Today's topic: Dinner!

One of the things I have wanted to do more often this year is to take time to cook a meal for my family. Now, for those of you that know me, you know this is a real stretch :) First of all, I tend to make a huge mess when I cook. I didn't inherit Dad's talent of making the kitchen look spotless even while items are bubbling away on the stove, unfortunately. Second, I am just not food-creative. I am perfectly happy with Kraft Mac' and Cheese and some chicken nuggets.

Anyhoo...tonight I decided to be creative. I snagged a recipe from some friends and made salsa chicken with saffron rice, black beans and guacamole. Surprise! It was actually good!

For those that would like the recipe, here it is:

Take four chicken breasts, one jar of salsa (spicy is best), one can of whole-kernel corn and a small jar of green chili peppers. Dump it all in a crockpot. The salsa and corn should cover the chicken breasts. Cook on high for five hours (if chicken was frozen). Otherwise, just on high till chicken is thoroughly cooked. Take chicken out and shred with a fork, then place back in the crockpot on low for about an hour so that the chicken will soak up some of the liquid.

I made some saffron rice (from the bag) and some Bush's black beans (from the can). I also made some guacamole.

Guacamole-- mush together:
Four fresh, ripe avocados
One regular tomato
A little bit of garlic (from the jar is fine)
Lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Then I just wrapped it up buritto-style with everything mixed in, including some cheese and sour cream. Obviously you can just put everything in bowls and let the family make their own :)  I was very happy with how this turned out.  Plus, there is enough left over for lunch tomorrow!