Is there anything better than only using one pot or pan to make an entire meal? I think not. I made this for our Cinco de Mayo buffet.

I’m using a couple of my favorite seasoning blends from Trader Joe’s. Don’t worry if you don’t have them, there are suggested substitutions you can use instead.

One Skillet Mexican Beef, Bean, and Rice Casserole

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 1 small jalapeño, cored, seeded and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend (or chili powder)
• 1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Everything but the Elote Seasoning Blend (or ground cumin)
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 can refried black beans
• 1 can pinto beans, with liquid
• 1 can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies, with juices
• 1 cup frozen (thawed) corn kernels
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• Garnish suggestions: thinly sliced green onions, diced red onion, shredded lettuce, sliced mini peppers, sour cream, salsa, etc.

Heat a large skillet and add the oil, when oil is hot add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned, stir in the taco seasoning and the two Trader Joe’s seasoning blends.

Many of you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, either on my personal account or on the Harmony Boards accounts. Therefore, many of you may already know what happened to Cody Howard on January 18, 2020. Today I have an update for you and the entire story for those of you who know nothing.

Cody is the oldest son of my dear friend, Kim Howard. Kim and I worked together for years at Les Gourmettes Cooking School. More than just years, decades, actually. Kim and I came up with the idea of Harmony Boards while I was catering Cody’s wedding to Chanté in May 2018 in the forest outside Kingman, AZ. In fact, the first Harmony Board I made was for the cocktail hour of their wedding reception. Cody is a former US Marine turned contractor and has done many of the projects on my home, such as this complete bathroom remodel, this fireplace facelift, this made-from-scratch barn door, these beautiful shelves in my Harmony Boards office, and these new countertops, etc.

Cody is Kim and Paul Howard’s oldest child. Next is Bret, then only daughter, Susannah and then Trevor. Bret married Alyssa last year, and Susannah became engaged to Chad in January 2019, their wedding was scheduled for April 2020.

On Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, Cody, Bret, Trevor, and friends traveled to the Howard Family home in Canada for a bachelor weekend to celebrate with Chad. They rented snowmobiles to ride on the frozen lake. On that Saturday a snowstorm came and there was an accident, it involved the snowmobile that Bret, Cody, and Chad were riding. Bret was seriously injured. Chad was fine and at first, it seemed as though Cody was okay as well. The property is between Montreal and Ottawa. Ambulances from Ottawa were called and arrived some 90 minutes later. By then it was apparent, to at least Trevor, that Cody was not okay. Another 90-minute ride to Ottawa. There is more detail to the story than I know, but I do know that it took more than 7 hours to diagnose and get Cody into 9-hour emergency surgery for a dissected aorta, Goggle that and you will be scared to death. Meanwhile, Bret was in surgery getting his head sewn back together with a serious concussion and another surgery to repair his seriously injured bladder.

Can you even imagine being Chanté, at home with your 10-month-old son, receiving the news that your husband has been in a life-threatening accident, a country away, and is heading into surgery with a frightening low survival rate? Knowing that he should not have survived the accident, the agonizingly long wait for the ambulance, the ride to the hospital, all the testing to discover what was wrong, or being transferred to another hospital for said surgery?

Or being Kim and Paul and receiving that call telling you that two of your beloved sons have been in an accident and both are going into surgery and you are also a country away? The strength, faith, and hope of this family boggle my mind.

For the rest of the story, I’m going to send you to Chanté’s Instagram page. Please click on the link at the bottom of her profile and watch the beautiful video, read the updates posted there by the family and if you can donate to the Go Fund Me page, please do. If not, especially in this current climate of uncertainty, please say an extra prayer for Cody and his continued recovery and for the entire Howard family. Their story is the sort of inspiration that we can all use right now to acknowledge that as rough as it is for each and every one of us, others are in the same struggle plus a bit more. Quite a bit more.

I love you, Cody. I love you, Kim and Paul. Chanté and River. Bret and Alyssa. Susannah and Chad. Trevor and Clair. Maggie and Marcus and the entire extended Howard and Simpson clans. xoxo

Alright then, how about a recipe? Here is Stir-Fry #2. A follow-up to Stir-Fry #1 was posted yesterday.

I love stir-fry. I love doing all the prep ahead, arranging everything right next to the stove and having it come together in a matter of a couple of minutes in a hot wok. Not that have to own a wok to make stir-fry, you can use a large frying pan, but woks are fun!

