Chicken Fried Rice (雞肉炒飯)

We were craving some Chinese food but didn't want to order take-out.  I saw a few different Pinterest "pins" for different ways to make chicken fried rice so we gave it a go! We put our own spin on few different posts we had seen.  Wok oil is honestly one of the best things to use in stir fry.  It has a unique blend of garlic, ginger, onion & cilantro. Our finished product was better than we could have hoped. It was extremely tasty and so much healthier than take-out. I used a total of 3 teaspoons Wok oil (which is under the serving size of 1 tablespoon).

Here's some math with equal serving sizes.

Our Dish	Typical Take-Out Dish
162.7 Calories 3.008 g Fat 42.2 mg Cholesterol 246 mg Sodium 18.572 g Carbohydrates 13.15 g Protein	329 Calories 11.96 g Fat 105 mg Cholesterol 598 mg Sodium 41.82 g Carbohydrates 12.45 g Protein

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 lb. chicken breast, cut up into bite-sized pieces (or left-over cooked chicken)
• Salt & Pepper (to season chicken breast)
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, corn, green beans & lima beans)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions (I buy a bunch, chop them up, and freeze them in an emptied water bottle in my freezer)
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon wok oil + additional for frying
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Whisk eggs with 1 teaspoon wok oil. Set aside.
2. Season chicken breast pieces with salt & pepper. Set aside.
3. Heat about 1 teaspoon wok oil in a large wok over medium-high heat.
4. Add chicken to wok and stir fry until cooked thoroughly. After it is cooked, move the chicken to a plate.
5. Heat 1 teaspoon wok oil again in wok over medium-high heat.
6. Add frozen vegetables & green onions. Stir fry until tender, about 2 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook additional 30 seconds.
7. Move vegetables to side of wok and pour in egg/oil mixture.  Scramble egg until soft-set.
8. Add chicken, rice & soy sauce to wok.  Toss everything to combine and heat through.
9. Eat and enjoy!
10. This yields about 10 servings (1 cup = 1 serving)

Pictures (with comments)

It's always a good idea to lay out all of your ingredients. Then you're not scrambling around the kitchen looking for everything!


Bite-sized chicken pieces seasoned with salt & pepper.


My awesome wok.  Every household should have one.


Chicken: Drop, stir, done. (It only took about 5 minutes)


Close-up of cooked chicken.


Let's stir fry those vegetables!


Time for the garlic!


Add the egg!


Scramble away!


Add chicken back to the wok!


Dumped the rice in - sorry the picture is blurry.


Drizzle soy sauce over rice.


Toss everything to incorporate all the good flavor.


Dinner is served.


Close-up.



A trio of the final serving.

Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

Justin originally saw this on Pinterest, so we of course had to give it a whirl!  The original location is here:  http://www.quickneasyrecipes.net/philly-cheesesteak-stuffed-bell-peppers/.  Just as a head's up, we doubled the original recipe so we would have leftovers for the week.  I'm one of those co-workers that has to show off the yummy concoctions that come out of our kitchen.

Ingredients

• 16 oz. Thinly Sliced Roast Beef
• 8 Slices Provolone Cheese
• 8 slices American Cheese
• 4 Large Green Bell Peppers
• 1 Medium Sweet Onion
• 2 Tbs. Butter
• 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
• 1 Tbs. Garlic – Minced
• Salt and Pepper – to taste

Directions

1. Slice peppers in half lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds.
2. Julienne the onion. Saute over medium heat with butter, olive oil, minced garlic and salt & pepper until caramelized. About 10-15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 425*F.
4. Slice roast beef into thin strips and add to the sauteed onions. Allow to cook 5-10 minutes.
5. Line the inside of each pepper with a slice of cheese. We did 4 peppers with American cheese (my favorite) and 4 peppers with Provolone cheese (Justin's favorite).
6. Fill each pepper with meat mixture until almost overflowing.
7. Top each pepper with another slice of matching cheese.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted.
9. Serve and Enjoy!

Pictures (with comments)

Starting ingredients.


Sliced & gutted peppers.


Sautéing onions.


We just took the entire pound of roast beef and sliced thin strips.


Beef added to onions & cooked for about 10 minutes.  It might take shorter or longer depending on how much you make. Don't let the beef burn.


Cheese-lined peppers. Provolone in the back; American in the front.



Filled peppers.


Close up of filled peppers.



Cheesy goodness.


Served alongside sweet potato fries.


Oh yeah!


Get in my belly!

Tomato Spinach Quiche

My husband and I thought a quiche would be a really great idea for breakfast.  We had left over fresh spinach from the other night's One Pot Wonder Tomato Meatball Linguine, so we thought "why not?"  We also had a pre-made pie crust that had been sitting in the freezer for a while, so we wanted to "get rid of it".

This is where I tell you that when we started out, we had an idea in mind that we needed crazy amounts of ingredients and when we put the onions, spinach and basil into the bowl, we had too much.  It looked more like spinach with eggs as opposed to eggs with spinach. So we've amended the ingredient list appropriately.  But, you will see in the pictures that we have two quiches - one with the pie crust and one without.  As with all cooking projects, experiment!  After all, a recipe is the culmination of all failed attempts when trying to come up with a delicious dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pre-made pie crust bottom (follow instructions on package)
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2 oz fresh spinach, chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh basil, chiffonade
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. If you haven't already done so, follow instructions for pre-made pie crust bottom. You want this to be cooled off before pouring in egg mixture, or it will start to cook the eggs from the bottom.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the flour mixture and whisk until most of the lumps are gone.
5. Add tomatoes first. Then fold in onions, spinach & basil. I used a wooden spoon.
6. Mix in a 1/2 cup of your cheese.
7. Pour entire mixture into pie crust.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
8. Put the "pie" into the oven and back for 35-40 minutes.
9. Enjoy.

Pictures (with comments)

Here are some pictures of the raw ingredients.



The egg mixture is so colorful and pretty!  As you can see, it doesn't look as if there are enough eggs in this mixture, but rest-assured there are!


Everything poured into the pie-crust.


Sprinkle the cheese on top!


Here is the finished quiche with the pie crust.


Here is the finished quiche without the pie crust. They both look yummy!


Yummy little slice!


Close-up!

We expected this to be a complete failure because of the overabundance of ingredients.  After splitting this into two separate containers and baking them, the results differed from our original expectations.  The recipe turned out better than we could have ever expected.  This is one of those dishes where you can use just about anything to make it delicious.  Our 13 month old son approves with his "num num" noises.

Buffalo Chicken Pastry Bites

Justin & I were craving a snack so we took our usual Buffalo Chicken Dip and turned it up a notch.

Ingredients

• 16-20 oz. cooked chicken (canned or fresh)
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 4 oz. ranch dressing
• 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 8 oz. packages crescent rolls

Directions

1. Mix chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, cheese & frank's red hot sauce in a bowl.
2. Roll out crescent roll dough in a long strip.
3. Lay mixture on top of dough.
4. Roll dough over the mkixture, pinch to close.
5. Cut "log" into 1 inch sections.
6. Place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart.
7. Bake @ 400* F for 13 minute, or until golden brown.
8. Enjoy!

Pictures (with comments)

The ingredients.



Mixing the cream cheese, chicken, ranch, cheddar cheese & Frank's Red Hot sauce together.




Creating the "log".



The "log" from a different perspective.



All rolled up!



Close-up of  bites laid out on cookie sheet.



Deliciously golden brown.



Oozing Buffalo goodness.



Close-up of presentation.


These bites need to get in my belly. Like now!