Easy Ham Fried Rice

This is going to be one of the easiest dishes to make. Last night, I decided to make Ham Fried Rice, I normally make it with pork the way my Mother made it but was never like the restaurants. Our Dad, rest his soul would take us once in a while to San Fransico, those dishes just could not be beaten.  I was spoiled in that way.

Thanks to Theantiramen Blog I found a recipe for Chicken Fried rice that came out fairly good and one of the tricks was to cook the rice and let it get cold before using it.  That was a great tip.  I have tried this dish four times so far and I am getting closer. I have tried it with enriched long grain white rice that was washed prior to using and I also tried Minute Rice. That’s right! Minute Rice works like a champ.

Basic ingredients:
1 cup Minute Rice
1 cup water
Follow directions and let cool, ( I did find out with the minute Rice an hour in the fridge works well).

Ham cut into bite size pieces (just enough that is needed).
Soy Sauce
Garlic Salt
Pepper ( White Pepper is suggested)
Three large Grade A eggs

Instructions:
First cook the rice and let it cool.
While the rice is cooling, grab some ham and cut into bite-size pieces and store in fridge until needed.

When your ready and the rice has cooled for at least an hour, crack and scramble the three eggs and set aside, get a large frying pan, set burner to medium and coat with a small amount of Vegetable oil -not much.
Add the ham to pan and stir so ham will not burn, next add the rice and mix together.
For the eggs, I have tried it both ways, poured directly on the rice and ham, or scrambled first then added the eggs to the larger frying pan. Either way works. Once the eggs are added, add two dashes of garlic salt, two to three dashes of the pepper, mix together then add the soy sauce a little bit at a time until you get a light brown color. You don’t want to use too much of the soy sauce because it is a salty beast.

Options: Peas, Carrots, Bamboo shoots
Top with Green onions if you have them.

Burger King’s Halloween Whopper Review

Thought I would write a small fast post of we had for dinner last night as I watched the beginning of the Dever Broncos game. Deb saw a BK commercial during the morning hours promoting their Halloween Whopper that has a black bun that is infused with A1 sauce.

One funny note: As the girl was ringing the order up, I noticed on the cash register the abbreviation for this Halloween Whopper was Halo. I immediately thought of Microsoft’s Halo Game, I softly mentioned this to Deb and the young girl got slightly confused for a second and added something else to our order.

Breakdown:
Pros:
Was good yet weird to see a black bun.
The flavor very tasty yet different when it came to the bun.
The bun tasted like Pumpernickel or some other type of Rye bread.

The official description:
The sandwich is described as:

“A ¼ lb. of savory flame-grilled beef topped with melted American cheese, ripe tomatoes, crisp iceberg lettuce, creamy mayonnaise, A.1. Thick and Hearty Sauce, crunchy pickles, and sliced white onions on a soft sesame seed bun with A.1. flavor baked into the bun.”
http://fox8.com/2015/09/28/burger-king-introduces-the-halloween-whopper-in-the-u-s/

Cons:
The only thing crunchy on mine was the onions.
While most of us remember fond memories of eating certain candies in our youth that turned our tunges a certain color, as an adult it may produce other emotions.
Deb’s bottom teeth turned a slight dingy dense light black grayish color while mine being made of plastic left a deeper color easily seen. After a little time had passed, I started to get an after-taste from my top plate.

 

Crockpot Chicken

Deb Found this recipe Via Facebook and she really wanted to try it.

With recent news of her car shaking hands with Mr. Reaper, I thought I would just go ahead and make it. I will admit that when I read anything that says to use vinegar in food my nose cringes.  It just does, but this one was good to my surprise and is why I am posting it. I did manage to find the original creator of said dish.

Let’s do it:

Sweet Baby Ray’s Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients
4 -6 chicken breasts
1 (18 ounce) bottles barbecue sauce ( Sweet Baby Rays)
1/4 cup vinegar ( I used Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
Mix everything but chicken.
Place chicken in crockpot (frozen is ok).
Pour sauce mixture over chicken.
Cook on low 4-6 hours.
Broil if desired.

I used one large chicken breast to split between the both of us. I followed the directions to a T, except to reduce the red pepper flakes since I was only using one breast.  the red pepper flakes is what adds that kick waking up the taste buds. If you prefer a mild kick in the pants, then use only a small pinch of the red pepper flakes.

Note: With one breast, I would reduce the time to 3 to 4 hours instead of the full 6 hours.

