Super Easy Rice ‘n’ Beans

I know there will be many times that I regret “inventing” this recipe, but for the last few weeks it has been a lifesaver. We don’t have time to cook, but we don’t want to waste money or ruin our health by eating fast food. This simple recipe makes filling food with very little salt or fat.

Super Easy Rice ‘n’ Beans

1 batch rice (made from 1 cup dry), no oil or salt added
1 14-16 oz. can of black, pinto, or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Goya Adobo seasoning to taste
Olive oil to taste

Cook the rice according to package instructions. When it’s done, add the beans so that they are warmed by the heat of the rice (note: we use beans that have no salt added, but rinsing should remove much of the salt from a regular can of beans). After a few minutes, add the Goya Adobo seasoning and the olive oil, but don’t overdo it—a little goes a long way. Stir and serve.

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B-ing Grateful

I am grateful for beer.

As Ben Franklin said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

I am also grateful for Ben Franklin.

I wonder if he was drunk as he stood out there in the thunderstorm with his kite. Making myself a target for lightning isn’t something I’d do sober! But Ben was a very smart man. He invented lots of stuff. He was also seriously committed to bettering himself, and I think that’s what I admire most about him. I’m really glad that he wrote an autobiography and that one of my college professors made it mandatory reading.

Ben

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Disappointment

I woke up with an incredible idea one day during my vacation. It was so funny that I was smiling all around my morning breath. I said to myself, “This is a kick-ass story idea!” So I made a mental note to write a story about it, and by the time I was done taking a shower, the idea was gone. Not just a little gone, but gone, gone, gone, gone, gone.

Don’t you hate it when your ideas run out on you like that?

Grrrr!

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My Faithful Reader

I am grateful for my Faithful Reader.

He’s the only person who knows I have a blog and if he didn’t read it then no one would. Life without him would be at least 100 times worse than I think it is now. Thanks, Faithful Reader, for reading faithfully.

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A Lesson in Gratitude

If there’s anyone in the world who should be thankful, it is I. How could anyone with a life as comfortable as mine ever be unhappy? I dunno. It must be a case of ingratitude. So, until I start feeling better about life, I will have to post every day about something for which I am grateful.

I am grateful for my job.

How many jobs do you know of where you can stay home and work in your pajamas? And if you’re always late to work, they don’t fire you? And when you’re feeling like you did horribly, they give you a raise? And the work just suits you perfectly?

That’s MY job.

I get paid for something that I would willingly do for free. It doesn’t get much better than that.

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I Got It Covered

I bought a slip cover for my Faithful Reader’s recliner, not because the chair is ugly, but rather because it’s leather and

CATS + LEATHER = SCRATCHED-UP PIECE OF DUMPSTER FOOD

You’d think that with a price tag of close to $60 the cover would have absolutely no chance of fitting, but it does fit. It fits really well and it even seems comfortable to sit on. I am in awe.

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Retreat

When times get tough, I often retreat into a favorite book. That’s what I’m going to do now, though I won’t say no to a mojito or two, and if you know someone with a private beach, I’m all ears.

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Recipe for Happiness

1 Beautiful beach all to myself
1 Comfortable beach chair
1 Ice-cold mojito
1 Nothing to do

Mix, enjoy, and use as necessary.

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Back in Black

I had a great time on vacation, but as we drove back to Real Life, I felt the mantle of depression settling right back onto my shoulders. There’s only one cure for such a black mood.

A lobotomy.

Just kidding. I’d like to keep my brain intact if you don’t mind (completely accidental pun, that).

How about antidepressants?

Nah. I have enough depressing aunties.

Electric shock therapy?

I could use a real infusion of energy, no doubt, but I saw “The Snake Pit” when I was a kid and geez, you’d have to be really mental to try something like that.

No, the cure is a steady dose of happiness, but happiness doesn’t just happin. It’s not a naturally occurring element, but rather something you have to make for yourself.

Anyone got a good recipe?

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The End

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night at about midnight.

Grade: A+

J.K. Rowling gets the biggest, brightest, and best A+ that I can give. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a great book and a fitting ending to an amazing series. I can’t believe it’s the end. What will we do now that we have no more Harry to look forward to?

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