Chicken & Bacon Fried Rice

This is a variation of my mom's fried rice recipe.  We often had fried rice the day after we had rice with dinner.  I don't usually get fried rice at Chinese restaurants because it never seems to be as good as my mom's.  I'm a bit partial to it.  The other day I cooked a bunch of rice but ended up making something different for dinner, and the next day at work I thought about making fried rice all day.  So I came home and did it.  I decided to add chicken to make it more of a main dish than a side dish.  Zak helped me and we made a delicious, big batch of fried rice that lasted us a few days.

3 eggs, beaten with a little bit of milk, salt & pepper
4 c. rice (leftover is fine)
4 slices bacon
1 lb.+ chicken (used about 20 oz.), cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked (Zak seasoned with salt & pepper, butter, rice vinegar & a bit of soy sauce)
4-5 baby carrots or 1-2 medium carrots, grated
1/2 (?) c. frozen peas
2 (?) green onions
soy sauce
water chestnuts (optional, not my favorite)

1.  Dice bacon, cook and drain most of the grease.  Leave a little room so the rice can fry in the grease.
2.  Add rice to wok/pot and cook in small amount of remaining bacon grease.
3.  Add carrots, peas, chicken and green onions until mixture is warmed.
4.  Add scrambled egg, cook for a few minutes until everything is mixed together.
5.  With the soy sauce, draw a small circle over rice and mix to taste.

delicious!

nom nom nom

Crockpot Applesauce

When I found this recipe for crockpot applesauce, I almost didn't believe it.  It seemed too simple, and wouldn't amount to anything.  But I was proven wrong!  This recipe was not only incredibly simple, but delicious and I plan on making this often.  I made this the day Zak and I were both sick.  I quickly threw it into the crockpot, Zak went upstairs to nap, and I fell asleep on the couch, and when I woke up, it smelled like Christmas and I couldn't wait to taste the applesauce.  It was so nice and thick, and the spices were just perfect.  I think I am going to try flavor variations in the future, as well as doubling and tripling the recipe, because this went way too fast!

4 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1.  Mix all ingredients in a crockpot.
2.  Cook on high for 2 hours.
3.  Use an immersion blender (maybe a big whisk, if the apples are tender enough) and blend until consistency is thick and it looks like applesauce!

it was hard to get a great picture

it's good warm or cooled

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 4 (1/2 c. servings)
amount per serving

Calories: 127.3
Total Fat: 0.2 g
Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat: --
Cholesterol: --
Sodium: 5.7 mg
Potassium: 195.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 37.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6 g
Sugar: 30.8 g
Protein: 0.2 g
Vitamin A: 1.3 %
Vitamin C: 12.3 %
Calcium: 2.5 %
Iron: 3 %

Old-Fashioned Cornbread

I really love cornbread, it's so delicious and textually appealing.  So when I found this recipe, I was pretty excited.  I haven't made cornbread for awhile, and this was calling my name.  But, truth be told, it wasn't everything I had hoped for; it was still pretty tasty, but it didn't exactly hit the spot for me.  But I figure I'd post it for anyone interested.

2 c. corn meal
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. canola oil
1 Tbl. honey
1 3/4 c. low-fat buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Add oil to an 8" cast iron skillet or cake pan.  Make sure oil is rubbed on sides as well as bottom of pan.  While preparing cornbread, place in oven for 5 - 7 minutes.
2.  Combined dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg, honey, buttermilk and egg; add to dry ingredients and stir just to combine.
3.  Remove skillet or pan from oven and pour hot oil into cornbread mixture, stir.  Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with 1 tsp. cornmeal.
4.  Pour cornmeal mixture into pan, place in the oven on the middle rack and bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden in color.

perfectly golden browned

Nutritional Facts

serving per recipe: 12

amount per serving

Calories: 123.3
Total Fat: 4.0 g
Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1.7 g
Cholesterol: 18.3 mg
Sodium: 241.4 mg
Potassium: 65.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 19.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
Sugar: 3.5 g
Protein: 3.5 g
Vitamin A: 1.7 %
Vitamin C: 0.6 %
Calcium: 9.9 %
Iron: 4.7 % 

Homemade Soft Pretzels

We tried this recipe tonight and it is delicious.  It was pretty simple, with Zak helping me.  He made the pretzels into pretzel-shaped and I boiled them and put on the finishing touches.  We're already thinking of different variations to try -- sweet, with cheese, garlic salt.  I used Alton Brown's recipe and don't really have any major modifications or tips to add.  Except to cook the pretzels for less time.  But anyways, these are delicious and easy to eat!

