Egg Fried Rice.

My first real date with Chris was to a school dance. We went on a double date with mutual friends, and we left the pre-dance dining choice up to them. They chose a local Chinese restaurant that I enjoyed and had been to many times with my family. Unbeknownst to me, at this time, Chris hated Chinese food. He was, (and still sometimes is), a notoriously picky eater, and didn't know of a single dish he enjoyed there. He wanted to impress me though, and didn't protest the restaurant choice (especially after I made known that I enjoyed going there). If I remember correctly, he discovered he liked beef fried rice that night. I ordered the chicken fried rice, which was my favorite dish there, and is my go to dish to order at any new Chinese restaurant we're trying out. Since that night, Chris has found many Chinese dishes he enjoys, as have I, but we keep coming back to our mutual favorite — fried rice.

I usually halve this recipe (it's huge!) and it barely fits in my wok. I also tend to throw in whatever vegetables I have on hand. In fact, I don't think I've actually followed this recipe to the letter yet! It's very flexible, and forgiving if you accidentally put too much soy sauce or too little ginger, or any other adjustment you may find yourself making. Fresh ginger is a wonderful thing in this, and completely worth buying if you don't keep it on hand, but ground ginger can be substituted in a pinch. Make sure to precook any larger/thicker veggies you want to use, otherwise they will end up undercooked. 

Egg Fried Rice, from Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2/3 cup finely sliced spring onions (scallions)

2 T light soy sauce

1 T finely diced ginger

2 T vegetable oil (I use peanut oil)

1 small red onion, finely diced

4 cups steamed rice

1 T light soy sauce

1 1/3 c. finely shredded chinese cabbage leaves

optional other vegetables: peas, broccoli (precook), corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc.

Directions:

Place eggs in a bowl with spring onions, soy sauce, and ginger, and beat lightly with a fork.

Heat oil in a hot wok until the surface of the oil seems to shimmer slightly. Add onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Pour in egg mixture and leave to cook for 10 seconds before folding egg mixture onto itself with a spatula and lightly scrambling for about 1 1/2 minutes or until mostly cooked through. Add rice and extra soy sauce and stir-fry for about 1 1/2 minutes, using the spatula to break the egg up into smaller pieces. Lastly toss in cabbage and any other veggies you choose and stir-fry about 20 seconds, or until vegetables are combined and heated through. Enjoy!

Ratatouille.

This is NOT a traditional ratatouille recipe. If you think I could get eggplant in any form past my guys, you don't know us very well. :) Still, this is a delicious sauce-like creation to serve over pasta, that changes it just enough that I'm not bored, and is similar enough to other pasta dishes that my guys will still eat it. Jonathan even agreed to eat one of the tomatoes! (After which he promptly declared he still doesn't like tomatoes.)

Ratatouille, from the Hy-Vee Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 T garlic-flavored olive oil (or chop some garlic up and toss it in when you heat the plain olive oil.)

1 med onion, chopped

1 green pepper, seeded and chopped (or any color) (:

2 cans diced tomatoes (preferably no salt added)

2 med zucchini, cut into 1-in chunks

1 tsp herbes de Provence

salt and pepper, to taste

penne, optional (this recipe is great served over pasta, but you technically can eat it on its own. We always have pasta.)

Directions:

Heat oil, (and garlic) in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onions and green pepper, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, zucchini and herbes de Provence. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. During this time, cook pasta according to package directions.

Serve ratatouille over pasta, if desired. Enjoy!

Peanutty Chicken and Pasta.

Lately on my son's and my regular date to the library, I pick up a couple cookbooks to browse though. Usually I find one, maybe two recipes I'm truly interested in making, and I usually don't get around to making those. This cookbook, though, the Southern Living Kids Cookbook, has so many post-its sticking out of it now I hardly know where to begin. Jonathan even helped me choose which recipes to make, though I suspect he was just having fun sticking on the post-its to as many pages as possible. I know for a fact he wouldn't eat the chicken salad he picked out.

