Made this tonight when looking for something quick and without needing to defrost a meat. I used quick rice, cooked in broth, added to the bean/tomato mix at just before serving. I added cumin, a dash hot sauce, lime juice and chopped garlic to the bean/tomato mixture. By adding the rice last minute, I was able to cook the bean mixture longer. While it was cooking I prepared Chi Chi's Fiesta Cornbread mix, which takes around 45 minutes. The sweet, moist bread made an excellent counterpoint to the spiciness of he beans. It is also very easy to prepare by simply following the directions on the package. All family members eating it tonight said to hang onto the recipe in my box for future use, even my 2 picky teenage boys!

Reviewed On: Nov. 20, 2009

I have made my own sauce for years, but decided to try this one day on a whim. My family really enjoyed it and so did I. The wine gives it a rich taste and aroma, but I think the most important thing is the time element. You definitely need the 3 hours + cooking time for the sauce to cook down and the flavors to meld. I used ground beef, rather than the Italian sausage because I had it on had and it worked well. I also upped the wine to a half cup.

Reviewed On: Aug. 26, 2009

I have made these scones twice now, each time with the addition of chocoate chips. All were eaten within 24 hours--my kids couldn't get enough. I am soon going to try the blackberry version another reviewer suggested. I will reinforce what another reviewer mentioned, don't over handle the dough. Knead as little as possible. To avoid more mixing, I placed my chocolate chips on top of the rolled out dough and pressed them into the dough with a rolling pin. After cutting them with a cookie cutter, you have plenty of chocolate per bite and placing them on top just before cutting cuts down on handling the dough.

Reviewed On: Aug. 26, 2009