….How to Brown Bag it.

Considering outrageous gas prices, student loans to pay, groceries to buy, and my fondness for purchasing magazines, my penchant for spending hasn’t deflated at all as the cost of living has been steadily inflating. It has been brought to my attention that I should, perhaps, think about brown-bagging a lunch instead of going out every day. Perhaps I should. And, I have. Really. I’m just so bad at planning meals. And following through. And getting up early enough to actually make a lunch before heading out the door before daylight even breaks. And forget making lunch the night before. Who has that kind of foresight or discipline?

I found this in my Faves folder and it’s interesting…How to pack a healthy lunch. There are some pretty good recipes here…like this one: South of the border lunch express, which I’ve made. I’ve tweaked it a bit for dinner for the two of us. It’s awesome the next day, as a brown bagged lunch, of course.

The original recipe is good for a one-person serving…but here’s what I do:

Ingredients:

26 oz jar of Black Bean Salsa {I get the Great Value brand at Wally World…and it’s SO good}
1 can of black beans, drained.
1-2 cups frozen corn {depends on how much corn you like, we like a lot}
Fresh Garlic {minced, 2-3 cloves} & Salt to taste {really important…definitely needs some salt}
1 boil-in-bag brown rice

Method:

Defrost corn in the microwave {add some water and cover, drain water before adding to pot}. Heat all ingredients til bubbly. Meanwhile, boil the rice according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Putting it altogether:

We like to eat this mixture wrapped in warmed tortillas. I like to spread a thin layer of sour cream over the tortilla. Add a couple of tablespoons brown rice over sour cream. Top with hot salsa mixture. Sprinkle with cayenne.

This is SO good the next day, minus the tortilla and sour cream. I just mix the salsa and rice together, dump it in a ziploc container and nuke it at work. It’s so good, sometimes I eat it for breakfast, and then go out to lunch. Hmmmm….