Lost Between the Pages

Easy Cheesy Mexican Skillet Rice

Published on March 4, 2019 by KellyLeave a comment

I think I could eat Mexican food every night of the week. Tacos, burritos, chimichangas, chips, salsa, queso…need I go on? I also love the Mexican rice that goes along with these dishes in the more traditional Mexican restaurants, so when we have a taco night at home, I usually try to make a version of it myself.

After trying several similar recipes I found on Pinterest, I just wasn’t all that satisfied with the final product, so I started adapting them to my liking. What I ended up with is a staple that’s good enough to eat by itself!

My recipe makes enough for two people plus a little extra for leftovers. If your family is bigger, you’ll need to double up on ingredients.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup of white rice
1 16 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 cup of water OR chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth too)
Fresh cilantro
Frozen corn (I like Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn)
Frozen peas and carrots
Chili powder seasoning (I also like Trader Joe’s chili lime seasoning)
Salt
Pepper
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

How to make it:

Add your rice and water or chicken broth to a large, deep dish skillet. Cook for 5 – 10 minutes, then add in the tomato sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Mix and cover; cook on medium high heat for another 10 – 15 minutes.

Make sure you stir the mixture from time to time so it doesn’t stick to the pan.

Add in the corn, peas and carrots. Cook 5 – 10 minutes more until the rice and vegetables are cooked through.

Top with fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, serve and enjoy!

*You could probably also make this in an Instant Pot. My suggestion for that would be to throw everything in the pot, cook for 8 minutes, then do a natural release for 10. I have not tested this with this recipe, but if you did do the Instant Pot instead, I would up the amount of water or broth that you use so it doesn’t dry it out.

The Best Murals in Louisville

Published on February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 by Kelly2 Comments

“LOVE” mural: found right across the street from the Butchertown Crossfit, 37 Buchanan St.

This past weekend my friends and I had a “Galentine’s Day” get-together in Lexington, KY. The drive from Indianapolis to Lexington takes me through Louisville, and since the day was bright and sunny, I decided to leave a few hours early to chase some street art in the city made famous by the Kentucky Derby.

I’m sure I only covered about half of the murals in town, and many of the neighborhoods I drove through had so many other pieces of street art that if you go, you might find something even more unique than the walls I found.

Flower Mural on the Side of Red Tree

701 E Market St.

Flower Mural on the side of the Red Tree Furniture Store, 701 E Market St.

These next few murals are all within blocks of each other; a word of caution – this neighborhood was kind of sketchy. Since it was during the daylight, I didn’t feel terribly unsafe, but I would probably take a friend with me if I went again. These are in the Shelby Park area.

On the side of Red Top, 1127 Logan St. I should have been paying more attention to what Red Top is because apparently it’s a gourmet hot dog place & who doesn’t love hot dogs??

This raven mural is one of my favorites! I love the literature vibes it gives off and the raven seems like it might be some kind of nod to Edgar Allen Poe.

img_2740-1 — Right across the street from Red Dog.

This next mural, on the side of Scarlet’s Bakery screams spring! I love all the swirly pastel colors and had to take several selfies in front of this one 🙂

A few feet away from Scarlet’s, you will find this other bright mural with primary colors.

A few blocks over is this super cool “To the Top” mural which was designed by the Often Seen, Rarely Spoken group. They painted it on the side of Abell Elevator.

On the wall adjacent to To the Top, is a fun geometric mural.

Then literally right down the street (you can see it from To the Top) is another geometric design, which from a distance is supposed to look like flowers. I didn’t see it really, but I also didn’t go across the street. I also probably should have worn sunglasses so my eyes weren’t so squinty in this photo, haha.

This next one is a favorite of mine! Also on the side of a bakery, the bacon and donuts mural is so cute! It was tricky to get this shot because it’s shorter than me and I had to prop my tripod up and angle it weird, but I think the picture turned out pretty good anyway!

And finally, the mecca of murals, the Greetings from Louisville mural that’s near UofL and Churchill Downs. The details that Greetings Tour puts into these murals is stunning and I hope they make it to Indianapolis one day!

