Spring Rolls for Springtime

Thai Fried Rice adapted from Thai Table
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tomato, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons soy sauce - mushroom
pinch ground pepper
1 teaspoons fish sauce
1 cup cooked rice (cook earlier and put in fridge to dry and cool)
3 Thai chili pepper (Optional)
1/3 cup pork or chicken
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lime
1 green onion Optional
2 cloves garlic, minced Optional
2 eggs
Other veggies, such as pea pods, bean sprouts (optional)

When the pan is extremely hot (smoking hot), pour in the oil and follow with meat. Stir quickly. It can get real smoky. If you see that there is juice coming out from your meat and pooling on the bottom and not evaporating, your pan is not hot enough. When the meat is cooked, set it aside or just put it on the side of the pan if you can. Add the egg and scramble the egg until the egg is all cooked. Put the egg aside or just push it aside and make some room on the bottom of the wok. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and stir. Keep stirring and mixing the rice with ingredients. Add all vegetables. Stir for 1 or 2 more minutes. Sprinkle ground pepper.

Some people like to add a fried egg on top of the fried rice. If you do, add 2 teaspoons of oil, crack the egg and fry until the egg white is crispy. Put the egg on top of fried rice.

Serve hot with a 1/4 wedge of lime and whole green onion.



(I got this recipe online somewhere, long ago)

Spring Rolls
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated
•2 green onions, sliced into matchstick pieces
•1 red chili, minced, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (omit if you prefer very mild spring rolls)
•1/2 cup shredded or finely chopped cabbage
•4-6 shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchstick pieces
•1/2 cup medium to firm tofu, sliced into matchstick pieces (If non-vegetarian: add 1/2 cup cooked baby shrimp)
•approx. 2 cups bean sprouts
•1/2 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
•1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
•2 Tbsp. oil, plus more for deep-frying
•1 pkg. spring roll wrappers (thawed if frozen)

•STIR-FRY SAUCE:
•2 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
•2 Tbsp. fish sauce OR vegetarian stir-fry sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee brand)
•2 Tbsp. lime juice
•1/4 tsp. sugar

•TO SERVE:
•Thai sweet chili sauce (available in most supermarkets, Asian section)

Preparation:
1.Place 2 Tbsp. oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add garlic, galangal (or ginger), shallots, and chilli. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir-frying Tip: Add a little water to the wok/pan when it gets too dry instead of more oil.
2.Add cabbage, mushrooms, and tofu (or shrimp). As you stir-fry, add the sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
3.Remove from heat and add bean sprouts, tossing to mix in.
4.Do a taste test for salt, adding 1 Tbsp. more fish or soy sauce if not salty enough.
5.To assemble rolls, place a spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface. Place one heaping Tbsp. of the filling on the wrapper (if using large wrappers, you will need more). Tips: Spread the filling lengthwise along the spring roll wrapper nearer the end closest to you. Also, try not to include too much of the liquid left in the bottom of your wok/pan (a slotted spoon works well for this - drier filling is better.
6.Now sprinkle some of the fresh coriander and basil over the filling.
7.Fold the left and right sides of wrapper over filling, then lift up the wide end nearest you and tuck overtop. Roll to the other end. Secure the roll by dipping your fingers in some water and wetting the end, "pasting" it shut.
8.To fry spring rolls, place some oil (about 1 inch deep) in a wok or deep-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. When bubbles rise, or when the oil begins to form snake-like lines across the bottom of the pan, the oil may be hot enough. To test it, dip one corner of a spring roll into the oil. If it beginsto sizzle and cook, the oil is ready. If not, wait another 30 seconds to one minute and try again.
9.Using tongs, place spring rolls in oil, allowing them to fry about 1 minute on each side. Spring rolls are done when they turn light to medium golden-brown (see photo). Place on paper towels (or a clean dish towel) to drain while you finish frying the rest.
10.Serve spring rolls while still hot with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, or your own dipping sauce (see recipe bellow). ENJOY!

TO MAKE YOUR OWN DIPPING SAUCE: Mix 1/3 cup plum sauce with 3 Tbsp. soy sauce. Add fresh cut red chili or dried crushed chili as desired.

Leftovers 101

Once a week we do leftovers night.  It's that night where everything that you've got in your fridge gets cleaned out and dumped.  Otherwise known as clean-out-your-fridge night.  I tell my kids the goal is to clean out as many of the containers as possible, it's like a game to them.

