish. :)

Chicken Jambalaya

This isn't the greatest picture, it was my first time taking pictures of food and even now I am still trying to get food to look great on film. Next time I make this for dinner I will try to take a better picture, until then I hope you use your creative little brain to imagine how delicious this dish is.

This was a free recipe (slightly altered) from savingdinner.com

What you will need:

1 tlbs butter + 1 tsp olive oil
2 med onions, chopped
1 med stalk celery, chopped (yes that is the whole thing, not just one rib)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 lb chicken breast, cubbed
1 can chicken broth
3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
few shakes of Tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt butter and oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic, stirring frequently, till onion is tender. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add chicken to skillet and stir-fry till lightly browned. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add broth, seasonings and diced tomatoes to skillet. Heat to boiling, scraping up all the browned bits fromt he bottom of the pan. Return veggies and chicken to skillet. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Serve over brown rice.