Stir-fry Rice (Pat)

When I ate this for dinner after Pat had made it, and said how delicious it was, he had me take a picture of it and wanted me to include it on the blog. He doesn't use a recipe. And, he puts anything in the fridge in it. These are the approximate instructions for making it:
5 c cooked rice
1/4 onion, chopped
4 T veg oil
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c mirin
2 carrots, sliced
1 lg bell pepper, chopped
3 eggs
1-2 tsp white pepper
Heat the oil and start to saute the onion. Then add the pre-cooked carrots and the bell pepper, stirring 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and mirin. Then add the rice and stir till hot and seperated, starting to turn slightly brown. Turn off heat. In seperate pan, scramble eggs, add to the rice mixture, and incorporate the white pepper seasoning, flavoring to taste. Thanks for whipping up one of your quick meals Pat.

PERUVIAN QUINOA-VEGETABLE SOUP

I found this recipe in the book "The 30-Minute Vegan" by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. I've been wanting to try eating quinoa for some time, but hadn't found an appealing way to eat it. This piqued my culinary curiosity and I tried it. Here it what the authors tell about the recipe; "On our honeymoon in Peru, after politely refusing the house specialty of fried guinea pig, we would typically opt for this yummalicious soup. From the mountains of Cusco to the jungles of the Amazon to the island of Lake Titicaca, we were happily treated to this national favorite time and time again. Most of these ingredients grow in the Andes Mountains and are popular among the locals. It was amazing to see quinoa growing in its natural environment. If you can't find purple potatoes, and will do." 
7 c water of vegetable stock 
3 Tbsp soy sauce 
3/4 c uncooked quinoa 
1 1/2 c chopped purple potatoes, or potatoes of choice 1 large carrot, sliced 
3/4 c diced yellow onion 
4 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced 
1 c sliced cabbage 
1 Tbsp seeded or minced jalapeno or other chile pepper 
2 large tomatoes, chopped 
1/4 c minced fresh cilantro 
1/4 c fresh Italian parsley 
1 t sea salt, or to taste 
1/2 t black pepper, or to taste 

1) Place the water and soy sauce in a large pot over med-high heat. Add the quinoa. 
2) Begin prepping the vegetables and place them in the pot as you go. Start with the potatoes, carrot, onion, garlic, cabbage, jalapeno, and tomatoes. 
3) Cook until the potatoes are tender and the quinoa is cooked, about 20 minutes from when the quinoa was added. Add the cilantro, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

I wanted to make it for Sunday dinner, and to have it ready after church, adapted it to cooking in a slow cooker. I reduced the amount of vegetable stock to a 32-oz tetra pak carton of veg broth, increased the carrots because I like them, and used canned jalapeno, and dried garlic and parsley. I cooked it on high for about 4 hours or so, and served it with cornbread drizzled with honey. It was incredible. I could eat the whole pot of it all by myself.

Black Bean Enchilada

I love black beans, so when I made enchiladas with chicken, I had to make some with black beans for me. I had left-over cooked Yukon Gold potatoes, so I put those in as well. I made the filling on my own, but then found a recipe for black bean filling in the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Mexican issue, so added carrots to it. This second time I made these enchiladas, I tried following the recipes from the magazine more carefully. I don't think I like purchased mole sauce. I would either leave it out, or make my own. Here it the recipe from the magazine:

Black Bean Filling
1/2 c chopped onion (1 med)
1/2 c chopped carrot (1 med; I like at least two)
1 med fresh jalapeno chile pepper, stemmed seeded, and finely chopped (canned worked for me)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 c sour cream (I left this out)
1/3 c purchased mole sauce
2 Tbsp water
2 15-oz cans black bean, rinsed and drained
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (again, no dairy for me)

In a large skillet, cooked onion, carrot, chile pepper, and garlic in hot oil until onion and carrot are tender. Remove skillet from heat. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mole sauce, and the water. Stir sour cream mixture, beans, and cheese into onion mixture in skillet. Makes 8 servings.

So without all the dairy to offset the mole sauce, I only used the onion, garlic, carrot and jalapena; sauteed. Then stirred in 1 can black beans and the microwaved carrots, spiced with black pepper,  a generous tsp or to taste of dried oregano or Italian seasonings, and red chile pepper or red chile flakes. Maybe those potatoes really were a good addition. Don't use baking potatoes, use the thin skinned boiling kind. Then roll up the filling in tortilla shells, place in greased or sprayed baking rectangle pan. Cover with sauce of your choice, and bake on 350 till heated through. If you choose to use a salsa as topping for the sauce on these, like I pictured it, then you can optionally heat in the microwave, and top with the salsa.

Chip and Salsa Soup

Chip and Salsa Soup
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 1/4 cups fresh salsa, mild or medium
• 1 tablespoon canned diced green chilies
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 2 cups fat-free tortilla chips, broken into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup avocado chunks

Place the broth, beans, salsa, corn, green onions and chilies in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

Place 1/2 cup of chips and 1/4 cup of avocado in each of four bowls. Ladle the soup over the avocado and chips and serve at once.


I really like this recipe, and it's non dairy! I got it from the "McDougall All-You-Can-Eat Cookbook", which is a cool resource (http://www.drmcdougall.com/free_5a.html).  This is another way I get some veggies in Karl's diet ;)  We like to have quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas on the side.

