Showing posts with label Pinterest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pinterest. Show all posts

Thursday, March 7, 2013

For the Chipotle Burrito Bowl Lover: Black Bean Soup Over Cilantro-Lime Rice!

I have been trying to branch out with my recipes lately and what better place to browse and search?  I'm sure you can probably guess...one of my best friends, Pinterest!  So I have been experimenting with a few this week one of which I am in love with that I made just this evening.  Nate and I are kind of obsessed with Mexican dishes and I love the fact that it's easy and cheap to make.  We also are in love with Chipotle, a chain "Mexican fast food" that is soooooo good and healthy!  I would probably be there weekly if my wallet would allow but we try to make an appearance maybe once a month or so.  When I found this recipe that I made tonight, I was in my glory.  It is a Chipotle inspired "Black Bean Soup over Cilantro-Lime Rice" and tastes very similiar to the burrito bowls that you would get there.   Eli ate a huge portion compared to his normal dinners so I'm guessing that's a thumbs up to make it again :)  I always have my cabinet stocked full of black beans because I like to put them in a lot of recipes which came in handy for this one.  Without further ado...here is the recipe!



Black Bean Soup over Cilantro-Lime Rice:
Adapted from: http://iowagirleats.com


Ingredients: 
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped  (Recipe called for 1/2 onion minced but I like more and I chopped into small pieces)
2 garlic cloves (I used 4 because mine were small...all a matter of preference)
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder (I used at least 1/2 to 1 tsp more than it called for because I went according to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cumin (I used at least 1 tsp because I went according to taste)
2 cans seasoned black beans, drained but not rinsed (I used Trader Joe’s Cuban-style beans)
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth (I used water with a couple boullion cubes)
4-5 dashes green Tabasco sauce (I used Sri Racha hot sauce because I didn't have any Tabasco.  I put 2 to 3 small squirts in since Eli was eating with us. I kept it very mild.)
Toppers: sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream
For the Cilantro-Lime Rice:1 cup long grain white rice (I used left over rice in the refrigerator from our meal last night)
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 lime
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro





Directions:
  1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, then saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for no more than 30 seconds and then add the chili powder and cumin.
  2. Add drained beans, water, and chicken broth. Bring soup to a boil, then lower heat slightly and simmer for 15 minutes or so. At this point you can do one of two things.  Either scoop 2 ladle-fulls of soup into a blender or food processor then blend until almost smooth or do what I did and use a quick-prep hand immersion blender.  I received this as a gift for Christmas and it is the best invention.  I used to use my food processor but found it to be so messy and a huge pain in the middle of making soup.  This quick-prep immersion blender blends it right in the pot without making a mess.  I highly recommend it :)  If you are using the immersion blender, blend about a 1/3 of it in the pot. Add desired amount of hot sauce at this point.  I let my soup simmer longer than it said because I think soup always tastes better the longer it simmers since the flavors have more opportunity to blend with all the ingredients.  I simmered it for at least 45 minutes.
  3. For the Chipotle-Lime Rice: While soup is simmering, bring water, oil, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice, place a lid on top, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir to fluff then add lime juice and chopped cilantro.
  4. To serve, scoop cooked rice into bottom of bowls then top with hot soup. Top with sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc. I also put a little Mexican cheese on top.


This recipe is amazing and you won't be sorry that you tried it!  I also made a dish the other night that I didn't document but I would recommend it.  It is Pesto Shrimp with Snow Peas over Quinoa.  Eli devoured this one as well and it was even better heated up the next day.  I would eat the snow peas again by themselves with the pesto, lemon and garlic on them.  That in itself would be a great side dish to something else.   Any Chipotle lovers out there...let me know what you think if you try this recipe! Enjoy!!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Monday Makover- Part 2: Board and Batten is up and rolling!

What a day!  The hubby and I have been working non-stop on the little man's room since early this morning.  The hubs started putting the molding up on Saturday and it is almost complete today!  One step left of putting up a trim piece on the top, but besides that, MISSION (almost) COMPLETE!!  It's so fun watching what I envisioned in my mind come together in reality.  I am quite proud of my hubby for tackling this project.  He will be the first to tell you that he is not naturally a carpenter, but he is willing to roll up his sleeves and give anything a try.  He did an amazing job and I'm a proud wife to say the least :)

Here is the process of installing the board and batten this far:

1.  Installed the base board on this last post (here).  We purchased MDF sheets in the Lumber department at Home Depot for $25 each.  It took 3 for our project with a little left over for another project.  We had Home Depot cut the  width for us and Nate cut the length himself.  This helped cut out a lot of extra time and mess.

