We’re feeling a {bit} more alive over here.  We’ve done errands, relaxed, drank coffee, and soon, I’m going on a run.  Sunday started off rough, but it’s getting better.

Our errands included more furniture shopping for the new clinic, as well as the weekly Sunday grocery trip.  Now that my brother-in-law lives with us, our fridge always seems SO full.  Well, at least on Sundays.  Saturday is a different story…

I let the men handle the groceries, and I whipped up this lovely casserole.  It’s actually for Nick since I can’t eat dairy right now (here’s why).  He wanted to make a casserole to last him through the work week, and I told him that he had to try my Santa Fe Casserole.

This is a slightly different version of the original recipe, just tweaked slightly to accommodate new veggies. 

Really and really, I believe my top three recipes EVER are Santa Fe Casserole, Quiche Cornbread, and Pancake Truffles.  But this casserole may be numero uno.  It’s that good.

Santa Fe Casserole (Remix)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• 1 can dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 and 1/2 cup brown rice, cooked (I used white in this version because we’re all out of brown)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced

Preparation:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
• In a skillet, cook the onion, garlic, and oil on Medium High until tender.  Add the salt and chili powder.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pepper, milk, beans, COOKED brown rice, eggs, cheddar cheese, red pepper and mushrooms.
• Pour mixture into casserole dish and sprinkle with extra pepper.
• Bake casserole for 25 minutes or until center is firm.
• Let cool 5 minutes and serve.
• Enjoy!

In other news…

I have been logging every minute of my day by activity in accordance to the book 168 Hours, a time management guide.  After a week, I’m going to crunch the numbers to see how, exactly, I spend my 168 hours.  It’s interesting (and scary) to say the least.

What did you spend the most time on this weekend?  Besides sleep, I spent the most time on baby care and errands.  I wish I had spent more time outside – off to remedy that right now!