Book Review: Slayer by Kiersten White

Published on February 18, 2019 by KellyLeave a comment

“In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer.”

Welcome back to the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer…minus Buffy. In Kiersten White’s new young adult series set in the same universe, Buffy may be gone but a new slayer is picking up where season 8 ended. (For those unfamiliar with season 8, that’s because it exists in comic book form instead of on TV)

Nina and her twin sister Artemis have grown up in the Watchers Academy where they are trained to act as guides to the slayers. The girls’ mother serves on the Watcher’s Council alongside some familiar Watcher families, and Nina really wants no part of the lifestyle. Artemis has always seemed born for the storm, not her.

To top it off, Nina’s hatred of Buffy runs deep – when Buffy destroyed magic, it prevented witches from using their powers, ended the slayer line and also deeply impacted Nina’s life in more ways than one. So when it’s Nina instead of Artemis that begins to manifest slayer powers, it’s a shock to everyone at the Watchers Academy. And she really, really does not want to become a slayer.

In the first few chapters, White does a great job of catching up readers who might be unfamiliar with the Buffyverse and even though this is an original story, it fits in nicely with the tone the TV show set for it.

And just because Buffy is gone, she’s definitely not forgotten; her presence can be felt in a big way within the story, especially when Nina and her friends start taking down demons and vampires.

Slayer kicks off a new and exciting young adult series that should appeal to fantasy fans even if they didn’t grow up watching BTVS. A solid first effort.

12990958_10101261232512203_2782132191426838795_n — Me at Buffy’s House in Torrence, CA

Teejay’s Sweet Tooth

Published on February 10, 2019February 11, 2019 by KellyLeave a comment

Who doesn’t love ice cream? It’s one of America’s favorite treats, and with so many places to get it, standing out and offering something unique to your customers is a must. Teejay’s Sweet Tooth is doing just that by bringing something to Indianapolis that we’ve never had before: donuts and ice cream.

Yes, you read that right!

TeeJay’s Sweet Tooth opened last August on Indianapolis’ northwest side near Trader’s Point, and has been offering its customers two unique creations ever since: the Donut Ice Cream Sandwich and a Fruity Pebble Treat.

Owned by two dental hygienists, Jerome Tiah and Taylor DeBruce, the little ice cream shop offers a wide variety of flavors which change every few weeks. I sampled all of them and highly recommend the Carmel Rainforest Crunch, Pralines and Cream or Graham Central.

I also tried both the Fruity Pebble Treat AND a Donut Ice Cream Sandwich, leaving the store on a sugar high! My favorite? The Donut Ice Cream Sandwich, although I think kids would probably enjoy the Fruity Pebble Treat more.

So how exactly does TeeJay’s make their signature creations?

For the Fruity Pebble Treat, two circular bars are made out of Fruity Pebble cereal and formed into what looked and tasted like a Fruity Pebble Rice Krispie Treat. Then two scoops of ice cream are placed in between those, and topped with a topping of your choosing.

The Donut Ice Cream Sandwich is made in a similar fashion. TeeJay’s get their donuts from Jack’s Donuts, another local Indianapolis business, and their ice cream comes from Sundae’s near Geist.

In addition to their two signature creations, TeeJay’s also makes milk shakes, other types of ice cream sandwiches, and offers sorbets for vegan and gluten free options.

Most of their recipes are from online sources, but they’ve started incorporating other cereals into the mix as toppings. Jerome said they hope to start making other signature treats out of cereals soon.

For now, Jerome and Taylor plan to concentrate on making quality treats for their customers at their Purdue Road location, but expanding in Indy isn’t totally out of the question. Both still work as full time dental hygienists and are the only employees at TeeJays at this time, so there’s a lot on their plate.

That doesn’t seem to detract from the quality of their product though, so if you find yourself looking for a unique ice cream spot, stop by TeeJay’s Sweet Tooth – you’ll be helping support a dream AND a local business.

Store Location: 8660 Purdue Road, Suite 8666-600, Indianapolis, Indiana 46268
Instagram: @TeeJaysSweetTooth
Facebook: TeeJay’s Sweet Tooth
Twitter: @TJ_SweetTooth