Fried Rice

The other night I had made some absolutely fantastic teriyaki chicken and sauteed vegetables. I purposefully made extra and tonight made some fried rice. It was the best fried rice yet. I've made fried rice before with a variety of meats and vegetables, using everything from pork to chicken to beef. I suspect this batch's excellence had to do with the leftover sauteed vegetables and the abundance of red pepper, which we all love. The girls said they could have done without the celery, but they still ate it up.

I used to cook the vegetables, then add the rice to them but I really think the taste and texture is better if you remove the vegetables, fry the rice, and then add the vegetables and meat back in.

4 Tbs oil, divided
1 onion, sliced in big pieces or chopped as you prefer
1-2 carrots, peeled and diced
1-2 stalks celery, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
leftover cooked vegetables, whatever you have around
1/4 pound cooked or raw meat (I used 3 leftover chicken thighs)
3 cups or so cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten lightly
soy sauce

Heat 1 Tbs of the oil and cook the onion over medium heat until softened and starting to brown, stirring frequently. Add the other raw vegetables and cook a few minutes, stirring. Add the raw meat and cook a few minutes and then add the cooked vegetables OR add the cooked meat and vegetables together and heat through.

Remove the vegetables from the pan. Add the rest of the oil, then add the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. After it's browned just a bit, add the beaten eggs and stir until cooked. Put the vegetables and meat back in the pan, add some soy sauce to taste and stir until everything's hot through and through.

This is a fantastic way to use up leftovers that does not taste like leftovers!

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs, Sauteed Vegetables, Pasta

An easy weeknight dinner. Actually, I could have skipped the chicken tonight. No one was starving and we would have done just as well by having just pasta and vegetables. However, now that I've got some leftover teriyaki chicken, I think fried rice is on the menu one night soon.

I had bought a tray pack of chicken thighs last time I was at Costco. I mixed up the teriyaki marinade from The Warehouse Gourmet, skinned the chicken thighs and divided them between three freezer bags, then split the marinade between them. You could easily grill them, of course, and the flavor would be superior I think. But being lazy tonight, I just threw the defrosted thighs, sauce and all, into a baking dish and baked at 400 for 45 minutes to an hour. They were quite good! The other teriyaki recipe I like has pineapple juice in it and I missed that, but this was good. And I don't always remember to buy the little cans of pineapple juice when I want teriyaki something.

The vegetables were easy. I sliced up a head of broccoli, a carrot, a red pepper, and a few cloves of garlic. Heated up some olive oil and sauteed the broccoli and carrot a few minutes, added a bit of water, covered the pan and simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Then I added the red pepper and garlic and simmered till the pepper was softened. We have leftovers so I think they'll find their way into some soup later this week.

The pasta was plain, kids' request. Well, plain to them means no red sauce. It does mean I heated up some olive oil with some chopped garlic and poured that over the cooked spaghetti. Olio e alio from my Italian ex-MIL, although I leave out the anchovy paste she favored. Serve it with some freshly grated Parmesan of course, which is also good sprinkled on the vegetables.

Breakfast Ideas

Next time you're stuck for some breakfast ideas, mosey on over to MrBreakfast.com. My favorite section is the "experimental" recipes.

Tofu Curry with Spinach, Red Pepper and More...

I made tofu curry tonight. The major difference was that I made it when I was cooking for my kids, just because I had that taste desire! It was not, alas, a big hit. I hadn't expected it would be a hit, but I thought they might tolerate it. I mean, what's not to like? Coconut milk, red peppers, tofu, spinach, baby corn, and bamboo shoots. I loaded it with the vegetables of their choosing! Ah well. Mainly, it seemed too spicy to them, although I used the red curry paste, supposedly milder than green, and only used half of my normal. I loved it though!

Given that it's January, my basil is long dead. Rather than paying for a bunch of fresh that would go bad in a few days I decided to try the "basil in a tube." I've used the ginger before with good results. And I was happy with the basil flavor here, although probably could have used more.

