Hawaiian Fried Rice

Another regular meal around here is Hawiian Fried Rice. We just eat it as the main dish. It's pretty easy and yummy. The recipe is from my favorite cooking blog: Melskitchencafe. Since I pretty much follow her directions, to save some effort, I just pasted her recipe below.

Hint: This recipe is better when the rice is day old, kind of dry rice. It absorbs the liquids better.  I rarely remember to make rice ahead just to let it dry out, but I do always save left over rice in ziplock baggies in the freezer so I use it (or just make new rice), it's still good. Freezing rice in ziplock baggies is the best. To heat it up, just put the unopened ziplock bag in the microwave for a few minutes and it stays moist. Leftover rice stored in the fridge gets dry and yucky. The freezer is the way to go.

INGREDIENTs

• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (like Tapatio or Sriracha), more or less to taste
• 1 tablespoon vegetable, canola or peanut oil
• 2 cups cooked, chopped ham
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 6 green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 5 cups cooked rice, white or brown, cold
• 3 large eggs
• 1-2 cups pineapple pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. Set aside. In a large nonstick skillet or electric frying pan (which is what I use), heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil until rippling and hot. Add the ham, red bell pepper, and the chopped white parts of the green onions. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and the red pepper is tender (but not mushy), about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook another minute. Scrape the mixture onto a plate and set aside.
2. Heat another teaspoon of oil in the skillet until hot. Add the cold rice and cook, breaking up large clumps, until the rice is heated through, 5-6 minutes.
3. Push the rice to one side of the skillet and heat the last teaspoon of oil on the empty side of the skillet. Crack the eggs into the hot oil and stir lightly with a spatula or wooden spoon, cooking until the eggs are lightly scrambled and set. Stir the eggs and the ham mixture into the rice. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the rice and cook, stirring, until thoroughly combined and hot.
4. Off the heat, stir in the pineapple and green parts of the onions. Serve immediately.

'Jeff's Favorite' Sweet and Sour Chicken/ Chicken Nuggets

This is one of our favorite meals. It's also of the first I learned when we got married and we've been making it pretty consistently since. It takes a little more work than some, but is really yummy.

I copied and adjusted the recipe from all recipies.com

1. In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cups water, sugar, vinegar, reserved pineapple juice, ginger and red pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Turn off heat. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; slowly stir into saucepan. Continue stirring until mixture thickens.
2. Combine flour, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, salt, white pepper, and egg. Add 1 1/2 cups water gradually to make a thick batter. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add chicken pieces, and stir until chicken is well coated.
3. Heat oil in skillet or wok to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry chicken pieces in hot oil 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove chicken, and drain on paper towels. I  use a splash guard to help keep from getting burned and to keep oil from getting on the stove. I use tongs to take them in and out. 
4. When ready to serve, layer green peppers, pineapple chunks, and cooked chicken pieces on a platter. Pour hot sweet and sour sauce over top.

- I like to serve it with pineapple and bell pepper slices. You could add whatever veggies you like. 

• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained (juice reserved)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cups water, divided
• 1/4 Cup white sugar (OR HONEY)
• 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 TSP fresh grated ginger
• - pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes 
• 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour (add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tp baking powder) 

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
• 
  
• 2 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

Cajun Red Beans and Rice and Beignets

In honor of Mardi Gras this week, we made red beans and rice and beignets (it seemed yummier than a king cake). I make the red beans and rice often, but I think this is only my second time to make the beignets, and they were yummy.  The beignet recipe make a lot of dough. We made half for family night, then I wrapped the other half of the dough and made another full 8x11 pan full the next morning for a gospel study class.

Red Beans and Rice

This one is pretty simple. 

- 1lb red beans

- Tony Romas Cajun seasoning to taste

-Hillshire farm sausage. cut into small pieces

- water

leave in crock pot on low for about 8 hours. Alternately, if i'm feeling even lazier I open two cans of red beans drain them and let simmer in a pan with water, seasonings and sausage. The longer I let it simmer, the better. I like to mash up a few beans to thicken the liquid part. Serve over rice.

Biegnets

This recipe is copies straight from all recipes .com

I realized after starting that I didn't have condensed milk, or regular milk.... so I mixed what sour cream I had with water and used it in it's place. It still tasted great. What I'm getting at is that this dough seems pretty forgiving if you need to make it dairy free. 

The boys were involved by sprinkling on powdered sugar and cinnamon and sugar. It's a fun and yummy family activity. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F /45 degrees C) 1/2 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs

1 cup evaporated milk 7 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup shortening 1 quart vegetable oil for frying 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, evaporated milk, and blend well. Mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the shortening, and then the remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.
2.	Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares. Fry in 360 degree F (180 degrees C) hot oil. If beignets do not pop up, oil is not hot enough. Drain onto paper towels.
3.	Shake confectioners' sugar on hot beignets. Serve warm.

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

3.5 c water
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk.*
3 cups dry macaroni
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp hot sauce (optional)
1.5 c shredded cheddar
1.5 c shredded Monterey Jack**
2 Tbsp Butter (optional)
Ground pepper to taste

* When i don't have evaporated milk, I use about 1 cup water and 3.5 cups regular milk. It's better with evaporated milk, but this works too,

**Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

Boil water and 1 cup of the evaporated milk, macaroni, and salt in a pot or large skillet over high heat for about 9-12 minutes or until macaroni is tender and liquid has thickened a little. Mix remaining evaporated milk, corn starch and hot sauce (opt) and then add to macaroni. Simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Off the heat, slowly stir in the cheese and butter, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Pork chops are a favorite of mine. This is a good alternative to the fried version. We ate them this past week, and they turned out well:

Ingredients

• 8 boneless thick cut pork chops
• 6 large sweet onions, peeled and sliced thickly
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup fresh chopped chives or fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Instructions

1. Trim excess fat from chops. Using a large skillet, saute the onion slices over medium heat, trying to keep from separating into rings. Remove onion slices to a large plate; set aside.
2. Turn heat to medium high and brown each chop for about 2 minutes on each side.
3. When you have turned each chop, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Remove pork chops to a large platter.
4. Turn off the heat; add broth and wine to skillet and scrape up the pan juices and any browned bits that remain.
5. Layer onions and chops in slow cooker, beginning and ending with onion slices; add the broth mixture.
6. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Sprinkle with chives or chopped parsley before serving.

You can use the drippings to make gravy. I served it with mashed potatoes (made with almond milk and vegan butter to make them dairy free) and peas.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

I made these for the first time a week or two ago, and Scott really liked them:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• juice from 2 limes
• 1/2 cup of cilantro
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (I make mine from scratch, because a lot of the store-bought stuff has dairy in it)
• 1 teas. dried onions
• 1/2 cup of water

Add every single ingredient to the crockpot.  This could be cooked on low all day, or you could set the crockpot to high and cook for four(ish) hours.  Once the chicken is cooked, use a fork to shred it, and stir well.   

Spoon chicken into soft taco tortillas.  Top with cheese, sour cream, salsa, and tomatoes.

Hawaiian Chicken

I am always on the lookout for new dairy-free recipes. I get tired of eating the same things over and over, so I regularly search the internet for easy (usually crock pot) recipes that don't include dairy or eggs. We've had this one twice now, and it's incredibly easy and tastes good. I serve it with rice and a steamed green vegetable (like zucchini or broccoli):

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. Chicken tenderloin chunks
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup soy sauce 

Combine all together, cook on low in Crock-pot 6-8 hours.