2.  Next, came the measuring and cutting the length of the batten and upper molding.  We marked the wall where we wanted the batten and Nate used his chop saw to cut it.  The batten boards were 3 inches wide and we decided we wanted them 16 inches a part on the wall.  The top molding was cut to 5 inches wide with a 3 inch molding on top for a small shelf and a trim piece to complete the look. 

We knew we wanted to keep it the most cost effective way when installing the boards.  Since the sheets come 8 foot long, we cut the strips in half for 4 foot high batten.  The baseboard molding is 6 inches and the top molding is 5 inches with a little shelf molding on top.  That makes the height of the molding around 5 feet tall from bottom of baseboard to top of the shelf.  Here is the hubby measuring the 16 inches between the batten.  He installed the molding with his nail gun.  If you wanted extra support, you could glue in addition to nailing, because you are not guaranteed to hit a stud on every batten board.  We found that the boards were very secure in the wall with just the nail gun in our case.


 There is the 5 inch molding being installed on top of the batten.


3.  Used wood filler to fill in the seems of the wood on each batten and the corners where the top molding met up.  We let it dry overnight and then sanded today.  This part can be a little tricky and ours is not completely perfect and seamless but no one can tell unless you are closely examining it. 



4.  Next, after sanding, I primed all the MDF molding.  I left the wall as is because the color was so light and I knew the paint would cover it well.  Removed all the outlet covers before painting.  We are going to change the electrical out to white instead of cream so it blends in with the molding and wall.  This part will be done this week.


 Our little helper!  He has the sanding block in this picture below while styling the no pants look.  This was right after nap and he was excited and ready to help out!

5.  First coat of white paint.  We used Benjamin Moore's color "Decorators White" since that's what we used downstairs in the kitchen and I was really happy with it.  It is in the "Pottery Barn" collection at BM.  Since I didn't want to spend the price of Benjamin Moore paint I brought the color to Lowe's and they color matched it perfectly.  I bought the signature Valspar 2  in 1 primer and paint and it matches the kitchen color to a T!  Here is the first coat below.  I used a paint brush to get in the nooks and crannys and used a small 4 inch roller to roll the wall and front of molding.  The first coat had great coverage but I'm planning on doing a second coat touch up in the morning for those little spots that may have been missed.

 Here is the hubby using his nail gun to nail the top shelf onto the top molding.


 Here is a closeup of the molding.  There is a trim piece that still needs to be installed on the top in the picture below.  That will happen tomorrow hopefully! 

I will be back this week with a follow up so you can see the Board and Batten complete.  Anyone else thinking of putting this up in your home?  It's amazing what a transformation and statement it makes in a room.  The room looks completely different than it did a few days ago.  Can't wait to get the boy back in there and to decorate and accessorize it for him.  He is anxious to get back in there as well.  He kept asking us all day, "is my room ready yet?" ...Stay tuned! :)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Monday Makover- Part 1: Boy Room Update...Baseboards and Some Little Finds!

Goodmorning on this cold Maine morning.  Ohhhh, the beauty of living in a frigid cold state. It's about 9 degrees outside right now so I'm wrapped up in a warm blanket with a cup of coffee in hand, waiting for the house to warm up a bit, while reflecting on the blessings in our life.  Makes me appreciate the roof over our head and the little things so much more when I think about what others have to endure during seasons like this.  Thank You God for Your provision and meeting our basic needs and may those who are in need find You as their source!  Life is hard enough by itself, but to try to live it in our own strength would be brutal. I am so thankful that I can lean on the true source of life.  This old hymnal/prayer has been on auto repeat, ringing loud in my heart the past few days.  I'll leave you with this before I go into the makeover context of this post...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heav'ly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.


Now onto Makeover Monday.This week has been a busy one so I haven't accomplished as many projects or blogged as much as I had wanted.  We did however make a little head way in Eli's room.  We bought the molding for the wall and the hubs put up the baseboards this weekend.  We found this tutorial (here) with a great visual description on putting up "Board and Batten."  We bought 3- 8ft x 4ft MDF sheets at Home Depot.  They were $25.00 a piece and molding trim for the top was around $10-$15 (super cheap compared to using real wood.  Once primed and painted, you will never know.)  Nate had Home Depot cut the sheets to the width he needed for the baseboards and the batten molding. The baseboards were cut 6 inches wide and the batten molding was cut 3 inches wide (little wider than most batten molding, but I loved the look).   They cut the MDF for free so it was totally worth it for him because it will save him a lot of time and mess.  All he has to do is cut the length, glue, nail and install.  Easier said than done, I know:)  It's definitely simple, but the measuring and leveling will make it a little more time consuming I'm sure.  Will keep you posted as the process continues.  As for now, the baseboards are installed and here are some pictures of the finished product.

