Monthly Archives: October 2010

Iced Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

Posted on October 29, 2010 | 1 Comment

Fact:  I am a firm believer that homemade baked goods are the way to go.  However, I am also a believer that sometimes you just gotta take a short cut.  Last night was definitely a short cut kind of night.  I am a class mom for Foodie Jr.’s kindergarten class and was running around like a chicken with its head cut off prepping and packing for his big Halloween shindig at school today when I realized that I should probably make a little something for his teacher.  And while I was at it, I figured Mr. Foodie’s staff at work probably should not get neglected either.  So off to my pantry I went…

After much hunting and pecking, I decided to make some pumpkin cookies from a yellow cake mix I had in the pantry.  Ideas went swirling around in my head – Oats or no oats?  Chocolate chips?  White Chocolate Chips?  Butterscotch Chips?  Nuts or no nuts?  Frosting?  Icing?  Plain?   Decisions, decisions.  I actually have an iced pumpkin cookie recipe that I have used forever but seeing that it was almost 10 p.m., that recipe was not happening, hence the quick and easy shortcut.  Both Mr. Foodie and I were pleasantly surprised with the final product.  Foodie Jr.’s teacher loved them, well she ate the whole plate right in front of me so either she is really polite or she really did like them!

This recipe made just over 30 cookies.   It was easy to throw together and really just a no hassle dessert.  The best part is that you can probably just interchange a bunch of ingredients, keeping the general ratios the same, and come up with other simple cookies to do in a pinch.

ICED PUMPKIN BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

Ingredients for Cookies:

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 Tsp Allspice

1/4 Tsp Nutmeg

1 15 oz. Can of Pumpkin (I really like the Organic from Trader Joe’s)

1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

1 Egg

2 Tsp Vegetable Oil

1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips

Ingredients for Icing:

Powdered Sugar (I used a heaping cup and it was enough to ice all cookies)

Spiced Apple Cider

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 Degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

2.  Combine cake mix with spices and walnuts in a large bowl.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, egg and oil.

4.  Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

5.  Add butterscotch chips to batter and mix.

6.  Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

7.  Allow to cool on wire rack.

8.  While cookies are cooling, place powdered sugar in a bowl and add spiced cider in small (tablespoonish) increments, stirring until you get a desired glaze consistency.  Ice the cooled cookies and let the icing set a bit before serving.

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Spanish Rice

Posted on October 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Rice, oh how we love rice around here!  I adore Spanish rice and can literally eat it by the bowlful without any other accompaniments.  Foodie Jr. loves his with beans.  I had been on the search for the perfect Spanish rice recipe for a long time and finally just decided to piece several ideas together until I came up with something that I like.  This works well for my family, even my onion boycotting husband.  An entire onion may seem like a lot while you are making it, but it cooks down and does provide a nice mild flavor, it is not overwhelming.  I like to serve this with some sort of steak, chicken or pork but I’m sure it would make a great side for enchiladas or fajitas and the like.  I generally do not like my Spanish rice overwhelmingly tomato-y or too spicy, I like a nice mild flavor and that is what this dish offers for me.  This recipe makes a lot since I like to have some leftovers to snack on.

SPANISH RICE

Ingredients:

2 Cups Medium Grain Rice

2-3 TBS Olive Oil

1 whole medium onion, minced fine (I have been known to grate it to get it past Mr. Foodie’s onion hating ways.)

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

4 Cups Water

Chicken Boullion (use enough to make 4 cups of liquid, depends on the brand and form you use – cubes, powder, paste, etc…)

1 Heaping Cup of fresh tomato, diced

1 Tsp Sea Salt

Dried Oregano to taste, I’d say a bigger than average pinch

Directions:

1.  In a large, deep skillet, brown rice in olive oil over medium heat.

2.  Add the aromatics – onion and garlic – and cook until onion is soft and tender, about 5 minutes.

3.  In a separate stock pot, bring 4 Cups of water to a boil and add boullion, making sure it is well-blended.

4.  Add the tomatoes to the stock.

5.  Stir rice mixture into the stock, adding salt and oregano and then bring to a boil.

6.  Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat and cover.  I generally cook mine about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed, but your cooking time may change depending on the package directions of the rice you use.

