Really Great Tex-Mex Style Baked Beans

     Page Two Hundred Seventy-Five.
     These are so good and so easy. Admittedly, this is hardly what I'd call "cooking"; assembling is more to the point. But sometimes assembling is fun, too.
     INGREDIENTS:
     1 can of chili-style baked beans. I prefer Bush's Chili Magic chili starter, medium, but you use whatever you like.
     3-4 tablespoons of sofrito sauce (sometimes called refogado sauce). Sofrito is a Hispanic-style tomato sauce. It's kind of like a smoother version of the salsa you dip your chips into, but it's actually a cooking sauce. Goya brand is what I always purchase. You can always use salsa which has been put through the food processor for a quick moment, or you can even make your own sofrito sauce which good Hispanics cooks do. But I won't get into that right now.
     1 or 1 &1/2 tablespoons of honey.
     A few dashes, more or less to your taste, of Tabasco sauce, or your favorite hot sauce.
     DIRECTIONS:
     Heat everything together, cook for a while and serve. That's it.
     I serve beans over my own, special, wild rice*. I top rice/beans with cheese and micro 'till melted. Then, pour on some taco sauce and top with a little reduced-fat sour cream and sprinkle on some chopped scallions. It's a whole meal which is filling, nutritious and delicious.

*Add 1 or 2 vegetable soup bullion cubes to the water you're cooking the rice in. This little trick pushes that rice right over the top into heaven.

Happy New Year!!!

     Page One Hundred Thirty-Two.
     Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts tonight. This will be the year 5774 and I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year. One of my favorite Rosh Hashanah traditions is dipping apple slices into honey and then chowing down on those little bits of heaven. Eating excessive amount of honey, either with apples or Challah (Jewish egg bread) is done in hopes of insuring the upcoming year be as sweet as honey. It's a charming little tradition. If you've never found yourself dipping apples into honey, and otherwise enjoy both of those foods, I'd absolutely encourage you to try it. It's really, REALLY good.
     L'Shana Tovah!!! (Good New Year!!!)