This was our leftover offerings last week.

#1 - Steamed butternut squash served with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper.

#2 - Beef roast, cooked in the crockpot for 4 hours with a packet of dry onion soup mix on the top.

#3 - Brown rice pilaf (recipe below), this was found while cooking a diabetic meal for a friend.

#4 - Mandarin-cranberry pork chops (recipe below), I made this one up to see how it worked.  It turned out to be easy and delicious!

#5 - Potatoes and onions, my kids favorite "fries".  Cut up some potatoes and onions, cook with a little bit of olive oil and salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  Like fries, my kids eat this with ketchup.

#6 - Fresh cut mango.  I have never been good at cutting mangoes, I pretty well massacre them.  Then I asked my babysitter to teach me, because she's the master.  It's really easy, if you follow the directions.  Here is a tutorial, if you're interested.  It's not the way I learned, but it's a workable way as well.

#7 - Fajitas - Sauteed chicken breast, onions, green bell pepper and jalapeños...my kids loved it and it included everything they hate, ie: peppers and onions.  Sometimes it's just how you cook it!

Brown Rice Pilaf

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup frozen vegetables
1/2 tsp. cumin

If you have a rice cooker, throw it all together, and cook.  If you don't have a rice cooker, in a saucepan mix the water, rice, olive oil and salt and bring to a boil.  Mix in the vegetables and cumin.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45-60 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed.


Mandarin-Cranberry Pork Chops

4 pork chops, or as many as you need to feed your family
1 can, whole berry cranberry sauce
1 large can, mandarin oranges, juice drained
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. curry powder

Preheat oven to 350°.  Brown pork chops in pan, season with a little salt and pepper, then place in baking dish.  In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients and pour over chops in bowl.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until your pork chops are cooked through.  Serve over rice.

**This would also work really well in a slow cooker, just adjust cooking times as needed.**

Another Enchilada Recipe

I know, I have a problem with settling on my favorite enchilada recipe (like the one I posted HERE). My sis-in-law found these recipes online and filled flour tortilla with the meat, cheese and rice. She put them in a casserole dish with cheese on top and baked until warm and cheese was melted. They were really good! I know that Brooke has posted this same recipe for cilantro-lime rice HERE, I just re-posted for convenience.

Sweet Pork (Cafe Rio knock-off)
2 pounds pork (I used boneless ribs that were on sale)
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar. If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.


CAFE RIO'S KNOCK-OFF CILANTRO-LIME RICE
1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

OAMC - revisited

The second OAMC recipe we tried was just as good, but I totally took creative rights with the recipe.  See, it's written as a casserole, which is perfect for freezing, but I was making this to eat that night, and I didn't want it to be a casserole...I wanted to use my slow cooker again.

Hence, the slow cooker casserole was born.

CHICKEN BROCCOLI CASSEROLE (adapted by Brooke)

1 10 oz. package frozen broccoli
1 10.5 oz. can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup Miracle Whip
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
rice

Place chicken and broccoli in slow cooker.  Mix together chicken soup, miracle whip, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, curry powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then pour over chicken in slow cooker.  Top with breadcrumbs.  Cook on low for 2-3 hours, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.  Serve over rice.

OAMC - Worth It?

The recipes are, if nothing else.

OAMC - Once A Month Cooking.  Find it here or here.  This is a handy little program that allows you to cook a months worth of main dishes in one day, thereby supposedly saving you money and time.

I might try it, seriously.  I could totally get into saving time and money.

I borrowed the Family Favorites book from a friend to see if the recipes are even worth it.  After reading through the entire book, yes, the ENTIRE book, I'm pretty convinced it'd be worth trying.  The authors have laid out the entire process, including shopping lists, assembly lists and all the recipes with ways to manage what you've frozen and what sides you'll need to prepare the day of.

The great thing about every single recipe is that you don't have to cook it in bulk a month before, you can make it the day you want it, but if you WANT to freeze it, all of the recipes are created to freeze well.

It's perfect for a busy family, if you're preparing for surgery/birth, if you need to take a meal to someone, or a hundred other reasons.  Try it, I dare you.

Here's one of the recipes we've tried from the book this week, though when I cooked it I adapted it for the slow cooker, easy adjustment - delicious dinner.