7.  Let the rice rest for a few minutes and the fluff with fork before serving.

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Tequila Lime Pepper Chicken

Posted on October 24, 2010 | 1 Comment

Many busy families are familiar with the grocery store, pre-made, rotisserie chickens.  They are a convenient time saver and can provide a decent meal with some healthy sides in a pinch.  And, at about five bucks each, can be pretty economical, especially in our case since we use the entire chicken for more than one meal.  Growing up, one of my most favorite things to eat was my mother’s baked whole chicken.  Back then, she did not run into the grocery store and buy it pre-made, she baked it in the oven – with several pounds of butter if I remember correctly!  So when creating this recipe, I was semi-inspired by both her chicken from the olden days and the nouveau rotisserie chickens found in the local chain stores.

Probably about a decade ago, I found a general method for re-creating the rotisserie chicken in a slow cooker.  I am sure most everyone has seen it or used it at this point.  It basically involves making little balls of foil to line the bottom of your slow cooker.  You sit your whole chicken on top of these foil balls while cooking, preventing it from getting too soggy in its own juices.  I have found it to be a good method and usually provides me with a nice moist chicken that also crisps up nicely on the top.

TEQUILA LIME PEPPER CHICKEN

Ingredients:

1 whole roasting chicken, giblets removed from cavity (between 2-4 lbs.)

1 whole lime, cut in half*

1/8 Cup Tequila

Tequila Lime Seasoning* (I use a blend from a favorite place called Kinders.)

Paprika

6 TBS Butter

3 Cloves of garlic, crushed

Directions:

1.  Set up slow cooker by making small foil balls and lining the bottom.

2. Season inside of chicken with Tequila Lime Pepper and then stuff with two halves of the lime, garlic cloves and 2 TBS butter.

3.  Rub the outside of the chicken with the Tequila.

4.  Stuff 2 TBS butter between the skin and breast on each side.

5.  Season liberally with the Tequila Lime Pepper.

6.  Season with the paprika until you reach an even, brownish color all over the bird.

7.  Place entire chicken on top of foil balls in slow cooker and cook about 6 hours on low, depending on your slow cooker.  Chicken will be tender and juicy but it shouldn’t completely fall apart.

*I used a preferred seasoning I had on hand and the lime went with it.  You can easily change this recipe to simply use seasoning salt or another flavor you prefer and stuff with something else, such as lemon or orange.  This recipe is very versatile and more about the cooking method.

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Kiss My (Shrimp and Chorizo) Grits

Posted on October 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

I love good old, down home, comfort food.  For me, grits fits right into that category.  Grits, popular in the Southern part of our great nation, were actually a Native American food – basically, a coarsely ground corn.  Generally, I eat grits for breakfast – either with butter (and milk) or with eggs.  I believe shrimp and grits are popular in what they call the Low Country area of South Carolina.  While it seems to be a breakfast dish there, I prefer to eat it for dinner.  Being so plain makes grits very versatile.  In this recipe, I made white cheddar grits to go along with my shrimp and chorizo mixture.  I make a large portion of the grits so that I have leftovers for different meals and I find that they freeze pretty well.

CHEDDAR GRITS WITH SHRIMP & CHORIZO

For the Grits:

6 Cups Water

2 Cups Half-n-Half (you can also just use milk)

2-3 Tsp Salt (depending on your taste)

1/2 Tsp Pepper

2 Cups Quick Cooking Grits

1 – 1 1/2 Cups of White Cheddar Cheese, shredded

5 TBS Butter (you can use unsalted)

Directions:

1.  Bring first four ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan.

2.  Add the dry grits and whisk continuously.

3.  Reduce heat to low and continue to whisk until well blended and creamy.

4.  Add the cheese and whisk until melted and smooth.

5.  Remove from heat and let stand.  Once thickened but still hot, add butter and stir until smooth.

For the Shrimp & Chorizo Mixture:

1 lb. Shrimp (medium sized)

3 medium links of Chorizo (I prefer Marca El Rey Brand), diced small

2-3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

1 TBS Butter

Directions:

1.  Brown chorizo in a skillet over medium heat, about 3-4 minutes.  The chorizo will create quite a bit of orangish oil.

