On January 1, 2010 I challenged myself to make beans and/or rice EVERY DAY for a year. Why? I was inspired by Dave Ramsey, a popular financial counselor/radio talk show host who encourages people to get out of debt and live within their means.  He has a popular phrase he often uses when he’s encouraging people to cut their expenses: ”Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans.”

One of my main goals this year is to cut our grocery/toiletries budget for our family of five to $200 a month. My plan is to clip coupons and plan our meals based on what’s on sale rather than what sounds good.  And then I decided to take it a step further and challenge myself to not only cut our grocery budget to $200 a month, but to prepare “beans and rice, rice and beans” every day for a year. You can read my full post about this challenge here.

And now, let the countdown begin…

1. Ham and Bean Soup
2. Chili-Mac
3. Teriyaki Beef and Broccoli
4. Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa
5. Baked Potatoes with Chili
6. Crispy Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
7. Creole Jambalaya
8. Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
9. Nacho Dip
10. Grab and Growl
11. Roast Beef with Cranberry Wild Rice
12. Sneaky Spaghetti and Meatballs
13. Creamy Rice Pudding
14. Barbecue Beans with Ham
15. Hummus
16. Leftovers
17. Chicken Salsa Chili
18. Colors of the Rainbow
19. Black Bean Brownies
20. Taco Salad
21. Almost Chicken Fajita
22. Pepper Steak with Sweet Onion Sauce
23. Leftovers
24. Taco Soup
25. Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Rice
26. Black Bean Burgers
27. Chicken and Rice Casserole
28. Southwest Chicken Salad
29. More Black Bean Brownies
30. Red Beans and Rice
31. Cranberry Chicken
32. Black Bean Pizza
33. Spaghetti and Breadsticks
34. Lentil and Sausage Soup
35. Cheese Quesadillas and Green Chili Rice
36. Beans and Rice for lunch
37. Hummus
38. Cream Cheese Chicken
39. Banana Rice Pudding
40. Fajitas with Black Beans and Rice
41. Pad Thai
42. Canned Chili and Cheese Sandwiches
43. Vegetable Beef Soup
44. Tortilla Soup
45. Church Potluck
46. Broccoli, Bean and Cheddar Soup
47. Mexican Shepherd’s Pie
48. Brown Rice and Honey Pancakes
49. Haystacks
50. Strawberry Rice Pudding
51. Leftovers
52. Busy, busy weekend–no beans or rice
53. Lentil Chili over baked potatoes
54. Lentil Cookies
55. Greek Lentil Salad
56. Apple-Cinnamon Lentil Muffins
57. White Bean and Tuna Salad
58. Taco Salad
59. Leftovers
60. BBQ Beef Sandwiches, canned pork and beans, pickles, grapes
61. Banana Lentil Muffins
62. Sneaky Pasta, garlic bread, salad
63. Rice Cereal
64. Rice-Crusted Quiche
65. Cream of Broccoli Soup
66. Game Night Bean Dip
67. Chicken Noodle Soup
68. Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Rice, Broccoli
69. Italian Sausage and Rice bake, salad, garlic-cheese biscuits
70. Sneaky mac and cheese (boxed kind with some pureed white beans to make sauce creamier
71. leftovers
72. leftovers
73. Nachos with canned refried beans
74. BBQ Beef, baked beans, garlic bread, fruit salad
75. Bean burritos (canned refried beans, tortillas, cheese), chips and salsa
76. Boxed mac and cheese (with a little white bean puree to make it creamier, per The Sneaky Chef‘s suggestion)
77. Cheese Quesadillas, canned refried beans
78. leftovers
79. leftovers
80. Teriyaki Chicken, Basmati Rice, peas
81. Tacos, Black Beans and Rice
82. Taco Salad
83. leftovers
84. French Toast Casserole
85. Tuna melts (tuna mixed with a little white bean puree per The Sneaky Chef‘s suggestion)
86. Basic Black Beans and Rice with chips, cheese, and sour cream
87. leftovers
88. Black Bean and Rice Burritos (used basic beans and rice filling)
89. Cranberry Pork and Brown Rice
90. BUSY day and no beans and rice were prepared but we had pizza I got for FREE with coupons!
91. leftovers
92. BLT Dip
93. Easter Dinner: Ham, Rice Casserole, Peas, Garlic Bites, Bacon-Stuffed Deviled Eggs, Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
94. Ham, Herbed Lentils and Rice
95. Lentil Quesadillas (lentils, cheese, and cumin melted in a tortilla, served with sour cream and salsa)
96. Stirfry beef, veggies, and rice
97. Black Bean and Rice burritos
98. out of town
99. out of town
100. out of town
101. grab and growl (clean out the fridge/freezer)
102. Sneaky Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad (jarred sauce with a little added white bean puree, sweet potato puree and carrot puree! Thanks to The Sneaky Chef for the idea)
103. Baked spaghetti (made from leftovers), corn, garlic bread
104. Sweet and Sour chicken with rice
105. Black Bean Quesadillas
106. Boxed Mac and Cheese (with sneaky white bean puree)
107. Haystacks
108. Church potluck and leftovers
109. (Lentil) Carrot Cake
110. (Lentil) Carrot Cake
111. Creamy Black Bean Soup, rolls
112. Sloppy Joes, Baked Beans, grapes, carrots
113. Honey Mustard Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, leftover Lentil Carrot Cake
114. Chicken Burritos
115. Hummus, fresh veggies and pita chips
116. Leftovers
117. Minestrone, Garlic Biscuits
118. Chicken Salsa Chili, Cornbread
119. Taco Salad, Grilled Corn on the Cob
120. Baked Pasta
121. Ham Sandwich with hummus spread
122. Peanut Butter Bean Bars
123. Leftovers
124. Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, rolls
125. Mexican Noodle Bake, cornbread
126. Teriyaki Pork, rice, grilled pineapple
127. Chocolate Sweet Potato Spice Muffins
128. Leftovers
129. Crispy Rice Waffles
130. Leftovers