Spaghetti with Homemade Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

This post has been long waiting in the queue and felt like forever to get my hands on fresh garden tomatoes, but I finally got them and can now cross this one off the list of to do’s I know NELLIE SHERIDAN WILSON, ON THE SQUARE has been waiting for this post to happen since  2015/07/29 at 4:42 am, the comment: “I cannot wait to read it..hmm..genealogy and homemade sauce..I think I found a new favorite blog! Food is magical in the way in which it evokes memories.”

First, I would like to get one thing out of the way to give a round of applause to my better half, Deb who has become an assistant to me. since the operation on October 3, 2013 that left me with CRPS has limited me to a point where we both have found that certain things I can no longer do like I used to. From shucking corn that made me  jump back as if I got electrocuted by a 220 volt to cutting certain items.

 

Let’s get started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Cloves (Can substitute jarred Garlic, which is what I used)
Accent
Black Pepper
Kraft Season Grated Parmesan Cheese
A Rent A Chef Seasoning -Reduced Sodium
Onion Powder ( I would have used real onions, but someone here doesn’t like them)
Garlic Salt
Sweet Basil
Sugar
Himalayan Pink Salt
Italian Seasoning (optional)
22 small to medium tomatoes
3/4 Lbs or slightly less -90% Hamburger

Raise tomatoes, cut core out and score the bottoms with an X, so that the peeling of the skin will be easier. Place the tomatoes on a cooking sheet.

Two options, leave the seeds or remove them. If you prefer to have the seeds removed then remove them at this point. Once the tomatoes are on the sheet, sprinkle two pinches of the Himalayan Pink Salt, then lightly dust Garlic salt over the tomatoes.

Place in oven pre-heated to 425 to 450 depending on oven variances, for 20 minutes and no longer. Remove the roasted tomatoes from the oven and allow to slightly cool about five minutes. Next, gingerly remove the peelings from the tomatoes. Once the peeling are removed, scoop the tomatoes up and place in a bowl, you will see that juice will start to fill in the bowl.

Next grab a sauce pan or pot, lightly coat with the olive oil on medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of the jarred garlic and saute to a light brown then begin to add the tomatoes to the saucepan, (Do not throw away the juice -I will explain later), once all the tomatoes are in, next lightly break up the tomatoes. Then add about two to three shakes of the onion powder, Three to four shakes of the Basil,  Two to three shakes of Italian seasoning if you desire it. Next add the black pepper just enough to give it a bite but not to heavy. Two tablespoons of granulated sugar. Next ad about two shakes of Accent and stir all together. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer with lid. While that is simmering, Time to prep the meatballs. Grab a plate and dust with the Parmesan cheese and the A Rent A Chef Seasoning, Now we are going to make small meatballs similar to what I did in an earlier post ALBONDIGAS SOUP AKA: HAMBURGER SOUP but with different ingredients. Grab a small portion of the hamburger lightly roll it on the plate with the parmesan cheese and A Rent A Chef season and form into small meatball. Continue the process until all the hamburger is used. Return to the saucepan and you might see that juice has formed over the the mixture. Take some of the juice out, not all just some and add that juice to the bowl that I said not to throw out.

Next, add the meatballs to the saucepan and softly stir all together. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 20 minute intervals before stirring, simmer time, 3  and 1/2 to 4 hours.

Cook your noodles just before serving and enjoy, Top with parmesan cheese if desired.

Now for that Tomato juice in the bowl, Strain it through a stainless steel strainer. This can be used for making a tomato beer. I don’t care for them but someone here does.

I hope you enjoyed this post! 🙂

 

Homemade Tomato Sauce -Coming!

I finally have enough fresh garden tomatoes to make homemade tomato sauce, So tonight for dinner is Spaghetti from scratch. Later I will be posting  photos and supplying the recipe.

A future post will be homemade Pizza, once the weather cools down a bit more. Stay tuned!

MOMS CAKE – BACK TO OLD MEMORIES

This one reminds me so much of the basic cake my own Mother made. I was shocked when I saw the photo.

Source: MOMS CAKE – BACK TO OLD MEMORIES

How To Add Volume To Your Oats

I found this site from the like she gave me on one of the posts earlier, Rundown: some cool photos, food if your a vegan, some cool doodles and this one about making plain oatmeal standout!

The Best Ever Eggless Chocolate Brownies

If anyone is looking for Yummy eggless brownies, then this is it!

dreamernxtdoor

Only until my sister married into a pure vegetarian family, I had not ventured into the eggless baking  zone. I somehow had the subconscious feeling that no eggs in my cake would just be a little difficult to comprehend and probably I would have an even more difficult time trying to like it. However, not until I tried these Eggless Chocolate Brownies, to which I added “The best ever ” , because there is just nothing else to say about it. 