2.  Remove chorizo from pan and drain most of oil, leaving a good layer to coat your shrimp.  Add butter until melted and then add shrimp.  Cook shrimp until pink, about 3 minutes or so.

3.  Add chorizo back to pan.  Add fresh garlic and stir until fragrant.  At this point everything is cooked through, so only toss for less than a minute so as to avoid the garlic burning and turning bitter.

4.  Divide grits into serving bowls and top each helping with the shrimp and chorizo mixture.  Serve immediately.

 

 

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Fusion ‘Tacos’, Two Ways

Posted on October 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

I love the concept of tacos. I use the term ‘taco’ loosely here, mostly because it is a mainstream way for me to describe a little carb (tortilla, bao, etc…) wrapped around yummy goodness (meat, veggies, etc…) and some type of topping or sauce.  We make tacos at our house out of anything and love to experiment with different flavors, which is how the following recipes came about.

Both of these tacos were wrapped in steamed buns – bao, generically – Momofuku style inspired.  Before you applaud my awesomeness, know that I purchased pre-made folded buns at my local Asian Market.  For the record, I do have the ingredients on hand to make these from scratch and will be attempting that soon.  However, the craving for these was immediate so pre-made was the way to go this time around.  I did steam the buns myself though!

I did not serve either of these to Foodie Jr. fully constructed.  He did eat the filling and buns separately as his meal, but the sauces were a little too spicy for him.  Although he likes spicy food, Mr. Foodie and I like it really spicy so we opted to give him the milder version.  We were all able to eat the same meal, just had to modify for the little one.  I’m no short order cook so I have to do what I have to do to modify sometimes.

STEAMED BUN TACO #1

Korean Style Flank Steak with Cucumber topped with Sriracha BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

Store bought folded buns, steamed per package directions

2 lb Flank Steak (you can also use skirt steak)

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

2 TBS Black Sesame Seeds

4 TBS Sugar

2 TBS Sesame Oil

3-4 Small Shallots, minced

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

6 TBS Mirin

1/2 Large Cucumber, sliced thin on a mini-mandoline – becomes almost relish like

3-4 TBS Mirin

1 TBS Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/8 Cup of your favorite BBQ Sauce

1/8 Cup Sriracha (use less if you don’t like the heat)

Directions:

1.  Combine first 8 ingredients in a large freezer bag and refrigerate overnight, mixing and turning occasionally.

2.  Place cucumbers in a small bowl and cover with mirin, add red pepper flakes and mix.  Set in refrigerator for at least a half hour before serving.

3.  In a small bowl, mix BBQ sauce with Sriracha until well blended.

4.  Heat oil coated grill pan over medium heat.  Cook flank steak equally on both sides, about 8-10 minutes per side, depending on your desired doneness.

5.  Let the meat rest about 10 minutes and then slice thin against the grain.

6.  Assemble by placing a few slices of meat on the bun, top with cucumber and then BBQ sauce mixture.

STEAMED BUN TACO #2

Spicy Shrimp with Mango and Cilantro topped with Sriracha Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

Store bought folded buns, steamed per package directions

1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and deveined, boiled and cooled

Juice of 2 limes

3 TBS Patis (fish sauce) – you could probably use less if desired

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

1 Large Mango, peeled and chopped

1/2 Cup Mayonaise

1-2 TBS Sriracha, depending on taste

1/8 Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped for garnish

Directions.

1.  Mix shrimp with lime juice, patis and cayenne pepper, refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise with Sriracha until well blended – it will have a light orange color.  (A little goes a long way but Mr. Foodie eats this on everything so I make a bigger batch at a time.)

3.  Assemble by placing a few shrimp on the folded bun, top with a bit of chopped mange, mayonnaise mixture and garnish with cilantro.

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Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Posted on October 11, 2010 | 3 Comments

I love to bake cupcakes, not necessarily because of the cupcake trend but because I like the idea that they are easy to share. As a family, we don’t eat a lot of sweets. I love all things chocolate and Mr. Foodie does not. So cupcakes provide me a versatile way to share with others while not scarfing down an entire cake by myself (or worse yet, wasting one) – I think it is much better to receive a small batch of cupcakes than a half-eaten cake!  I ate a few and sent the rest to work with Mr. Foodie.  His official report is that the staff liked them.

