‘Old El Paso’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Homemade Mexican Rice {Old El Paso}

May 4, 2014 · Ad-Free

A quick and easy homemade Mexican Rice dish that is perfect for your Cinco de Mayo celebration … and every other day.

My eleven year old son is the resident carb addict. He eats bread like there’s no tomorrow, and would have rice with nearly every meal. If I menu planned that way.

So when I was looking for another perfect side dish for a Cinco de Mayo dinner feast, I didn’t look past rice.

Anything for bonus points from my kids.

This Mexican version is super simple to make and versatile to boot. About thirty minutes from start to finish, you can mix and match different add-ins to please just about every member of your family. This version features diced onions, crisp green bell peppers, and plum tomatoes, which was just about perfect for my crew. Using brown rice to make it even healthier, it’s a clean eating side dish with zero guilt.

Which is pretty much my favorite kind.

Chop. Saute. Boil. Mix. Eat.

Or thereabouts.

Since tomorrow is a soccer night, this rice, along with yesterday’s recipe for the Tomato and Avocado Salad, and chips and guacamole (our homemade version can be found at the bottom of this post) will be served along with Old El Paso’s Quesadillas.

Which means I can get dinner on the table, from start to finish, in about 45 minutes.

Leaving juuuuust enough time to polish off some homemade Mexican Fried Ice Cream, homework duty, and hit the hay.

Hungry for more Cinco de Mayo ideas?
Check out the appropriately-themed Pinterest board right here.

*Weekend Photos in Review will post tomorrow.

…

Recipe: Tomato and Avocado Chickpea Salad {Cinco de Mayo}

May 3, 2014 · Ad-Free, Clean Eating

A quick, fresh, and flavorful side dish that is the perfect accompaniment to Old El Paso Quesadillas and your Cinco de Mayo feast … let’s do this.

Sometimes the stars align and I get my act together enough to share holiday ideas BEFORE the actual holiday.

This is that.

So Cinco de Mayo is this Monday. And there is pretty much not a better time of the year to have some frozen Margaritas and a table filled to the brim with Mexican deliciousness. And guacamole. Something so good that it deserves its very own mention. We have been on avocado-on-toast overload here this past week, which means we have a counter full of ripe avocados.

So we are ready for Monday and homemade guacamole.

But it’s a work day. And a school day.

Which means I want to keep the meal prep time down to a minimum, so we have enough time to enjoy ourselves properly, but still have time to do homework and all those other niggly things that get in the way of Ole!

How do we best do this?

Well, we simply channel a little bit of *coughcough* Sandra Lee and go the semi-homemade route.

The table quickly gets filled with some store-bought items, and some made-from-scratch, but quick-to-table items, which is the perfect balance to allow us to enjoy our meal prep, our actual meal, and even some downtime before crashing from Margarita overload.

That would be me. Not the kids.

Natch.

…

Recipe: Semi-Homemade Spanish Rice

October 23, 2013 · Narrative

Yellow rice packed with flavor from briney green olives, caramelized onions, garlic, and chorizo. Let’s dig in.

There are a couple of things I took away from the thirteen give or take years that The Ex and I were together.

Adding green olives to yellow rice.

And an introduction to chorizo (a spicy, cooked Spanish sausage).

Of course, there are likely a few more things, but today, we’re talking about take-aways in terms of the kitchen and rice. Focus.

The Ex used to take forever to make rice. He used a rice cooker and made a mess in the kitchen that he didn’t clean up, but rice was unequivocally his domain and I was a-ok with that.

Since the first time he made it, adding green olives to yellow rice was forever a thing. I can’t think of not doing it, and the kids are just as much a fan of it as I am.

Ok, well, it turns out just one kid. Because as Madeline informed me last night, “Mom, you know I don’t like green olives,” and she carefully picked them all out.

That’s ok, Nick and I covered for her.

…

Old El Paso Chicken Quesadillas with Homemade Guacamole and Salsa

October 14, 2013 · Ad-Free

So here’s the thing.

When I’m pressed for time and just can’t think my way through making an entire meal from scratch, I sometimes shove the guilt to the side, grab a main item from the freezer and make a handful of side dishes.

Kind of like Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade.

But kind of not.

As in way better.

Over the summer, through some of the lunches that Nick was having at one of his summer camps, he discovered he actually likes Mexican food. Especially quesadillas and burritos.

Go figure.

And likewise, I recently discovered that Old El Paso makes quesadillas. With an occasional heat-and-eat quick main course taken care of, it frees up more time to really up the ante with the most delicious sides that ever were.

Namely tons of fresh guacamole and salsa.

Which, next to a con queso, are pretty much the biggest reasons we love Mexican night.

No matter the meal, I am a big fan of dips and toppings and condiments and sauces. My kids? Totally not.

But when it comes to guacamole and salsa, we agree.

Homemade guacamole, the very best kind, takes just a few simple ingredients and only a few minutes to whip up. There is pretty much no reason to buy it pre-made from the store, because the taste just doesn’t compare (unless, of course, you are completely stuck and can’t find ripe avocados).

And salsa? Handful of ingredients chopped and/or whirred around in the food processor.

I personally like my quesadillas smeared with a bit of guacamole, sour cream, and salsa, so you get a flavor explosion with every bite.

Nick dunks his in the guacamole and then the sour cream, and uses the salsa for dipping with his chips.

And Madeline is a purist and pans all the dips and accompaniments that she can.

We’re working on her.

Tomorrow? The belated Weekend Photos in Review. Exhaustion and several hundred photos later meant that I needed no arm twisting to head straight to bed last night after a very full weekend.

…

Recipe: Farmer’s Market Salsa {Old El Paso}

August 14, 2013 · Narrative

Because we live in the Northeast, farmer’s market season is, unfortunately, not a year ’round thing. I know, I bemoan that fact as often as I can. Like it will make a difference.

Darn Mother Nature.

But when it’s time for the stalls to begin opening up? We are all in.

Our favorite pickle vendor (full sours all the way).

The biggest, ripest, reddest Jersey tomatoes you’ve ever seen.

Organic, locally sourced honey.

Wholesome dog treats.

Yep.

And eggplant and carrots and radishes and strawberries and blueberries.

And lettuce for dayz.

I usually go bi-weekly, and stock up on all the fresh vegetables and fruit that is in season.

Or, you know, that the kids will eat.

Talking directly to the farmers who pulled the goodies out of the ground. That very morning.

Farm to table. Forever and ever, amen.

But the problem?

In my exuberance to buy all.the.things, I usually buy more than we can conceivably eat before it starts to go bad.

Such is the problem with fresh, non-packaged goodness.

You need to be quick.

But! There is a solution!

I have three go-tos when I need to use a massive amount of vegetables that are about to turn for the worse.

…