I'm in the middle of moving, but I'll get pictures up as soon as I can!

Chicken Enchiladas

ENCHILADAS- Shredded Chicken Filling

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (abt 1 1/2 lbs total)
1 4-oz can diced green chile peppers
1/12 c chopped onion (1 med)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 10-oz can enchilada sauce

Slow cooker method: In a 3 1/2 or 4-qt slow cooker, combine chicken, chile peppers, onion, garlic, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Pour canned enchilada sauce over chicken mixture, coating the chicken. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5-6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2- 3 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, reserving cooking liquid. When chicken is cool, use forks to pull chicken apart into shreds. Place shredded chicken in a serving bowl. Stir in enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten. If desired, use remaining cooking liquid to make Chile Enchilad Sauce. Makes 8 servings.

Chile Enchilada Sauce: On a bowl, combine two 10-oz cans enchilada sauce and 1/4 c reserved cooking liquid from Shredded Chicken Filling or 1/4 c vegetable broth. Stir in one 4-oz can diced green chile peppers. Spread 1/2 c sauce in a 3-qt rectangular baking dish. Add enchiladas and top with remaining sauce. Cover; bake in a 350 degree F oven until heated through. Sprinkle enchiladas with 1/2 c cheese; bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Makes 8 servings.

These are recipes I found in Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Mexican. I followed the recipe after I had made enchiladas without a recipe, then looked at this to add anything interesting, and they tasted sooooo good, I had to try it again. Of course I had to tweak it some by adding leftover rice to the chicken filling. I think dishes always have too much meat. Pat says they tasted good, but I haven't tasted mine yet. I made the black bean one with no cheese for me. I will have to post those next, I guess.

I will hurry it up by microwaving the chicken breasts, covered. When the chicken cools, I will slice thinly or shred it. In a skillet I saute the seasonings, then add the chicken, stirring and heating. Then I pretty much follow the directions for the chile enchilada sauce, but if I only use one can of sauce, then I spray the baking pan, put the filled rolled enchiladas in, pour sauce over, and heat in the oven at 350. I will take them out for the last 5 minutes, sprinkle with shredded mexican cheese, and put bake in the oven to bake until cheese is melted. Serve with any toppings you enjoy. I'm going to try out a recipe for Sweet Corn Pudding to go with this later in the summer when there is fresh corn. For now, I used corn chips as a side. We enjoyed this watching the Basketball games in HD on the large screen tv.

GYOZA (potstickers)

So my kids aren't all-American! Most kids love eating pizza. Mine are on a potsticker craze right now. They will eat them twice a day, so I've taught my son how to make them himself. For these, I don't make them from scratch. Here in Walmart HQ country, I've found two kinds, pork or chicken Teipei brand frozen bags of potstickers. It makes such a quick and simple Asian meal.
Put your rice on to cook (Asian rice, not American premade type. We've become addicted to the Jasmine rice), toss a green salad, and follow the cooking instructions for preparing the potstickers. It should all be done about the same time, in 30 minutes. Serve with the sauce that comes with the potstickers, or soy sauce. If you have furikake (rice sprinkles - salty flavored toppings to sprinkle on rice) then so much the better. Have a good meal!

Japanese Miso soup with fried rice

Because Japan is such a big part of our lives, we have to have some good home-made japanese food once in a while. Too bad I can't have a japanese person cook for me, like my sister-in-law Asuka. But I do the best I can anyway.



 
 MISO SOUP
dashi stock (I can't get the dried fish so I use the powder dissolved in water, follow directions)
1 block firm tofu, rinsed and cubed
3-4 Tbsp miso, white preferred with seaweed or spinach, stirred into stock to taste
Opt. ingred: dried wakame seaweed reconstituted in cold water, or cooked cubed potatoes, or left-over rice, left-over finely chopped or match-stick cut veges like carrot or other root veg. or mushrooms - shiitake preferred.
Put one or more of the optional ingredients in the stock and bring to boil. Cook for 2 minutes or so, then add tofu. Put miso onto ladle or soup spoon, immerse in soup and add broth gradually as you stir the miso with chopsticks or a fork till completely dissolved. Make sure there are no lumps of miso left when adding to the soup. Bring to boil again, and turn off the heat. Put boiling soup into soup bowls and serve immediately.

FRIED RICE
3 c cold rice from earlier in the day or day before
1 Tbsp safflower or canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger root, minced (can use powdered)
4 oz raw chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 scallions(green onions), thinly sliced
1 carrot, coarsely grated
1-2 tsp soy sauce, mixed with 1-2 Tbsp chicken stock
1 Tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed or ground (red pepper flakes also work), or freshly ground black pepper
Opt: 1 green bell pepper, but into 1/4" strips, or 1/2 c mushrooms, scrambled egg, or green peas

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat until hot (or a wok). Add oil and when hot, stir-fry garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry 1 minute. Add carrot, and choice of optional ingredients, and scallions and stir-fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add rice and stir (and toss) until heated through. Add soy sauce mixture and pepper and mix well. Serve immediately, but it tastes fine at room temp also. Works well reheated too for next meal.