This was somewhat inspired by a recipe I had seen on Paula Deen’s show a while back.  For the cake, I used a modified 1-2-3-4 basic cake recipe.  The cupcake filling is made with my homemade yogurt cheese but you could substitute sour cream or Greek Yogurt and I think it would come out just fine.  The frosting, a basic 7 minute type frosting that I’ve used for years, was done using the microwave because I did not have  inclination to deal with a double boiler!

COCONUT CREAM CUPCAKES

Ingredients for Cake:

1 Cup of Butter, at room temperature

2 Cup Sugar

4 Eggs

3 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Cup Coconut Milk

1 Tsp Vanilla

Ingredients for the Filling:

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Yogurt Cheese

3-4 TBS Milk (I eyeballed this for the consistency I wanted)

1/2 Cup Flaked Coconut (sweetened)

Ingredients for the Frosting:

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Corn Syrup (light)

2 TBS Water

2 Egg Whites

1 Tsp Vanilla

Extra flaked coconut for garnish, if desired.

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, line cupcake pan with paper or silicone liners.

2.  Start the cake by creaming butter and sugar with electric mixer.

3.  Add one egg at a time, beating in between each addition.

4.  Alternate adding flour and coconut milk – start and end with flour.

5.  Add vanilla and combine.

6.  Pour batter into cupcake liners, about 2/3 full and bake about 20 minutes, ovens will vary.  When inserted toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done.  Allow cupcakes to cool completely before filling and frosting.

7.  While the cupcakes are baking, prepare the filling by stirring all filling ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended.

8.  Fill a pastry bag with filling.  Insert tip into the top of cooled cupcakes and fill.  Let cupcakes stand while you make the frosting.

9.  In a small microwave-safe bowl, mix sugar, corn syrup and water and microwave for 3 1/2 minutes.  While that is cooking, beat egg whites until stiff in a separate bowl.  Once microwave mixture is done, pour on top of the egg whites, add vanilla and continue to beat until you reach desired consistency.

10.  Frost cooled and filled cupcakes, garnish with extra flaked coconut, if desired.

This recipe yielded 2 dozen cupcakes.

 

 

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Cooking Club’s Plum Jam

Posted on October 6, 2010 | 5 Comments

(I was playing with the ‘boost color’ setting on my photo editor for this pic…)

A few girlfriends and I started a cooking club earlier this year.  We get together once a month, usually rotating houses.  The host will pick a general theme and either prepare the entire meal for everyone or everyone will make one course of the meal.   And of course, being a group of busy mothers, sometimes we pick a new restaurant or type of cuisine we would like to try and we go out!  Recently, we had been discussing canning – primarily because of the over abundance of plums on one of our members trees and also in an effort to cut down the sugar (and processed) foods our kids eat.  Sadly, none of us had done a whole lot of true canning.  We are lucky enough that one of our members has a mother who does know the ins and outs of canning.  She volunteered to spend the day with us, prepping the goods and teaching us how to do it, live and in person!  I know I had some trepidation going into the canning lesson but she was so clear and concise that it seemed like a breeze by the end of it.  We actually chose to can two things:  plum jam and marinara sauce.

I think we were really fortunate that the fresh plums were picked at their peak because this is some of the best jam I have ever had!  We used Mariposa Plums – some interesting information on these California plums can be found here.  You will see that the recipe does call for quite a bit of real sugar but with this jam, a tiny bit goes a long way.  It’s big on flavor and sweetness, we all really liked it.  I have used it for several different dishes, that I will eventually feature on this blog:  a filling along with cream cheese for dessert won tons, a plum sauce for mu shu pork  and plum glazed chicken.  Above, it is pictured on toast – a great way to eat it to get the true essence of the jam itself.

HOMEMADE PLUM JAM

Ingredients (per batch):

4 1/2 Cups of Plums, chopped and seeded (we kept the skin on)

1/2 Cup Water

7 Cups of Sugar*

1 3 oz Package of commercial, liquid pectin

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

*Yes, that is 7 cups of sugar!  We decided, to stick with a full, real sugar recipe for our first time at this.  We may try a lower sugar recipe next time.)