ZANZIBAR CHICKEN

1 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 14-oz. can coconut milk
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Jasmine rice

In a small skillet, saute the onion in the oil until transparent.  Combine the onion and the remaining ingredients, excluding the rice, and pour into baking dish, bake at 350° for 50 minutes.  If you prefer the easy slow cooker way, place chicken in slow cooker, combine all sauce ingredients and pour over chicken, cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Serve over jasmine rice.

Orange Chicken Recipe

I got the original version of this recipe from AllRecipes. Ive made a few changes but for the most part it's that same. I sometimes use less cornstarch and replace some of the water with pineapple juice. You will notice a difference if you try to replace the minced ginger root with dehydrated ginger powder (I've tried), stick to the fresh! I also spread the cooked chicken on a pan and put it in the oven to stay warm when making the sauce and then just add and serve (instead of simmering longer) to help keep the breading on. Orange Chicken

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free)
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tapioca Pudding

I got this recipe from Simply Recipes and it's very good. It's far from healthy and takes along time stirring but well worth it!


Tapioca Pudding
Look at the instructions on the package of tapioca that you buy. Some small pearl tapioca requires overnight soaking in water. If your package has that requirement, reduce the milk in the recipe to 2 1/2 cups from 3 cups.

Ingredients
1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (you can usually find it in the baking section of the grocery store, do not use instant tapioca)
3 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1 Combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat. Stir until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually.

2 Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix in some of the hot tapioca very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures to avoid curdling. (Alton Brown taught me this is called tempuring, yall probably already knew that though)

3 Return eggs to pan with tapioca. Slowly bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir several minutes at a low simmer, stirring constantly until you get a nice thick pudding consistency. Cool 15 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve either warm or chilled.

Note: If you want to make a more light and fluffy, but still rich, tapioca pudding, separate the eggs. Use the egg yolks to stir in first to the pan with the tapioca. Once the pudding has become nice and thick, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to soft peaks. Remove the pan of tapioca pudding from the stove, fold in the beaten egg whites into the pudding.

Serves 4-6.

Thai Dessert

I will get around to posting my pictures of the fridge one day. Until then, enjoy one of my favorite desserts that my husband introduced me too. Mangoes are so good right now so try this soon. This recipe has been adapted to just use jasmine rice instead of the hard to find true sticky rice. During a morning sickness couple of months I ate this quite a bit... for a meal. That's healthy, right? This serves six people that are not eating this for a meal. =)
Thai Sticky Rice with Mango (Kow Neuw Mamuang)
1 cup uncooked Jasmine Rice
1-13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ripe mangoes

In a medium saucepan bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice and briefly stir. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 15 minutes or until water is just absorbed.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan, combine Coconut Milk, sugar and salt. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
Add the hot Coconut Milk sauce to the cooked rice. Stir until mixed.
Lightly press plastic wrap onto mixture in saucepan to cover. Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature.
Peel and slice the mangoes.
With large spoon or ice cream scoop, spoon the sticky rice onto plates and garnish with mango slices.
If desired, you can top with coconut syrup which is also excellent with banana pancakes the next day.

Coconut Syrup
1-13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, firmly packed

In a medium saucepan, mix Coconut Milk with sugar. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently until reduced to 1 1/2 cups of syrup (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Cool to lukewarm and serve, or refrigerate for later. Coconut syrup will keep in refrigerator for one week.
My favorite Thai Recipe website is: Thai Table. Give some recipes a try!

Charred Chili Relleno

This was a good vegetarian meal that my Mom sent me. We just got a new computer and haven't finished switching things over yet so sorry there are no personal pictures. I did find the one from Rachael Ray on Food Network. Mine looked a little different but you get an idea.

Charred Chili Relleno with Green Rice

adapted from Rachael Ray Recipe by Karen

2 cups uncooked white rice

4 C stock, divided (I used Imagine No Chicken Broth)

1 bay leaf

4 large poblano peppers

6 ears corn on cob or 3 C frozen corn kernels

3 T oil, divided

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped

1 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained well (I didn't see this and put the whole thing in)

1 1/2 t gr. cumin

1/2 t dried oregano

salt & fresh ground pepper

1/2 C cilantro leaves

1/4 lb spinach leaves, deveined & coarsely chopped

4 gr. onions, coarsely chopped

2 limes, juiced

1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat broiler on high or turn on BBQ grill. Heat about 3 1/2 C stock in saucepan with a bay leaf to boiling. Add rice, cover pot, reduce heat to low & simer 18 mins.

