easy, healthy, cheap

I made something last night to use up the last bit of cornmeal mix that I bought in NC, and it reminded me of the yummier 1970s random-ingredient casseroles of my youth. It’s easy, and cheap, and full of veggies, so y’all might like it.

Dice up a red bell pepper and half an onion, saute. When it starts to sweat, add a pound of ground beef and brown it with a bunch of mexican spice mix or chili powder or what have you. Be generous, this tends to be bland once it’s finished — I wished I had jacked up the flavor more in mine.

When the meat is almost done, add a drained can of corn and a drained can of pinto beans. Add some hot sauce if you feel like it. Add a can of diced or whole tomatoes cut up and their juice. Add salt to taste and more spice mix if you think it needs it.

Pour all this into a glass baking dish. Top with some grated cheese — I only had a tiny bit left, so perhaps more cheese would have made it more savory. Top that with prepared cornbread batter, and bake according to the cornbread directions.

possibly best salad ever

my lunch today was a bowlful of:

Trader Joe’s ready to eat butter lettuce
sliced radishes
crumbled feta
sliced green onion
diced spicy-garlic carrot pickles
Trader Joe’s chipotle hummus
half an avocado
drizzle of white wine vinegar

The feta, hummus and avocado served as dressing. It was tangy, spicy, savory and crunchy. YUM.