My absence from my blog is due to a short culinary school course that I took to further develop my ever growing passion for baking. This is just one of the best recipes I was trained for and took me by surprise how delicious and perfect eggless chocolate brownies can be. Never missed the eggs and if you are someone who judges brownies by their fudginess then these will…

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Comfort Food

I know, you were most likely looking for another poem and it will come. Today, I will be stuck at the mechanics for a few hours. I will take my notepad and pen with me incase inspiration comes, however being in a testosterone environment -I seriously doubt it.

Now this is not a family dish. I found this one online somewhere and I did make a few changes.

Let;s get started! Serving is for two to three grown people.

Ingredients:

1 Lb ground beef 90%, Salt, Black pepper, Garlic salt, Onion powder, Accent, Cilantro, 1 15 oz can Tomato sauce, 1 10 oz can Rotel. Extra wide egg noodles. 1/2 can of water.

 

On to the rest of the photos.

 

Step 1, 1 lb ground beef 90%, in a slightly heated pan add the ground beef season with two dashes of table salt, two dashes of garlic salt, two to three dashes of black pepper, one to two  dashes of Accent. Brown meat.

 

Step 2. Add the Rotel and stir.

 

Step 3. Add the Tomato sauce and stir, Then with the tomato can, fill half the can with water and stir. bring to a slight boil.

 

Step 4. Once it is slightly boiling, add the extra wide egg noodles.

 

Step 5. Add about two to three dashes of Cilantro and two dashes of onion powder. Stir well and let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. Don’t let simmer too long or it will dry up on you.

 

Step 6. Dish up, top with your favorite cheese or a mixture of cheeses.

Beef Enchiladas

It’s not often when dining out at restaurants that we get a dish that resembles what we call home cooking. The food that we grew up on taking for granted at times,

Back in 2012 when driving from Sioux falls, SD to Cheney Washington to pick up my son for the summer, we dropped in at a Mexican restaurant called Olivia’s Kitchen located in Sheridan, Wy. I ordered the beef enchiladas, when the dish came to me my eyes opened up wide in amazement/shock. Imagine the cartoon wolf character with his eyes larger than life looking at a pretty female. That is how my eyes were that night.

It was basically the same as my Mom made them growing up. I could not believe it.

So today that is the dish that I will share with you. I am not talking about the standardized enchiladas that we get at most establishments. The rolled enchiladas has become the standard across the board. The one that I will be showing today is way different. So let’s get to it.

I know boiling hamburger is revered as a no-no because it takes the flavor away, but this is what I do for this one dish. I get my 1 LB ground beef and I mix a little table salt and garlic salt as though I were going to prepare it for a meatloaf. I then let it sit in the Fridge covered for about 10-15 minutes,

Ingredients for the Enchiladas:

1 LB ground beef can be 80% or 93%

1 Package Yellow Corn Tortillas (I used Mission Brand) Note: Amount will depend on how many mouths you have to feed.

1 to 2 Green onions chopped ( I only used one from the bunch since I am the only one that will eat onions).

Some Cheddar jack cheese grated or pre-packaged for convenience

Ingredients for the sauce:

For the unaltered version use this link: Easy Red Enchilada Sauce
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp Tones Hot Chili Powder
1-1/2 Tbsp Supreme Chili Powder
2 cups water
3 oz. tomato paste
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¾ tsp salt
Instructions
Add the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder to a medium pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the mixture for one minute once it begins bubbling.
After one minute, whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer it will begin to thicken slightly.
Starting with a ½ teaspoon, add salt to taste. I used about ¾ teaspoon total. The sauce is now ready to use!

I will mention that this sauce is GOOD! I will also mention that the sauce will have a bit of kick to it, but once on the enchilada it mellows out. So if looking for a mild taste then the solution is to use Tones mild Chili Powder and reduce the Cumin. Experiment and have fun at it!

Ok let’s get to the Photos. Food Porn!

Boil hamburger, once it is done strain and place in a bowl

Going to need two pans, one for the oil and one for the sauce we made.

In a pan add oil and allow to heat (medium heat) then place a Corn Tortilla in. We do not want to burn it or fry it to death. We only want to get a light crisp on it. When one side is done flip over.

In another pan on medium heat add the sauce to this pan

Place the corn tortilla form the pan with oil in this pan

Flip the tortilla over so that both sides are covered with the sauce.

Place the tortilla covered with the sauce on a plate, then add some of the hamburger, Cheese and green onion.

Continue the process building the layers up

Once you have your last layer on, add some of the sauce over it.

For those that want to garnish with Sour Creame

I hope you enjoy this one if you decide to try this one out. And if you do, let me know what you think.