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!

Coconut Whipped Cream.

This isn't so much of a recipe as a suggestion. If you like coconut, and want to try it in a completely different way, try this. You must start with full fat coconut milk, the light has too many additives that interfere with this process. 

Chill your can of coconut milk. Open, if it has seperated at all, pour in all the white stuff, none of the oily stuff. (Usually it won't seperate, as there's not as much to seperate with the higher fat cans.) Pour into a medium bowl, and whip until thick and the consistency of whipped cream. Add sugar if desired.

Broccoli with Toasted Garlic.

Lately I've been trying to incorporate more vegetables into my family's diet. I'm slowly expanding the palates of my husband and son in this area, my latest acheivement being that my husband now eats carrots. :) One standby though, if I know its not a day to press my luck in the vegetable department, is broccoli. Chris and Jonathan love their broccoli. Consequently, this recipe was an instant hit. I usually add an extra clove or two of garlic, as we love garlic here, but the recipe as is is delicious.

Broccoli with Toasted Garlic, From The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients: 

1 bunch Broccoli
1 Tbsp Water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
Salt And Pepper To Taste

Directions:

Cut the broccoli into spears and put into a large microwave-safe bowl with the water. Cover tightly and microwave on high for 4 minutes.

While the broccoli is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook the garlic, stirring frequently, until it is golden, about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook the garlic or it will become bitter.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the toasted garlic to a small dish.

Remove the bowl of broccoli from the microwave, carefully uncover it, and drain it in a colander, shaking off any excess water. Transfer the broccoli to the skillet with the oil and cook over medium heat, stirring a few times, for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the toasted garlic, season with salt and pepper. Serve, and enjoy!

Onion Rings, Oven Baked.

I love onion rings. This is probably expected, what with my onion love posted previously elsewhere on this site. What I don't love is frying things. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part if a recipe calls for frying, it doesn't usually get made. I've modified recipes, like chicken nuggets and french fries, so that I can bake them instead, but onion rings have always failed in this department, even with recipes intended for baking. They never had the same taste, the breading would fall off, it was a disaster. Thus I resigned myself to only getting onion rings on the rare occasion we could get them at a restaraunt. 

Then one day, browsing for completely different books, I came across a cookbook from an author that I love already, Ellie Krieger. I took it home to see if I wanted to own this cookbook too, and lo and behold, a baked onion ring recipe! I was doubtful at first, what with my past failures on this front, but I resolved to try it anyway, and it worked! The breading was still somewhat difficult to work with, but nothing like the other times, and it stayed relatively attached to the onion. Next time, I'll spice up the recipe a bit with more cayenne, mainly because I'm not as fond of the buttermilk taste, and it's very present, though not overwhelming, in this recipe. Overall, a definite win.

Oven Baked Onion Rings, from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

canola/olive oil spray

4 c. baked potato chips (and yes that's baked "potato chips", not "baked potato" chips. Though I suppose the latter would give interesting flavor...)

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

1 c. low fat buttermilk

1/2 c. plus 2 T. flour

1/2 t. salt, plus more to taste

1/4 t. ground black pepper

1 to 2 large Vidalia onions, peeled

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a baking sheet lightly with oil.

Place the potato chips in the food processor and process into fine crumbs. Transfer to a shallow bowl and stir in cayenne. In another shallow bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 T flour, and the salt and pepper.

Slice the onions into 1/2 in thick rounds, separate, and reserve only the larger slices, about 12. (I used the smaller slices as well, and it turned out lovely, though I had to process more chips to coat them all.)

Place the remaining 1/2 c. flour in a plastic bag, add onions, and shake to coat. Then dip each ring in the buttermilk mixture and the potato chip mixture successively, coating evenly. Place on the baking sheet and, if you like, spray with a bit more oil. (I skipped the spray on some, sprayed others, didn't notice a difference.)

Bake about 20 minutes, until the coating is crisp. Serve immediately. (They cool quickly once out of the oven.)

Enjoy!