Directions:

1.  Sterilize glass jars and lids in canning pot of boiling water, 10 minutes.

2.  Remove jars from boiling water and place in warm oven (lowest setting) until you are ready to fill.  You do not want to let them cool completely as you will be filling them with the hot liquid jam.

3.  In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add your plums, water and lemon juice.  Stir mixture often and bring to a boil.

4.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5.  Stir in sugar and return heat to medium high, bring to a boil.  Add pectin and return to a boil.  Continue to stir constantly for one minute then remove from heat.

6.  Let the mixture sit for one minute.

7.  Poor mixture into jars, leaving about a 1/4 inch of space at the top.

8.  Wipe any excess jam from the rims of the glass jars – this helps the lids to seal properly.

9.  Place lids on jars and put them in the large canning pot of boiling water for 5 minutes.

10.  Remove jars and let cool, you may hear a ‘pop’ when they seal.

11.  Label jars and store in a cool, dry place.

Note:  We made about 20 jars total, so we did this process 4 times.

 

Plum on Foodista

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Chicken Apple Sausage, Spinach and Egg White Frittata

Posted on October 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

It’s no secret that I am pregnant.  Not just because of the watermelon sized bump in my tummy but because I have mentioned it here before.  I spent the greater part of this pregnancy sick and then when I finally got to a point where food sounded good again and wanted to eat something with substance, gestational diabetes entered the picture.  Baby Foodie is doing quite a number on this Mama!  I can’t just go willy-nilly eating everything in sight and indulging in carb-rich delights like I really want to, so I created this recipe the other night for dinner.  It was actually very filling and satisfying, more importantly, it tasted good.  Mr. Foodie thought it was a keeper, he even ate it cut up in a whole wheat tortilla the next morning as a pseudo breakfast burrito.

CHICKEN APPLE SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND EGG WHITE FRITTATA

Ingredients:

1 TBS Butter

4 Chicken Apple Sausage links (I used the Aidell’s brand)

3 Cups fresh baby spinach, washed and torn

1 TBS Dried Minced Onion

1 TBS Course Black Pepper

1 TBS Salt

¾ Cup Gruyere Cheese

2 Cup Egg Whites

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350.

2.  In an oven safe skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.

3.  Saute sausage until brown.

4.  Add minced onion and spinach and sauté until spinach is wilted.

5.  Remove from heat.

6.  Add Egg whites.

7.  Season with Salt and Pepper, mix in cheese.

8.  Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until egg whites are set.

9.  Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes and serve.

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Street Food Adventures – Eat Real Festival

Posted on October 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

My little Foodie family recently attended the Eat Real Festival at Jack London Square in Oakland, California.  We like to hit up these little festivals and imagined that this was going to be like any other but boy, were we wrong.  This one was definitely a Foodie’s delight.  No booths full of junk to buy, just food trucks, glorious food trucks  filled with every kind of cuisine imaginable.  And it was affordable, nothing was over $5.00.  Along with the food trucks, there were a lot of great presentations on different food crafts and urban homesteading.  Oakland is a true urban area and to see this type of food education being put out there was great.  Although it was a little bit crowded, the idea for the festival was well thought out and carried out in a great manner.  Aside from Foodie Jr. whining about wanting to go home every five seconds, we were really happy that we decided to attend and are really looking forward to next year’s event.  If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I highly recommend it as a weekend culinary adventure!

Please bear with me on the photos below, I did not have my Canon and was taking some shots with my iPhone.  Not ideal, but I was glad to capture some of our experience.

Bacon on the grill by The Black Pig Meat Company out of Healdsburg, California.  So fresh and fabulous, bacon is food of the gods.  You may be familiar with this company from the Food Network as they have been featured on a few different shows and I believe one of their founders is on the Next Iron Chef show.