1 carton of tofu, cubed
2-3 Tbs of oil
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp green curry paste
2 Tbs fish sauce
1/3 cup broth (something mild: chicken, turkey, vegetable)
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh sliced basil or 3 Tbs or so from the tube
1 can bamboo shoots
1 can baby corn
1 handful of fresh spinach, sliced thinly
1 small red pepper, sliced thinly

Heat the oil and fry the tofu up until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from the pan. Alternately, you could use chicken or beef here and just simmer it until done at the later point where I add the tofu back.

Heat the coconut milk and curry paste and simmer a few minutes. Add everything else and bring to a simmer, stirring to mix everything up. Cover and cook 15 minutes or so. If you're using raw meat, it should be cooked through at that point.

Serve over steamed rice.

Roasted Marinated Whole Chicken

I've marinated chicken parts countless times, bud hat never marinated a whole chicken before. It makes sense though. Clean the chicken out (saving the neck for your broth later!), then marinade half a day or even overnight before roasting according to your usual degree and time preferences.

This came out fanastically good, full of flavor and moist. Even the daughter who has declared that she doesn't like chicken said I can do this every week and she'll eat it up!

1 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup lemon juice (and reserve the rinds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole chicken
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
a few sprigs of fresh thyme

Whisk together the Dijon, oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper for the marinade. Marinate a whole cleaned chicken at least 4 hours.

Put a lemon rind or two along with the rosemary and thyme sprigs in the cavity of the chicken.

Roast at 375 until done, basting periodically, probably about 2 hours for a 4-5 lb chicken. Or roast at 325 for 3 hours. Pulling at the drumstick to see if it moves easily is one way to tell if it's done. Or get yourself an instant meat thermometer to be sure.

Sauteed Spinach

I bought the big bag of spinach at the local big box store today. I reheated the leftover beef roast from the other night along with some steamed then fried red potatoes for dinner tonight. One of the things I do to vary the idea of "leftovers" is to vary the side dishes rather than repeat the same dang dinner a few nights later. So earlier we'd had roast, rice, and carrots. Tonight we had roast, red potatoes, and sauteed spinach.

1 pound spinach (I guess)
1/4 cup or less of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
red pepper flakes
juice of one lemon
salt to taste

Rinse the spinach and then cook it over medium heat, covered for a minute or so, until wilted.
Drain and squeeze dry.

Heat the oil in the same pan and add the garlic and cook a minute. Add the spinach, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and salt. Stir periodically until blended and the spinach is cooked.

Crockpot: Soda and Onion Soup Mix Beef Roast

Cruising the meat aisle on Sunday when I did my shopping, I brought home a beef roast. Can't remember the exact cut. It was boneless. It was also tied with strings, which I cut off given that I was going to slow cooker it. I'd been wanting to try some variation of the soda-onion soup-crockpot roast I'd seen rave reviews of on various cooking lists to which I subscribe.

I almost gave in this morning for a sure thing roast. I had a can of cranberry jelly in the pantry and the tried and true cranberry pot roast recipe was calling strongly. But, as I often do, I resisted and held out for the new and untried recipe. It is super simple. It is, as I'd read, very very good.

1 beef roast
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of soda

Put it all in your slow cooker. If you have an older one that doesn't spit and bubble even on low, I'd cook it it on low 8-10 hours hours or high 4-6 hours. If you have a newer model, like mine, that boils (not just simmers!) even on low, allow about 5 hours on low and don't even think about cooking it on high. Really, you just need to get to know your own slow cooker and follow their guidelines. There is a huge difference between newer and older models.

I've seen variations of this recipe with and without the "cream of" soup, one with a packet of brown gravy mix, one with fresh mushrooms, and one with a packet of Italian dressing mix and a beer instead of the soda!

This produced a nice au jus that was a bit thicker than you'd get without the "cream of" soup but not as thick as a gravy. If you want a gravy, take out the roast and stir in some flour and water (2 Tbs flour mixed with 3 Tbs cup cold water) and let it simmer a bit while you do the rest of dinner prep.

I served it with rice and cooked carrots and it was a huge hit.

