Chicken Fried Rice

29 January, 201428 January, 2014Marissa

I have a confession to make: for many years I made chicken fried rice using a boxed dinner because I was intimidated by this dish. It seemed like it would be so simple, but when I tried one recipe I found online it was a soggy mess that tasted like licorice because of the Chinese five-spice. Just recently, I finally found another recipe to try (this one a simple side-dish), and I expanded it into this chicken fried rice. The secret to avoiding sogginess is to use rice that has been sitting in the refrigerator for a day or so, which gives it a chance to cool and dry-out a little. I still don’t feel I’ve quite mastered the art of keeping the egg on only one side of the skillet while scrambling it, but at least when we want fried rice we’re not eating dinner out of a box any more.

Chicken Fried Rice

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1 pound chicken, cut into chunks

1 teaspoons sesame oil and 1 teaspoon canola oil

3 Tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 cup peas

1 cup diced carrots

1-2 green onions, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, lightly beaten.

4 cups cooked white or brown rice (day old or leftover rice works best)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon rice wine

3/4 teaspoons ginger

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon canola oil in wok or large skillet. Fry chicken in hot oil until cooked through. Remove when done.

Add 3 Tablespoons sesame oil to the wok and heat over medium heat. Add the peas, carrots, onion, and garlic. Stir-fry until tender. Push the mixture off to one side, then pour eggs on the other side of the skillet and stir-fry until scrambled.

Add rice and stir. Add soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and pepper. Stir to blend. Continue stir-frying until thoroughly heated, then serve.

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Snickerdoodles

22 January, 201421 January, 2014Marissa

This is my favorite cookie. You need to plan ahead a little, since they will not bake right if the dough isn’t chilled first, but otherwise they are very easy to make. The recipe is from a close family friend, who was kind enough to bake them for me on a frequent basis when I was a child, and then gave me the recipe when I started baking in my own kitchen.

Snicker Doodles

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1 cup butter

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1-3/4 cups white, unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and beat to incorporate eggs. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Chill dough thoroughly, at least 1 hour.

Remove from refrigerator and roll into balls the size of a walnut. Roll each cookie in mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown but still soft, 7-9 minutes at 375°F. Do no over-bake.

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Brown Rice Pilaf

15 January, 201415 January, 2014Marissa

When served with a few pieces of chicken, this brown rice pilaf is one of my favorite meals. The original recipe (the origin of which I have lost track of) called for long grain or basmati rice — I’ve always used the brown rice that we keep on hand to serve with stir-fries. It has to cook longer than the original 15-20 minutes, but it’s healthy and it tastes good. There are several variations you could try on this recipe, though I like the one with basil and carrots so much that I haven’t played around with it too much. I have kept substitutions suggested by the original recipe in parenthesis if you want to experiment with some of them.

Brown Rice Pilaf

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1 cup brown rice

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth

¼ cup shredded carrots (can substitute mushrooms, sweet peppers, or zucchini)

¼ cup rice wine (can substitute apple juice, dry white wine, or water)

¼ teaspoon dried basil (can substitute oregano or thyme)

½ cup slivered almonds (can substitute green onions, chopped walnuts, or pine nuts)

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add garlic and uncooked rice. Stir in hot butter for 3 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth, then stir in carrots, wine and dried herb.

Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Add slivered almonds and serve.

"Brown Rice Pilaf" by marissabaker.wordpress.com. For the chicken, I pour some rice wine in a baking dish, add garlic and basil, then add the chicken. Shake some basil and garlic over the chicken and top with mozzarella cheese or crushed garlic and cheese croutons — For the chicken, I pour some rice wine in a baking dish, add garlic and basil, then add the chicken. Shake some basil and garlic over the chicken and top with mozzarella cheese or crushed garlic and cheese croutons

Korean Beef

8 January, 201410 January, 2014Marissa

I found this recipe through Pinterest, and we have all fallen in love with it. The flavor is so good, yet there are very few ingredients and it is very simple to make. The original recipe is by Lizzy Writes, and I have changed nothing. Her suggestion about ginger has also been very helpful — freeze it. She chops it into sections, which I am trying, but I’ve also discovered that grating it fresh and wraping the grated ginger in aluminum foil to freeze it works as well.

Korean Beef

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1 pound lean ground beef

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1/2 – 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers (to desired spiciness)

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. This works best if the beef is fresh or unthawed.

Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.

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Top 5 Recipes of 2013

1 January, 20148 July, 2014Marissa

I was reading a Top 10 recipes post from another blogger, which gave me the idea to start off this new year of blogging by sharing a list of my most popular recipes from 2013. Since I didn’t have a full year’s worth of recipe posts, I decided to post my top 5 instead of top 10. Honorable Mention: No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake was only one view away from being tied with General Tso’s Chicken for 5th place.

Top 5 Recipies of 2013 by marissabaker.wordpress.com — A tasty side-dish that can be made in the microwave or oven. Click here for the recipe.

Caramel Popcorn and Doctor Who

25 December, 201324 December, 2013Marissa

I found this amazing Homemade Caramel Corn recipe a couple weeks ago on a blog called Gimme Some Oven. The first recipe I had tried was too sticky and burnt easily, but this one is just right. The only alterations I made to the ingredients was less salt in the caramel. I also had to use two roasting pans to bake the corn — it just wouldn’t fit in one. I had them on two different racks in the oven, and switched the pans back and forth when I stirred them so the corn would be heated evenly. The recipe says it will keep for up to a week, but we’ve never had it last much more than 24 hours. If there’s any left, it will be something to munch on while watching Doctor Who.

Caramel Corn and Doctor Who. marissabaker.wordpress.com — I have no idea who the artist is, but this is a great painting. Here’s where I found it: doctorwhotv.co.uk

Since I became a Whovian, I’ve actually been looking forward to Christmas. As someone who does not observe the holiday, my previous feelings around this time of year mainly consisted of frustration with the endless barrage of Christmas music on the radio. Now, I look forward to “Whomas.” This year, however, I dread the Christmas special more than I anticipate it. I’m interested to see what kind of Doctor Peter Capaldi will be, but I don’t want to see Matt Smith leave. With his impending regeneration, I’ll have to make sure there’s a box of tissues on hand as well as the caramel corn.

Homemade Caramel Corn

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12 cups freshly popped popcorn (about 1 cup kernels before popped)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets or roasting pans with aluminum foil, and grease with cooking spray. Begin popping popcorn.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and corn syrup, stir to combine. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir, then continue to cook for an additional 4 to 6 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the mixture is a deep golden color. Turn off the heat and slowly whisk in salt, baking soda and vanilla.

Pour caramel over the popcorn and toss until it is evenly coated with the caramel, being sure to scrape the caramel off the bottom of the pot. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets or pans in an even layer.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the caramel corn has turned a deep amber color. Remove the caramel corn from the oven and transfer to a surface covered with parchment or wax paper to cool (or lift the foil out of the pans and place it on the counter). Once it reaches room temperature, use your hands or a spoon to break up the caramel corn, then store in an airtight container for up to a week.

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Optional: you can melt about 1/3 cup of milk chocolate and drizzle it over half the popcorn. It’s pretty tasty, but I didn’t do that this time because it takes so much longer to set-up and it’s messy to eat when still melted.