Chipotle inspiration.

For the most part when it comes to baking I'm completely by the book; very careful about quantities and ingredients and all that. When it comes to regular cooking however, I'm much more lacadaisical; preferring to be inspired by a recipe rather than following to the letter of the law. As if you all don't know that by now.

I love getting inspired. I love it when one ingredient takes you on a ride and you end up somewhere you just couldn't have imagined. It happened for me this weekend. Once again, bouncing around in 'The Big Carrot', I really needed some cumin (got stuck in the middle of a recipe the day before and discovered I was out - ugh!). While trying to figure out how the *&%$ to get the cumin out of the container (really - come on, does it have to be that complicated?), I spied this smoked chipotle powder and... well, I ended up with a very small bag of cumin and a large bag of smoked chipotle powder.

SO

On the back of the chipotle powder package was a recipe for mushrooms sauteed in chipotle powder and then used as an appetizer. Here's where things started to wind in a different direction. My next thought was 'I have spinach in the fridge' (seemingly completely unrelated - right?), followed closely by '...and I could do some rice too'. Ok, now we've got something here. And So it was born. A meal (or very tasty side-dish) stemming from one little ingredient and a spice at that - but what a beautiful creation! If you get your hands on some of this red gem don't let it go!!

Chipotle Rice with Mushrooms and Spinach

serves 6

1 lb button mushrooms, halved

1/2 red onion, diced small

3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 cups of spinach, stemmed and chopped

3 tbsp of olive oil, butter (or sometime I'll use bacon fat leftover - no waste)

3 cups of cooked rice

2 tsp chipotle powder (this will kick so if you are nervous about heat, scale back to 1 tsp)

3 tsp bouillion powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

dash of cumin (ok, I had to use it b/c it was the whole reason I was in the store in the first place, right?)

In a heated Dutch oven saute the onion and mushrooms in oil/fat until the onion just starts to get clear. Add in garlic and spinach and continue to saute until spinach wilts (just a few minutes).

Add the spices into the veggies and mix well. Add in the cooked rice and mix well again. Double check the seasoning (this will have a nice little kick so beware).

This was beautiful. I can't wait to try this in my upcoming bean and rice burrito recipe... soon!!!