1 1/2 c. warm (110 - 115 degrees) water
1 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
approximately 4 1/2 c. (22 oz.) flour
1/2 stick butter (2 oz.), melted
10 c. water
2/3 c. baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten w/1 Tbl. water
pretzel or sea salt
Crisco or Pam spray

1.  Combine warm water, sugar and salt in stand mixer bowl, with yeast sprinkled on top.  Let sit for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to foam.
2.  Add the flour and butter and mix on low speed until well combined.  Change to medium speed until dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4 - 5 minutes.
3.  Remove dough from bowl and oil/spray it well and return dough to bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for about an hour or until dough has doubled in size.
4.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line 2 pans with parchment paper and lightly spray/brush with oil.  Set aside.
5.  Bring the 10 cups of water and baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pan.
6.  Turn dough out onto a slightly oiled surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.  Roll out each piece of dough into a long, 24-inch rope.  Make a U-shape, holding ends of the rope and cross them over each other and press onto bottom of the U to form a pretzel shape.  Make sure the ends are pinched onto the bottom of the pretzel, so they stay put.
7.  Place one pretzel at a time into the boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove with a large flat spatula.  Return to baking pan and brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture, then sprinkle with salt.
8.  Bake until golden brown in color, about 10 - 12 minutes.  Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes before serving.

before boiling

with egg wash & salt

our prettiest one, fresh from the oven!

cooling

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 8
amount per serving

Calories: 319.5
Total Fat: 7.0 g
Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1.8 g
Cholesterol: 40.8 mg
Sodium: 624.6 mg
Potassium: 79.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 55.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
Sugar: 1.8 g
Protein: 7.7 g
Vitamin A: 4.1 %
Vitamin C: --
Calcium: 1.5 %
Iron: 18.5 %

Hasselback Potatoes

I found this recipe on pinterest the other day and decided it would be an easy, awesome side to our Valentine's Day dinner of steak and green beans.  These potatoes are a Swedish version of a baked potato, and were pretty simple to make.  I was a bit nervous about cutting the slices, I didn't want to cut through the potato all the way.  But next time I will cut a little deeper, so it's easier to evenly distribute the spices, etc.  Anyways, these were tasty and a fun take on a basic dish.  And easy to eat!  I didn't really measure anything, just kind of did my own thing and they turned out fine.  But I'll list what I used, at least.

3 medium potatoes, cleaned
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
dried minced onion
dried minced garlic
1 Tbl. butter, melted
olive oil

1.  Scrub potatoes clean; preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.  Place potato on cutting board, flat side down.  It helped to cut a small sliver out of the bottom, so it wouldn't wiggle or move.
3.  Start from one end of the potato and cut straight down, almost all the way through.
4.  Arrange potatoes in a baking dish and baste the melted butter over the potatoes; make sure to get in between the slices!
5.  Sprinkle salt, garlic, onion & grind pepper over potatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil before putting in the oven.
6.  Bake until potatoes are crispy and flesh is soft, about 40 minutes.

all crispy

they look pretty neat, but next time I'll cut them a little deeper so they open up more

Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes [Cheesecake Factory]

Oh my goodness I love this dish.  It's from the Cheesecake Factory and is my favorite appetizer of all-time.  Normally, I wouldn't go for all these different salsas and flavors, but combined, they are amazing.  I love the corn cakes the most.  My mom made these for us when we were in California, and they were better than the restaurant's!  I've had my eye on this recipe before, but never made it because I was unsure of how it'd go, especially without a food processor.  But I talked to my mom about it, and she convinced me I could handle it.  It's a bit more of an involved recipe, but well worth it.  My cakes turned out a little crispy and not totally one solid piece, but they still tasted delicious.  I made five cakes in all, even though it's supposed to make 4. Whatever, we were happy to have a bonus one!  They kept find in the fridge overnight, so today the leftovers were still wonderful.  Zak said I should make mini ones to serve with these; he loves them that much!  Another recipe success!