My Favorite: What's on Hand Soup

The other night I made some sauteed green and yellow squash for dinner, minus the tomatoes plus some red peppers. This is a standby vegetable dish for me, being very flexible and loose. This time I used onions, garlic, green zucchini, yellow crookneck zucchini, and some sliced red pepper. Mmmm.... but I made too much. Not a problem! Throw it in the soup pot later in the week.

Tonight I looked through the vegetable drawer and the pantry to decide what else to throw in. I rejected the leftover brussel sprouts, thinking they'd have too strong a flavor. I also rejected the leftover butternut squash since it was so sweet.

From the pantry, I pulled out a can of corn, a can of tomatoes--oh, I'll use up those tomatoes with diced jalapenos I bought by accident!--and a can of kidney beans. From the freezer, I pulled out a quart of turkey broth. Since I wanted a lighter soup I ended up not using the beans, but I may add them when I heat up the soup for lunch tomorrow to make a heartier meal. Pinto beans would be good also.

• 1 quart of chicken or turkey or vegetable broth (or water in a pinch)
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, undrained, preferably with jalapenos or chiles
• 1-2 cups leftover or frozen cooked vegetables
• salt and pepper to taste

At the table, though, I had the absolute winning idea that made this an unforgettable soup!

The other night when we had company for dinner they had brought the Caesar salad with these to-die-for homemade croutons. A lot of croutons! Really good croutons! I've made salad twice now and still have some leftover. I threw some of the croutons into my bowl of soup and oh my: perfection in a cup of soup!

Broiled Salmon

I was reminded tonight why I usually barbecue salmon. And you know how they package lettuce with croutons and dressing or cut up vegetables with dips? I think Glade or Yankee candle might want to get into business with the fishmongers, at least in the winter. You know, package a pleasantly scented candle to go with those filets. Light it up after dinner to freshen the house! The salmon was delicious, though. Made all the more so perhaps, by the fact that these salmon steaks came from a fish my sister actually caught in a river near her home in northern California. Well, I think if we were to tell the tale with complete disclosure, she reeled it in. I seem to recall her saying that someone else had cast and set the hook. Still, it seemed more personal! And very cool!

I was going to just "throw it on the barbie" in a bit of foil with sliced lemons perhaps, and maybe onions, definitely some butter. Then I had extra time on my hand and started perusing cookbooks. I was quite taken with this idea of a pinot noir sauce but when I read "if the sugar starts smoking throw it away and start fresh" I decided that was a bit much for a simple weeknight dinner, despite the title of the book promising simple dinners. His definition of a simple weeknight dinner doesn't seem to involve helping children with homework, feeding (really supervising the feeding of) the non-two-legged menagerie of dog, cats, and rabbits, checking email while cooking, and the typical familial duties. Still I'd gotten out of the barbie mindset somehow and decided to either poach or broil. I thought perhaps the broiling would be better for this very personal fish! It is simple and excellent--as long as you remember to line the broiler pan with some foil and spray the top rack of the broiler pan with Pam or something to make the clean-up a bit easier.

Brush the tops of the salmon steaks with a bit of melted butter and put them under the preheated broiler for about 5 minutes per side (for 3/4" thick steaks). While they're broiling mix up:

• a few more tablespoons of melted butter (depending on how many steaks you're doing)
• some minced chives, parsley, and dill (about 1 Tbs total for 3-4 Tbs butter)
• salt and pepper
• a good dose of fresh lemon juice

About a minute before the salmon is cooked through, pour the rest of the flavored butter over it and then continue broiling. The classic description is "the salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork." That may sound daunting if you're new, but it's true! Take a fork and poke at the fish a bit. If it falls apart easily, it's done.

I served this for the girls with just a couple of extra slices of lemon.

For myself, not being a real fish fan, I mixed up some:

• mayonnaise
• lemon juice
• chopped capers
• chopped dill pickles
• Dijon mustard

I could actually just eat that plain without the fish but I don't think it's as healthy. ;)

Oh, and for the smell. Take a bit of that lemon and throw it down the garbage disposal to make the house smell a bit better if you don't have a nice candle at hand.