Is it okay if I’m feeling a bit reminiscent and sad when I say that this is the last post, the last recipe, from Chanté and Cody’s wedding?

After the months of planning and anticipation leading up to it, all the work and joy surrounding the wedding weekend, and the fun of posting and reliving it, I’m sad it’s really over. But then again, if anyone knows how to drag out a happy event, it’s me!

Here is a list of the recipes that made up the taco bar with links to each recipe. This same list is posted Menu and Party Ideas over there on the left side of the page, so you can easily find it when you’re in need of taco bar recipes.

Wedding Taco Bar Recipes

Fillings:

• Grilled Chicken
• Instant-Pot Ground Beef
• Spicy Shrimp
• Roasted Vegetables

Toppings:

• Barrio Café Guacamole
• Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce
• Pickled Red Onions
• Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
• Peggy’s Blender Salsa

Sides:

• Roasted Tomatillo Rice
• Refried Black Beans
• Mexican Street Corn

Signature Cocktails:

• The Fox Cocktail
• The Chisel Cocktail

Roasted Tomatillo Rice

• 20 tomatillos, peeled, rinsed and dried
• 3 poblano peppers
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 2 shallots, peeled
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• Olive oil
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 cups rice
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish

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Along with the Shrimp Creole that Connor requested on his birthday, I made him some classic Red Beans and Rice.

My recipe uses three types of pork; a ham hock, cured salt pork and andouille sausage.

The recipe calls for 12 ounces of cured salt pork. You’ll buy a 12-ounce package and trim off most of the fat. As you can see in the photo above, once you’ve done that, you’ll end up with about 8 ounces of pork to use for the beans. Discard the fat.

These red beans are even better if they are made the day before, refrigerated overnight, and reheated before use. Just be sure to reheat slowly and add water, if needed, to prevent them from drying out.

Oh, and I just use a simple electric rice cooker for my rice. Generally speaking, rice will triple when cooked, so 1 cup of raw rice will yield about 3 cups of cooked rice. I used 1 ½ cups dry rice for this recipe.

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Ropa Vieja translates to old clothes.

Not the most appetizing image, but it’s in reference to the torn or shredded beef and the slices of onion and peppers, so no worries about it all being too literal.

After I made this pot of deliciousness, to my taste, it wasn’t spicy enough. I don’t know if it was because my homegrown jalapeños weren’t hot enough or if I should just up the number of jalapeños, so I did up it from 2 to 3. If that still doesn’t do the trick, you can always serve it with some hot salsa, such as Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa. Or add a jar of it to the slow-cooker from the start, your choice.

One more choice to make is the color of your bell peppers. I like to use red, yellow, and orange for the color variety and the sweetness. But if green bell peppers are more economical or if red bells are on special, do what works for you.

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My BFF, Peggy, and I try to walk in the early morning hours at least 4 or 5 days a week. Either she drives to my house or I drive to her’s and we walk our neighborhoods.

When I entered her house a couple of weeks ago, I smelled something delicious. She said she had made Green Chile Stew for a family dinner.

From the smell alone, I knew I HAD to have the recipe. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but Peggy’s a great cook. She didn’t have a written recipe but she did share that she’d found a new product at Trader Joe’s that made her stew super easy.

Do Tell!

Hatch Valley Salsa! I’m not sure how long they’ll have the salsa in stores since Hatch chiles are seasonal, so get over there and grab a bunch while you can.

After our walk, I drove directly to Trader Joe’s and bought seven jars of the stuff!

Then … on the morning of the Craft Party, I browned up a bunch of pork and when Peggy came early to help me set up, I made her help me put the stew together. Below is the delicious result!

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Once I decided to make lobster risotto with the lobster stock I made in yesterday’s post, I remembered that some time ago I had seen somewhere a recipe from Emeril Lagasse using lobster oil. I Googled “lobster oil” and quickly was taken to his recipe. It was an easy and delicious addition to the risotto.

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The inspiration for this dish? One big beautiful heirloom tomato… that’s all it took, well that and some good-looking poblano chiles. Watch out – the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeño are used for both the renello stuffing and the pico de gallo; so be sure not to toss it all in the skillet for the filling. Reserve the indicated amounts and set them aside for the pico. Also, it is important to rinse and drain the black beans well, otherwise, they will discolor the filling. You don’t want that to happen since the vibrant colors are a big part of this dish. OK, gotta run, that’s all I have to say about this yummy vegetarian meal, enjoy!

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