China in July

I broke out the china last night! Jimmy sat down to the table and said "Wow you got out the good plates, are you working on your list? You can cross it off now." I told him I had a while before I could cross it off because it was a once a month thing for the duration of the list but I am closer to my goal! He even commented on how pretty the plates are and that made me smile!

I also made a new dinner recipe last night and it was so good! Jimmy said it was Fantastic, haha. So I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Cajun-Style Beef and Beans (From Simple Recipes)
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can (15oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14oz) stewed tomatoes
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
3/4 chredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown beef and onion in large skillet over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring to break up meat; drain fat.

2. Combine beef mixture, cooked rice, beans, tomatoes, and Cajun seasoning in 2-to 2 1/2-quart casserole. Bake, covered, 25 to 30 minutes, stirrig once during baking. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes before serving.

So simple to make but here's what I will do next time. 2tbsp of the Cajun seasoning was a bit much so I will try 1 1/2 next time to see how that works. I had everything ready and was waiting on the rice to cook so next time I will start that as soon as I get home that way we can eat faster! Or I will cook extra rice one night and have this dish the next night.

Here is the recipe for Hot Chocolate cupcakes I made...(From Betty Crocker)

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
1 3/4 cups Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil's food cake mix (fron 18.25oz box)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetabel oil
1 egg
1 cup Bett Crocker Whipped vanilla frosting 9from 12oz container)
1/2 marshmallow creme
1/4 teaspoon unsweetened baking Cocoa

1. Heat oven to 350 for shiny metal pan (or 325 for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 12 regular size muffin cups.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and egg with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionlly. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

3. Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

4. In small bowl, mix frosting and marshmallow creme. Spoon into small resealable food storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut 3/8 inch tip off 1 corner of bag. (Or spoon mixture onto cupcakes instead of piping.) Sprinkle with cocoa.

AND I went to Mt. Pleasant for my monthly visit home... click here to read about it! So all that is left for the month is to try a new restaurant!