Blender Hollandaise and Eggs Benedict

My youngest discovered Eggs Benedict while going out for breakfast a while back. I'd promised I'd make them at home sometime, although I readily admit I'd never made Hollandaise Sauce and never poached an egg! The egg poaching turned out to be quite simple.

I filled a skillet most of the way with water, adding a couple of tablespoons of vinegar which is supposed to help the egg "coagulate" and keep its shape I think. When it was simmering, I cracked eggs onto a saucer one at a time and then slipped them into the water and cooked them about 3-4 minutes, spooning water over the top of them.

The hollandaise sauce... I just wasn't up to the whole double boiler thing. I spied a recipe for blender hollandaise and thought that sounded right up my alley. I'm sure purists will object but boy was it good and easy!

3 egg yolks
2 Tbs boiling water
1/2 pound butter, melted
1 Tbs lemon juice
dash of salt
dash of cayenne pepper

Put the egg yolks in the blender and mix on low. Slowly add the boiling water while mixing, then in a thin stream slowly add the melted butter, all while mixing. Add the lemon juice, salt, and cayenne. Serve immediately or hold it over warm water.

Quite a tasty and fattening breakfast. I wonder who came up with the idea of egg sauce on eggs, basically!

Marinated London Broil

As promised, I tried another marinade from this cookbook a while ago and threw the London Broil in a freezer bag with the marinade and then popped it in the freezer. The original recipe called for using the marinade on a tray of top sirloin steaks. I pulled the London Broil out of the freezer on Thursday evening and cooked it up for a small dinner party on Saturday. It was fantastic! It got rave reviews from both kids and adults and the adults requested the recipe. I showed them The Warehouse Gourmet cookbook, as I knew they shopped at Costco, work full time, and have two active hungry kids.

The marinade was a flavorful combination of soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic, and sesame seeds. Definitely a winner here and marked as a repeat!

I need to make a run to Costco soon, as my DVD player died over the holidays. (Great timing, eh?) I'll pick up some tray packs of meat there, as well as a few other staples (like the big jar of Dijon mustard!), and give a few more recipes a try.

The rest of the menu was full of repeats:

Potatoes Romanoff
Caesar Salad (courtesy of my guests)
stir fried squash and onions

Favorite Dinner: Chicken Cutlets, Pasta, Green Beans

I have very few menus I repeat intact. I have various recipes that I repeat, but it's not often I repeat whole menus. This, however, goes so well together that I've repeated it countless times. Still, for new blog readers, I'll share it here again! This served 1 adult and 2 hungry teenagers.

Chicken Cutlets
1 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast, partially defrosted
2 eggs
a dash of milk
1/2 cup (? I didn't measure) bread crumbs
1/4 cup (?) grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasonings
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Slice the chicken breast into thin pieces, about 1/4" thick. Alternately, you could pound a chicken breast and it would probably taste better, more tender, but this is the way my ex-MIL taught me.

Heat some oil in a frying pan, about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch.

Put the eggs and milk in a pie pan or other shallow dish. Put the bread crumbs, cheese, and seasonings in another and mix well.

Use two forks to transfer the chicken pieces into the egg, swirl around to get it wet all over, then move into the bread crumbs, then into the frying pan. Fry until light brown on both sides and cooked through. The first few times you'll want to cut a few apart to make sure they're done. With some experience, you can probably poke them with a fork and tell. Drain on paper towels.

Garlic Green Beans

1 pound trimmed green beans
1 Tbs oil and 1 Tbs butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 cup white wine

Heat the oil and butter, then add the green beans and stir until coated. Cook a few minutes, then add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the chicken bouillon and wine and simmer slowly until beans hit the tenderness point you like, probably 5-10 minutes.

Angel Hair Pasta with Alio e Olio

Again, from the ex-MIL. In a small saucepan heat enough olive oil to coat the pasta you're cooking and a few cloves of garlic. If you like, add anchovy paste. I skip that part and just add some salt. Heat the oil over very low heat. You don't want to crisp the garlic at all, just flavor the oil and soften the garlic.

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook your pasta, which should only take a few minutes. Drain it and put in a serving bowl. Pour the oil and garlic over it. Serve with grated Parmesan.