This recipe stood out to me, as I love ordering the chicken with peanut sauce at the asian restaurants we occasionally frequent. The lovely thing is that my husband liked it too, and he's not usually a fan of peanut sauces. The other thing I love about this recipe is that you don't cook the vegetables, and you can't tell. Until I told him, Chris had no idea I'd not cooked the vegetables, and he hates uncooked veggies.

All in all, an simple, quick recipe that works great for lunch or dinner. Now, please excuse me while I go add this cookbook to my christmas list.

Peanutty Chicken and Pasta, from Southern Living Kids Cookbook

Ingredients:

1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce

2 T. coconut milk

2 T. creamy peanut butter

1/4 t. dark sesame oil (This adds so much to the sauce! Worth getting if its not in your pantry already.)

8 oz. uncooked corkscrew pasta (I just used the full 16 oz bag and counted on having leftovers.)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1/2 c. preshredded carrot (or, you know, you can shred it yourself...it'll just take a bit longer.)

2 green onions, sliced thinly

1/4 c. chopped red bell pepper

1/3 c. unsalted peanuts, chopped

Directions:

Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and place in a big bowl. Add sauce, chicken, carrot, green onions, and bell pepper, toss gently to coat. Top with chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Cornmeal Breakfast Pudding.

Soon after I got married, my mom called me and said she'd found a couple of my grandma's cookbooks, and did I want them? I, who nostalgically cherishes almost anything that has belonged to my ancestors, and would collect cookbooks until my shelves were full of them if I could, of course said Yes! As soon as they were in my possession, I scoured them for recipes I could easily create. This recipe was one I made almost as soon as I saw it. (I believe I found the recipe and had it made within that hour.)

Since then, I've learned that a full recipe is much too much for my family to enjoy. I reduce the recipe by either 1/3 or 2/3, as it's simpler than trying to divide an egg. A 1/3 recipe will adequately feed two people, or heartily feed one. A 2/3 recipe will easily feed three to five people, and a full recipe feeds six to eight, depending on portion sizes desired.

Evelyn's Breakfast Cornmeal Pudding, from Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, by Rita Van Amber and revised by Janet Van Amber Paske

Ingredients:

1/4 - 1/2 c. sugar or honey (I use the honey, and go a bit shy of 1/4 c.)

1 t. salt

3 T. butter

3 c. milk

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. milk

3 eggs

Directions:

Combine sugar or honey, salt, butter, and 3 c. milk, and heat to scalding. Combine cornmeal and 1 c. milk, then add to honey mixture. (VERY IMPORTANT: Don't add the cornmeal and milk seperately to the honey mixture, thinking it will combine and save you a step, it won't. Experience talking...)

Cook till thickened, stirring. Then cover, cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat the eggs. Very slowly, add a small amount of hot cornmeal to the eggs, till they are warmed but not cooked by the cornmeal. Pour egg mixture into cornmeal, stirring constantly. Cook on low heat, covered, for five minutes. Spoon into serving bowls, serve warm with a sprinkle of nutmeg and a splash of milk or cream. (I usually go with the cream.) Enjoy!

Cowboy Steak with Coffee and Ancho Rub.

This is yet another recipe from the lovely and talented Ellie Krieger, from the book The Food You Crave. I knew when I saw this recipe that the combination of the espresso, chile powder, brown sugar and other seasonings would be a hit with my husband. The flavor was amazing, though the texture was a bit strange to me, as the coffee grounds, though finely espresso ground, are still very present. Still, this is definitely a recipe we'll make often through grilling season.

Cowboy Steak with Coffee and Ancho Rub, from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

1 1/2 t. ground ancho chile or regular chile powder

1 1/2 t. finely ground espresso coffee

1/2 t. dark brown sugar

1/4 t. dry mustard

1/4 t. ground coriander

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. ground black pepper

1 1/4 lb. ranch steak or top sirloin, about 1 1/4 in. thick

Directions:

Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray over medium high heat or preheat the grill.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except the steak. Rub it well into both sides of the steak.

Cook the steak five minutes per side, turning once, for medium rare, or cook to your prefered doneness.

Allow the steak to rest for five minutes before slicing thinly. Enjoy!