Stir Fried Rice

370.  A great Chinese recipe I have used time and time again is Stir Fried Rice.  The ingredients are endless but you must always use rice and eggs as the base.  The basic recipe is straight forward and you can use your imagination or just simple ingredients you have available in your fridge.

I make my rice early on in the day and let it sit to completely cool.  

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You can pair your fried rice with another dish or eat is as your one-pot main dish in bowls with chopsticks.  Serve hot with extra soy sauce, chopped scallion and shredded ginger.

"If you are planning for a year, sow rice.  If you are planning for a decade, plant trees.  If you are planning for a lifetime, educate people."  ~Chinese Proverb

Chicken Thighs in Lime Cilantro Black Bean Rice

363. Ok...let me just say, there are times I get agitated with the pop-up ads or never ending recipe ads that accost you while scrolling on your social media.  But yesterday...I stopped...I watched...I made note...and I saved this recipe!!!  It was a buzzfeedtasty post on Instagram.  I not only saved it...I made it!!!
You can find the original recipe here.

 I followed the recipe but added a few ingredients to my taste.     I was a bit disappointed with my chicken skins that stuck to the bottom of the dutch oven.  Remember to blot your chicken and make sure the skin is dry before adding to the pot.  I also used Basmati Rice which adds so much flavor and fluffs up beautifully!

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The chicken skins were so crispy and flavorful and this rice, can I say we didn't want to stop eating it!

Fantastic recipe and thank you Buzz Feed Tasty...this was a perfect recipe!

"Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out!"  ~Anon

"I like rice.  Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something."  ~Mich Ehrenborg

Beef Kabobs

 

286.  A quick and easy meal is Beef Kabobs with Rice.  I pick up beef that is cubed for stew and kabobs or a piece of steak and cut it into cubes.  Place it into a ziplock bag.  Add salt and pepper, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tablespoons soy sauce and a splash of Worcestershire, and a pinch of sugar.  Close the zip top and with your hands squeeze and move the meat around in the bag to cover and mix all the ingredients.

Place the ziplock in the fridge up to one hour or over night.  Take long wooden skewers and soak in water.

 Collect vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, etc.  Cut into large cubes.

 When ready to prepare begin with marinated beef then push on each piece of vegetable following a pattern.

 Use up all the vegetables by pushing the contents on the skewer tightly.

 Prepare them all and start your grill, turn on your broiler or heat up your grill pan on the stove.

 Grill the kabobs till the meat is to your desired doneness and the veggies are tender.

 Serve over rice or with a baked potato.

 So delicious!

 "All great change in America begins at the dinner table."
~Ronald Reagan

Striped Bass Fillets with Lemon Rice

223. Today our friend John brought us beautiful fillets of striped bass caught fresh from the Atlantic off Long Island ( NY) shore .

John's brother Billy prepared the fish impeccably! The fillets were beautiful! And each was wrapped separately in plastic wrap.

The fish was so fresh it had no scent at all! John's brother Billy is the Executive Chef at Becco

in NYC. Billy said to season it with salt and pepper and place it in a hot pan with heated olive oil. Sear about 3 minutes then place under the broiler for about 3 more minutes.

The fish cooked beautifully.

It was so flakey and tender. I brushed butter on the top and small amount of lemon juice.

To accompany the fish I made a side of Lemon Rice.

Lemon Rice

I place 3 Tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and a cup of uncooked rice. I take a small bunch of Angel Hair Pasta and break it into small pieces and toss it in with the rice. Turn the heat on high and brown the uncooked rice and pasta pieces in the butter for a few minutes. Pour in 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest. Bring to a boil, turn heat to simmer and cover. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. Test for doneness and seasoning. Add more salt or butter to taste and juice from 1/2 a lemon before serving.

"A great lie is like a great fish on dry land; it may fret and fling and make a frightful bother, but it cannot hurt you. You have only to keep still, and it will die of itself."

~ George Crabbe

"A fish may love a bird, Señor, but where would they live?"

~Drew Barrymore, "Everafter"

Stuffed Peppers

215. When I think of home and comfort food as a child, I always remember my mom's Stuffed Peppers. The house would smell so good and you couldn't wait till dinner time.

My honey brought home these colossal green peppers and they were perfect for stuffing.

I separate the "caps" and trim the seeds away from the cap and the inside. Then mix up my sauce. Olive oil, chopped onion and 3 cloves garlic. I saute' till the onions turn translucent, then add a can of chopped or crushed tomatoes. Salt and pepper the sauce and add fresh parsley and basil chopped fine. I allow the sauce to come to a boil and then I turn it down to simmer.

My next step is to make the meat filling.

2 pounds of chopped meat, 1 small onion chopped, 2 cloves garlic crushed, salt, pepper, 2 cups rice, parsley, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon garlic salt.

I mix this and then fill each pepper with the meat mixture.

I top each pepper off with their matching cap and then stand them in the simmering sauce.

Any extra meat is made into meatballs and placed directly into the sauce around the peppers. This will simmer covered for at least one hour. A little longer time will be needed if you have more peppers.

They turned out scrumptious! And this is such a simple dinner to make with a salad and bread.

Delicious!!! Enjoy!!!

"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power,

has that ability to comfort."

~Norman Kolpas

JAG - Portugese Rice

214. This recipe is a variation of a classic Jagacida Portuguese Rice dish called "JAG" from the Cape Verde Islands. It is so basic and comes together in about one hour. I first had this dish during our first year of marriage when we stayed with friends. Wanda made this dish for dinner and It was so delicious I asked for the recipe. We grabbed a blank envelope, tore it open and I jotted down the recipe as Wanda shared it with me. I still use the original hand scrawled recipe each time I make it.

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Saute' onions, and garlic in bacon grease with sausage, about 5 minutes.

Add water, rice and remaining ingredients except beans. Boil slowly 20 minutes. Add beans, turn burner off and cover.

Steam for another 10 minutes. Serves 6.

I made a recipe of Corn Bread to go along side and a crisp salad.

“Vamos Comer”  "Let's Eat"

"Lies have short legs."

~Portuguese Proverb

"It's roses, my Lord."

~Elizabeth of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, to King Denis of Portugal when he was about to discover she was feeding the poor with the palace's food.