wednesday night fiesta

robert and i really like mexican food. as proof, check out this picture of us at our engagement shower:

so last night, watching the sky turn from cerulean blue to amber gold outside my kitchen window, i wanted to pay homage to our shared love of this cuisine. and to be honest, i really just wanted to cheer my husband up. my stuck-inside-the-house-all-day sick puppy. he's feeling much better and is back to work today, but last night just called for a little something special.

so i did what every blogger does when she needs a fabulous recipe stat--i visited the pioneer woman.

and there i found it. cheesy, beefy burritos. guaranteed to be 100% beef, which is more than i can say about taco bell. it required a trip to the grocery store for tomato sauce, tortillas and beef. but as i was roaming the cold aisles during lunch, robert called me to see how my day was. and i was reconfirmed in my decision to spoil him a little.

i modified ree's recipe just a little, adding a little punch of flavor with the burrito fillings. inside the warm tortillas, i stuffed:

ground beef, seasoned with garlic powder, oregano, cumin and chopped onion, mixed with one can of mexican tomato sauce

refried beans heated with melted cheddar cheese

mexican rice

chopped green chiles

mexican salsa

sour cream

if you are vegetarian, these pictures might be a bit unsettling. however, this recipe would be equally fabulous without the meat. in fact, i dare say you wouldn't even miss it. but for me and my carnivorous husband, these truly hit the spot.

eat these tonight in front of the american idol results show, the office, or any other program of interest. these would be especially good on a monday night bachelor viewing.

because food like this--saucy, spicy, put-me-to-sleep-right-after-supper food, is meant to be shared. and holding hands with robert across our old wooden table, with pablo yapping at my heels for a bite and the microwave kitchen timer ringing behind me, i lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving to share this special time with my little family of boys. 

recipe found here.