Place poblanos under broiler or on hot grill and char evenly all over - about 15 mins. When done, place in plastic bag on counter and allow to cool. Twist top. Grill the corn if using corn on cob or lay frozen corn out on clean towel to defrost and dry.

Heat 2 T oil in skillet over med. high. When oil is hot, add corn, onion, jalapenos and toss until vegetables char at the edges and onions are tender - 4-5 mins. Reduce heat to med. high & add garlic, tomatoes and season with cumin, oregano, salt & pepper. Cook another 2 mins and turn off. Place cilantro, spinach, gr. onions and 1/2 C stock and T of oil in food processor and process into coarse green paste. (Missed this instruction too. I didn't add the stock or oil. I pulsed in blender in about 3 batches.) Stir into rice pot in last 3-4 mins of cooking time. Sprinkle lime juice over corn mixture. Slip skins off peppers.

Split peppers open but not in half with small knife and clean out seeds and membrane. Place in shallow baking dish & stuff each with corn mix. Top with 1/4 C cheese and place under broiler to melt and char the cheese. Serve on bed of green rice. Yum!

Report Card: Sweet Pork Burritos...A+

The sweet pork recipe definitely deserved an A+ grade.  It was so good and so easy.  In fact, we loved it so much I prepared a second batch and took it to Shane's office to share for lunch.   Coupled with cilantro-lime rice and black beans in flour tortillas, it was awesome!  I prepared some pico de gallo, guacamole and some cilantro-ranch dressing (not pictured) to accompany the burritos.  We finished off the meal with tres leches cake topped with Danish Dessert, mmmmmmm.

Prior to preparing the pork I did a little comparing of similar recipes and decided to prepare it without the taco and fajita seasonings.  I am glad that I did.  I am not a huge fan of chili seasoning and both taco and fajita seasonings have it in them.  I decided to use Dr. Pepper for the cola in the recipe.  It worked out wonderfully!

CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp. butter

2 cloves, garlic (minced)

1 tsp. lime juice

1 can (15 oz) chicken broth

1 cup water

1 tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp. sugar

3 tbsp. chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.  While rice is cooking, combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl.  When rice is done, remove from heat and pour mixture over rice while fluffing.

CILANTRO-RANCH DRESSING

1 package Ranch dressing mix

3 tomatillos, chopped

1 cup mayonaise

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup cilantro, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. green Tabasco sauce

juice from 1 lime

Blend all ingredients together.

BLACK BEANS

I prefer to cook my own beans, rather than using canned or bottled.  However, if you prefer to use canned it works just as well.  When I cook my own, I season them with garlic powder and onion salt.  Just season to taste with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper.  I added 1/2 chopped cilantro to 3 cups of cooked black beans. 

PICO DE GALLO

6 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Anaheim peppers, chopped

3 Jalapeno peppers, chopped (I removed the seeds, we wanted a milder salsa)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

garlic salt to taste

salt and pepper to taste

I used Roma tomatoes because they tend to be less juicy than other types of tomatoes.  I wanted a less juicy pico de gallo than I typically make for my fresh salsa.  After dicing the tomatoes I drained the juice off of them before adding them to the bowl, then I added the rest of the ingredients.  The pico is almost better after sitting for awhile to allow the flavors to all blend together.  Remember to keep it in the fridge for freshness!

K = Ketchup

Ode to ketchup...

My kids eat ketchup all day long,
on some things right and most things wrong,
on most things it would make me hate,
but to them, it's the only way to get some things ate... :)

Hilarious, I know. It seems like if there is anything my kids won't eat we can give them ketchup to top it or to dip it in and they'll eat it. We've gotten to the point with the 3-year old where we say, "do you want ketchup?", to which she'll respond with a resounding, "YES!", to which we'll reply, "here, try this ketchup", and give her whatever sauce is on the table. It's worked for BBQ sauce, sweet & sour sauce, mustard, and teriyaki sauce.

I very rarely cook with ketchup, but I'm including a recipe that uses tomato soup which is close to ketchup, right? Enjoy, I know my kids do!

SWEET AND SOUR BEEF

1 can tomato soup
1 can water
1/2 c. brown sugar
4 tbsp. vinegar
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 lb. ground hamburger
1 can chunk pineapple
2 carrots sliced in thin rounds
cornstarch to thicken

Brown hamburger. Add all other ingredients and simmer while carrots cook. Use cornstarch dissolved in cool water to thicken the sauce slightly. Serve over rice.