Free meal: Fakeout salad

Four days.

It was four days of solo middle of the night feedings, dog duty, floor cleaning, dish doing, baby wrangling. Four days of having to do things I hate like taking out the trash, cleaning windows and holding a baby while I brush my teeth.

It was four days of knowing that I'm one lucky gal who needs her husband. Even if there are times when all he does is take up the entire couch to read on his iPad while I do a Jackie Warner DVD.

But for all my melodrama, there is a small piece of me that likes it when Mark leaves. I don't have cold feet creeping on my side of the bed and the smell of spray bleach doesn't choking me as I brush my teeth.

And I can make dishes with things I like and he doesn't  - ranch dressing, vegetables, beans. Like my Fakeout Mad Anthony House Salad.

Mad Anthony's is a local brewery that has awesome flatbreads (unwraps), Old Bay-dusted potato wedges (Scooby Snacks) and deep dish pizza (deep dish pizza). One of my favorite menu items, though, is the house salad. It is a bed of mixed greens with tomatoes, cheese, red beans and rice and ranch dressing. It's an odd but delicious combination.

And something that Mark would never touch - so I made my own version to have for dinner this weekend. Actually, I made enough to have it for lunch every day this week.

Fakeout Mad Anthony House Salad
Adapted from Cooking Light

For the red beans and rice:
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup dried red kidney beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked brown rice

For the salad:
Spring mix
Diced tomatoes
Shredded 2% Cheddar cheese
Light ranch dressing

For the beans and rice: Throw everything but the salt and rice in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 5 hours. Stir in salt and brown rice.

For the salad: Make salad with scoop of the beans and rice on top. (Very technical, I know but I think y'all know what to do.)

I was really happy with the way this turned out, and I savored every last bite ... and the $8.99 savings.

What's your favorite fakeout takeout meal?