Salsa Verde
2 tomatillos, with paper removed and chopped
4 oz. mild green chilies
1 green onion bunch, chopped
2 Tbl. fresh cilantro
1 1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper

a nice, mild green

Tomato Salsa
1 medium tomato, diced
1 Tbl. Spanish onion, minced (I used red onion)
1 Tbl. fresh cilantro
1/2 - 1/4 tsp. lime juice
1/2 small jalapeno, minced
dash of salt & pepper

After I lightly blended the ingredients

Southwestern Sauce
1/2 c. mayo
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. water
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. onion powder
dashes of: salt, pepper & garlic powder

Seriously, using a squirt bottle helped big time

Tamale Cakes
1 1/2 c. frozen corn (keep 1/2 c. whole & separate)
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 Tbl. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. masa harina (corn flour)
2 Tbl. white flour

Garnish
1/4 c. sour cream (4 Tbl.)
1/2 - 1 avocado, chopped
2 Tbl. fresh cilantro, chopped (I didn't use)

1.  Prepare the salsa verde by combining all ingredients in a food processor or use a hand blender.  Cover and chill.
2.  Prepare tomato salsa by combining all ingreidents in a small bowl.  I used my hand blender briefly to slightly mix the ingredients into a mushier? state.  I wanted it to be a bit more spreadable and in smaller pieces, if that makes sense.
3.  Prepare southwestern sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl.  Transfer to a squirt bottle, as it will make life much easier when assembling!  Chill.
4.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5.  For the tamale cakes, coarsely puree 1 c. of the corn in a food processor.  Using a hand blender was kind of a disaster, and took awhile.  Next time I plan on using a blender, if I don't have a food processor before then.
6.  Once pureed, combine with softened butter, sugar and salt.  Blend well with electric mixer until smooth.
7.  Add masa and white flour and blend well.
8.  Mix in the remaining 1/2 c. of corn by hand.
9.  Measure 1/2 c. and form into 3-inch patties.  Using slightly wet hands helped a lot to form the patties.  I got 5 patties out of the mixture.
10.  Arrange on a baking sheet and bake 20 - 25 minutes, or until cakes are browned on the bottom.
11. Flip cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 - 7 minutes or until slightly browned.
12.  To serve, spoon the salsa verde onto a platter.  Coat entire plate with about 1/4 inch of salsa.
13.  Arrange tamale cakes on top of the salsa verde.
14.  Add spoonful of tomato salsa on top of each cake, with a dollop of sour cream on top.
15.  Arrange avocado pieces on cake and drizzle both ways with southwestern sauce.

Step 1: assemble corn cakes on salsa verde

Step 2: Add tomato salsa and sour cream

Step 3: Add avocado and southwestern sauce

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 5
amount per serving

Calories: 469.1
Total Fat: 32.4 g
Saturated Fat: 13.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 11.5 g
Cholesterol: 61.8 mg
Sodium: 505 mg
Potassium: 435.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 44.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.3 g
Sugar: 14.9 g
Protein: 5 g
Vitamin A: 23 %
Vitamin C: 23.1 %
Calcium: 5.4 %
Iron: 6.2 %

Garlic Cheese Bread

The other day I saw this recipe and not only did I immediately salivate, but decided I had to try it.  Yesterday we had our friends over and I made it with spaghetti; it was a hit!  I was surprised at how simple the recipe was, and how good.  I used half of the amount of cheese (about 2.5 oz.) and made my own garlic butter, but only used about 3/4 of the stick, not the whole thing.  But anyways, it was delicious and I'm sure I'll make it again.  Yum!

Bread
1 c. warm water
1 Tbl. honey
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 tsp. salt
3 c. bread flour
1/3 lbs. any cheese (I used 2.5 oz. of just regular block cheese)
1/2 c. garlic butter (I used 3/4 of a stick of butter)

Garlic Butter (I made this up, so add garlic and salt to taste)
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1.  In a large bowl, stir water, honey & yeast together.  Let yeast proof 5 - 10 minutes, until bubbly and active.
2.  If using a stand mixer, do not set speed higher than a 2 or 'stir'; stir in salt and flour in 1/4 c. increments.
3.  Once dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl, set a timer for 5 minutes and let machine knead the dough.  Dough should be smooth and tacky, but when touched, shouldn't leave any dough on fingers.
4.  Grease the bowl and dough.  Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise 1 hour in a warm area or until doubled in size.
5.  Punch down dough and cut into two equal portions.  Form into two long baguettes the length of the cookie sheet.  I twisted them so they looked neat, but I guess it also helps it keep the length and not shrink.  Cover with plastic wrap and rise 30 minutes.
6.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Once bread has risen and oven is heated, bake
for 15 - 20 minutes, until lightly golden.
7.  While bread is baking, slice the cheese into thin slices and melt the garlic butter.  Pull loaves out of the oven and brush with melted garlic butter (I put some foil under the bread so it wouldn't get all over the pan.
8.  Bake another 5 - 7 minutes, or until bread is a nice golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes.)
9.  Cut 1-inch slices three-quarters of the way through the loaves.  Brush garlic butter in between each slice and fill each with a slice of cheese.  Bake another 3 - 5 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.  Serve immediately!

with garlic butter and cheese

look how yummy

so delicious!