Foodie Jr. was on the hunt for a cheeseburger for lunch so we found this little gem from 4505 Meats.  He was putting it down and then I decided to take a bite.  Fact:  I am NOT a burger person.  AT ALL.  Fact:  This is THE BEST cheeseburger I have ever had in my entire life.  So good that I had to send Mr. Foodie back into the long line to get me my own.  OH MY GAWD, I cannot even begin to describe to you what Ryan Farr has done here.  It was one of my most incredible meat experiences to date.  If you are ever in San Francisco for the weekend, be sure to hit up his booth at the Farmer’s Market in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

Carne Empanada from El Porteno.  After perusing the choices, I decided to go with the traditional carne:  Prather Ranch Organic Dry-Aged Grass Feed Beef, Pimiento Stuffed Olives, Raisins, Hard-Boiled Eggs.  The line to get one of these was a mile long but it was worth the wait.  It had a great balance of flavors.

Mr. Foodie is a huge fan of encased meats, as am I.  There is no way he could attend any kind of festival involving street food and not get a hot link.   The one pictured above (or what’s left of the one pictured above) was actually his second one of the day from Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q.  It was served with some traditional pimento cheese, which Mr. Foodie also scarfed down.

My Lobster Roll from Sam’s Chowder House.  This was probably the longest line we stood in.  This sammy was good.  Lobster Rolls aren’t really complicated and rely on good, fresh ingredients, all of which this had.  The lobster was fresh and sweet and the bread was fresh and perfectly toasted.

The big ole Paella pan from Gerard’s Paella.  We did not have the gumption to stand in this line, as Foodie Jr. was pretty much tapped out from the heat and the walking, but I really enjoyed taking a peak at the cooking process on these huge Paella pans.  Crews of people, stirring and tossing, tossing and stirring.  Definitely need to hit them up next year!

We did not eat here but thought it was kind of neat to see them since we had been watching them on the Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network.  I believe they took 3rd place.

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My Boy’s Fried Rice – Pick a Meat, Any Meat!

Posted on October 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

My dad was retired for much of my younger years and thus, responsible for taking me to school and all that fun stuff.  He also used to make fried rice for breakfast.  His fried rice basically consisted of leftover rice, bacon and soy sauce, as best as I could tell.  Simple enough but I swear on all that is holy that this taste cannot be duplicated.  Even my sister agrees.  Knowing my dad, there probably was not a secret ingredient or anything but I have yet to figure out the secret to making it like he did.  It is still my most favorite comfort food and I’m rounding the corner to 40.

The apple does not fall far from the tree as my son could eat fried rice for every meal of every day.  You can ask him what he wants to eat at any time and the answer is generally always the same:  fried rice.  During those times when I notice he isn’t eating much, I can always count on him to scarf down bowls of fried rice.  Like any good island boy, he is a lover of SPAM.  I know SPAM is probably not the meat of choice for many Foodies, but for islanders, it is comfort food.  I grew up eating SPAM so it does not gross me out at all.  And apparently, it does not bother my son either because it is his favorite meat to put in fried rice.

When making this, I can do it blindfolded and backward so I cannot say that there is a ‘true’ recipe for it.  I truly believe it is food of love (at least at our house)  and most people who make fried rice regularly, have their own take on it.  Play with it, experiment, and make it to suit the tastes of your family or simply use up those leftovers!  This might not be the same fried rice I would serve to company, but it is our everyday, sit around the table as a family food.

FRIED RICE

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Steamed White Rice

Meat, cooked (I hate to be so general, but you really can use anything.  A can of spam, a Lb. of bacon that has been cooked and crumbled, leftover sausage, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, ham, etc…)

1-2 Cups of Frozen Veggies, thawed  (if this were up to my son, it would be strictly peas only, but I do sometimes use a pea/carrot mixture.)

Soy Sauce, to taste

Butter, to taste

4 Eggs

Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt 2-3 TBS Butter.  Scramble the eggs and set aside.

2.  In the same skillet, add the leftover rice, butter (maybe 1/2 a stick or so) and enough soy sauce to achieve and even light brown color.  Keep tossing until all butter is melted and ingredients are evenly distributed.

3.  Add in scrambled eggs, cooked meat and veggies.  Stir and continue to heat through, an additional 3-5 minutes.

4.  Season with black pepper, about 1 TBS and serve immediately.

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