MDF molding after it was cut into strips.  Large sheet is leftover MDF that we can use for other projects.




 These are the small nail holes made with the nail gun.  Will cover those and use paintable caulk on seams once I get to the priming and painting step.  I contemplated priming and painting the baseboard before installation but I decided that I'll just put painters tape on the floor and do it all at once.
 Here are the tools used: Chop saw and nail gun/air compressor (Nate's Father's Day gift this past year and it has come in handy a lot recently!)

 The remainder of the molding will go up this week hopefully, so I will make sure to document it fully as we go along.  Can't wait to prime and paint!

As for me this past weekend, I made a trip to Christmas Tree Shop.  I haven't been there in months so I was looking forward to a girls date there with my mom and sister.  I knew going in I was on a hunt for one mission: Eli's room.  I found a few miscellaneous items that I'm looking forward to using once the room is complete.  Here they are...

Gray chalkboard/shelf- $12.   The color doesn't show its true self in this picture, but it it is a gray color in person.  It has an old/aged look to the stain where it is distressed along the edges.  I thought this would be great to hang his baseball hats and other clothing items on and use it as a message board.
 I LOVE signs like these and I was so excited when I found this at the bottom of a rack.  I had seen this particular saying online a while back and wanted to implement it either in the playroom or his bedroom.  It was meant to be and was only $2.99!  It's a metal sign with gray distressed stain along the edges.
 Since we are doing a "Discovery" room (which can grown with his interests through the years), I thought it would be fun to incorporate maps and globes into the mix.  Here is a plastic globe that is the perfect size that he can put on a shelf and take off to play with. It originally came on a stand so it was tilted on an axis but it was the last one left and didn't have its stand.  I was able to buy it for $1.00.  Such a great learning tool and decor at the same time!
 This globe below is white ceramic and the continents are lightly etched on it.  I love this for display purposes only and could not pass it up for only $2.50.  Thought it would pop out and look awesome on a shelf against the navy blue wall.  Love finding unexpected things like this that are inexpensive and pull all the little details together. 

Hopefully within the next 2 weeks we will have the shell of the room completed so Eli can move back into his room.  Will keep the updates coming as things progress.  Any kid makeovers going on in your world?  I need to find some organizational storage that is functional yet cute.  Hoping to make an IKEA trip soon...that place is amazing and is a must see if you have not been!  Be back soon!

Monday, January 14, 2013

MAKEOVER Monday...Elias' Big Boy Room Mood Board!


Monday is for MAKEOVER...

We are in the process of getting ready to renovate our guest room into Eli's Big Boy Room.  The guest bed will become Eli's and when we have company, it can transition back into the guest room.  We have plans in the works and since Nate has some vacation time this week, we will be tackling the foundation of the room, floor and walls.  In preparation for planning out his room, I have been putting ideas aside of what I wanted.  I envisioned something that could grow with him as he gets older and that can adapt to any child sharing the room with him as well in the future.  I decided on a "Discovery" theme which encompasses so many different things. I knew I wanted to see white board and batting molding on the wall with a navy blue on the top portion.  Here is a mood board I created with the vision that is going on in my head.  I obviously am not going to buy most of the items on this board because the price is way above our budget, but it gives me vision for what I'm looking for when I am out and about shopping and thrifting.  I created this board using Polyvore.  
  Elias' Big Boy Room


Where to find the items above:

Atelier Task Table Lamp Polished Nickel
restorationhardware.com


Serena & Lily Ronan Euro Sham
serenaandlily.com



Camp Nightstand
potterybarnkids.com


Catalina Cottage Bedroom Set
potterybarnkids.com


Madras Quilted Bedding
potterybarnkids.com








Cast Metal Letter Objects
restorationhardware.com



Have any of you created mood boards on Polyvore.  It's fun and allows you to figure out exactly what you want by seeing everything put together before taking the plunge and making an investment in reality.  Below are a few more ideas that we are implementing in the room....

Board-and-Batten on the walls
 Nate and dad are installing bamboo flooring like this, this week to match the nursery.
Navy/white block quilt (if I can find one) and old vintage wood
 Maps/ Maybe Adhere one to a lamp shade
Make toy storage out of crates from Michaels. Stain, stencil lettering and put castor wheels on them.
 I will keep you posted on the room as changes are made and things evolve.  See you again soon!  Happy Monday!