My subject line probably sounds a little strange, but 22 years ago today I woke up at about 4:30 in the morning in labor. We had great plans of having our baby at a birthing center with some wonderful midwives, so when I woke up I was very excited. I took a shower, had some tea and toast, and then woke DH up around 6:30.
Since we planned to have the baby at the birthing center, we were told to bring food with us (a casserole was suggested) to have afterwards, as well as lots of juice or Hi-C type drinks. The casserole we decided to make was one of my mom's recipes called Company Spanish Rice, and we got that finished in the late morning.
I won't go into all the details, but after spending many hours in the afternoon going back and forth between the birthing center and the hospital to see the doctor (who was connected with the midwives and the birthing center), we ended up in the hospital, and our daughter was born by C-section 24 hours after I woke up with those first labor pains :)
I always remember how hungry I was after all that time of not eating, and thinking about the yummy Spanish Rice that was still in the casserole dish out in the car. Needless to say, that one was thrown away! It's still a favorite dish, and now besides thinking of my mom when I make it, I'm reminded of that long day 22 years ago as we waited for our new baby, who was born at 4:25 AM on June 8th :)
(By the way ~ you can make this without the ground beef and it's perfect as a vegetarian dish.)
COMPANY SPANISH RICE
(Yield: 8 to 10 servings)
1/4 cup oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped celery
1-1/2 cups long grain rice
1 1-pound can tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 10-1/2 ounce can beef bouillon
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 bay leaf
Pepper
2 cups hot water
1 pound ground beef (if desired)
3/4 cup chopped green peppers
1 teaspoon sugar
~ Heat oil in large skillet. Add the garlic and celery and brown, stirring constantly.
~ Mix the rice, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, bay leaf, and pepper with hot water. Add to the garlic and celery in the skillet. Stir well and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
~ Brown the beef and add the green peppers. Heat through and remove from heat. Stir in chili powder, sugar, and bouillon.
~ Combine the rice and meat mixtures in a 3-quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. (Add water or tomato juice if necessary during baking, and stir occasionally.)
5 comments:
Is the baby this one who just was graduated from college? How faithful God has been for you and your family for all these years. I wish you a blessed week end.
What a wonderful memory (collection of memories really.) It ties you and your Mom and your daughter together. The casseole sounds yummy (I'd opt for the veggie version.) I love how every time you make it, the memories come back to you.
Hi Joanne,
Isn't it funny how we moms automatically think of our child's birth - and can remember every detail - on their birthday? I make my boys sit down with me on their birthday and look at their birth pictures. Even though they're now 16 and almost-19, they'll begrudingly do this with me. The spanish rice dish sounds really yummy. I was going to make a ravioli dish tonight, but might be changing my mind. :-)
Im going to try your recipe, its sounds scrumptious. I echo all the comments of how this recipe will be tied to your mom and your daughter.
I went through the same experience, thinking this would all be so easy and it turned out taking 2 days, then a c-section, that was 30 years ago. Now that baby, has his own baby our 2nd grandchild, Gabriel.
I love spanish rice; thanks for the recipe!!!
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