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 24
amount per serving

Calories: 96.9
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 10.7 mg
Sodium: 136.2 mg
Potassium: 20.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 12.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.4 g
Sugar: 0.8 g
Protein: 2.4 g
Vitamin A: 2.4 %
Vitamin C: --
Calcium: 2.5 %
Iron: 4.2 %

Zucchini Monterey

This is a family favorite, and one of my personal favorites.  I made it for Zak's birthday with the pork recipe I just posted.  Zak isn't a huge fan of zucchini, so I figured this would be a decent way to maybe get him to like it.  He didn't love or hate it, but he is a little bit more open to the idea now!  This is a great side dish and pretty simple to make, once you get it through your head that it's not too difficult.  


I made 4 zucchini and kind of eye-balled the ingredients.  The most important things are: cooking the zucchini long enough so that it's not crunchy or too soft, and, while you're cooking the vegetables, add in salt and pepper until it tastes good.  But here is the recipe, enjoy!  


6 zucchini
3 Tbl. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped green onion
(1/4 c. white onion, optional)
salt & pepper
3/4 - 1 c. monterey jack cheese


1.  Cut a V down each zucchini, roughly a quarter of it.  Chop up.
2.  Boil rest of zucchini about 5 minutes, until they're not crunchy, but not falling apart.  They'll turn a little opaque in color.
3.  Meanwhile, sauté in butter: zucchini, green onion, garlic and, if wanted, white onion.  Season to taste.
4.  Drain zucchini, and scoop out a channel in each; add the pulp to the sautéed mixture.  
5.  Stir in 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. cheese -- however much you want.
6.  Spoon into zucchini shells, place in baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7.  Bake covered (or uncovered, until cheese is slightly browned) at 375 degrees about 20 minutes.

all done!

Macaroni Salad

So, Zak and I have been to the local Hawaiian restaurant here in Moscow a few times. Overall, it's pretty good, but their macaroni salad leaves something to be desired. It's bland, flavorless and needs a decent amount of salt, and makes me sad. Because I love mac salad and Hawaiian food, and it was just disappointing. So I decided to make some myself, using the family recipe. My grandma was born & raised in Hawaii and this is her recipe. I was nervous that Zak wouldn't like it as much as I hoped, because his idea of mac salad is something so foreign to me (involving cheese, tuna, other things? it didn't sound bad, it just didn't sound like what I knew to be mac salad). Well, I worried needlessly, because he devoured this and wants me to make more as soon as possible! Yay! We had this with grilled teriyaki chicken, rice, and corn on the cob. It made me feel like I was home. :)

Here is the original recipe, I cut it in half and it still made a huge bowl's worth. But that's ok, because we certainly did not mind having leftovers!!

Salad

1 package (16 oz.) salad/elbow macaroni, cooked until soft (super soft), drained & cooled

1 carrot, peeled & grated

1 cucumber, peeled & quartered lengthwise

6 - 8 hard-boiled eggs, shelled, cooled & chopped

1 can small black olives, sliced in half

Dressing

1 1/2 c. mayo

1/2 c. milk

1/8 tsp. celery seed

salt & pepper to taste

1. Scoop out/cut seeds out from cucumber, chop into thinly sliced pieces and place into a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for a few minutes. Gently squeeze out the water from the cucumbers, discard liquid.

2. Place above ingredients into a large bowl, then fold in the dressing.

mmmmmm

pictures make me salivate

Delicious Mashed Potatoes

We used this recipe at Thanksgiving, it was wonderful! The secret is evaporated milk.

2 - 3 potatoes per person
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk (unsweetened)
4 Tbl. butter
salt and pepper

1. Boil salted water, add potatoes (small cubes cook faster and mash easier).
2. Drain when tender, usually 15 - 20 minutes.
3. Mash potatoes, add butter.
4. Add evaporated milk gradually, until desired consistency is reached (whole can may or may not be used).
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.