Asian Style "Fried Rice"

I have a great "fried rice" recipe, that isn't really fried, but so tasty!! Very simple as you will find.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups chicken broth (Kitchen Basics is my preferred)

2 eggs (beaten)

1 cup Mahatma Brown Rice

1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots

1/2 sliced green onions/scallions

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

Ground Pepper

Directions

First, in a small-medium sized pot, begin boiling chicken broth. Once at a boil, add rice, put on lid, and sit about 45 mins, until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Once you have fluffy cooked rice, turn off pot and remove from heat.

Heat a medium-large skillet on med-high heat, add in oil. Once skillet heated through, add in green onions and garlic, do not let the garlic burn, turn down heat if needed.

Once scallions and garlic sauteed, add in carrots and peas, soy sauce and pepper, stir all ingredients together to be immersed with soy sauce, onions and garlic. Next add beaten eggs, as if you are making an omelette, covering all ingredients with egg. Let sit 1 minute to firm a little, then begin stirring as if to make scrambled eggs, making sure all egg is cooked, and ingredients incorporated with the egg.

Adding the rice, if 1 cup of rice is too much for the skillet, start adding a little at a time to the skillet, making sure egg and veggies are throughout the rice. Once you have your desired amount, add a bit more soy sauce if preferred, and there you have it, your healthier version of "fried rice", and it tastes great! My husband loves this, and always goes for seconds.

Bon appetit!

Quiche

I spent a few good years perfecting my quiche making skills, and finally have it down pat. My first quiche ever, was horrible! But, after gaining different perspectives of where I went wrong, what I needed to tweek, here we have my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 store bought pie crust (if you make your own crust, have at it, I won't attempt this until the fall/winter)

5 large eggs

2 cups ham, cubed to 1/2 inch thickness

2 cups shredded emmental cheese (I find this is nuttier and more appealing then the bricks of swiss at the store, but you can use whatever you desire)

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Herbes de Provence (rosemary, sage, thyme)

Salt and Pepper

(For alternate variation, read below)

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Take pie crust out of refrigerator, and let sit, this will soften the crust and make it easier to put into pie dish. Heat Olive Oil in medium sized non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Once heated, add in onions and ham, sauteing until onions translucent, and ham browned a bit. Lower heat if needed. Add in dijon mustard, and seasonings, making sure all ham and onions evenly coated with spices and mustard-this will smell divine! You're all set with the filling ingredients!

Whisk together the eggs, making sure to add S&P! You want the whisked eggs to be a bit bubbly because you've really whisked them up, adding air into it, this will help to make a light fluffy egg quiche, rather than a tough rubbery quiche.

Unroll pie crust, should be pliable now, and place into lightly sprayed glass pie dish-you want to prevent crust from sticking to dish. Use your finger tips to press crust to form against the dish. The crust that hangs over the ledge of the dish, simply tuck it under, and you can use a fork to press the top of the crust (crimping it), this makes for a pretty design as well. (I will post pictures of this process at a later date, incase I've lost you!) Pour in the ham and onion dijon mixture, evenly spreading out over the pie crust, evenly sprinkle half of the cheese, covering the ham and onion mixture, then add the eggs.

Place pie dish on oven rack, bake 30 minutes, at which point pull quiche out, and add remaining cheese over what should be a solidified quiche now, place dish back in oven for 10 more minutes. Use a knife to make sure egg is fully cooked. Remove dish from oven, let sit 10 minutes before serving, will be piping hot!

Serve this along side spinach salad with the dijon vinaigrette, and a glass of ice cold chardonnay, its formidable!

Alternate Variation:

Instead of ham use cooked and chopped bacon, and add in some fresh baby spinach, for a different flavor! You'll want to saute down the spinach with the onion and bacon.

Bon appetit!

"Must Have" ingredients on hand

As a couple, we do not shop all the time, we do not have a schedule, it just gradually builds. But here is what you will find in our cupboard:

Spices (i.e. Martha Stewart turn-table spice rack)

Ground sea salt (self grinder)

Ground pepper (self grinder)

Hot sauce

Whole Wheat dry pasta

Maille Dijon Mustard (In the little city of Dijon lies a little store by the name of Maille, and they are the number 1 seller of Dijon mustard-Grey Poupon..put this out of your head, I hate it)

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Pompeii Red Wine Vinegar

Rice wine vinegar

Light Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Arborio Rice (risotto making rice)

Dried Cous Cous

Fresh garlic

Fresh onions (not kept in the fridge)

Frozen peas and carrots

Frozen broccoli

Eggs

Milk

Sugar

Flour

Having these items available, makes shopping down the road less mind boggling, because when you just need to add a meat, a starch like potato, it cuts your bill down! And a stocked wine bar, because you never know when you need to add it, and serve it up! I hope this is helpful!

Bon appetit!

Kristen's Angel Hair Pasta

OK, this is the oldest recipe I've had, and its a winner amongst many, in their opinions, not mine! So I'll begin...

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta (Barilla is of choice, whole wheat or flour is yours)

1 large can of petite diced tomatoes (I prefer Hunts), drained of all liquid

1 Cup red wine (the wine you are serving is fine)(Optional, but you're missing out!)

2 bushels of green onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, pressed/chopped/minced

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Italian Seasons (If you don't have this in a jar: dried-oregano, basil, red pepper flakes)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

This is so simple. In a med-large skillet, add Olive Oil on Medium heat. When skillet is thoroughly heated (hand test: if you hold your hand over the skillet, and whole hand feels a warm sensation, its ready!), add in green onions and garlic-DO NOT let garlic brown, that is a no-no! Once green onions and garlic are sauteed and well coated after stirring, add in tomatoes, wine and seasons. Here is when the "Jeopardy" song runs in your head, this can take a while to reduce. Continue to stir occasionally, if need to lower heat, then do so.

Meanwhile....

Boil water in a sauce pan, I add a sprinkling of salt and a bit of Olive Oil to help in heating and raising temperature of water to a boil. Why Olive Oil in the water, you ask? It will nicely coat the pasta, you'll see! If you don't want that, don't bother.

Plating:

You'll have a nice tomato-ey mixture going with the green onions and garlic, it'll be a slight pasty consistency, with a bit of juice, but not a lot. This isn't a sauce, rather a tomato-ey mixture, kind of like if you added not really juicy salsa to something, like a cooked pico de gallo, not runny, unless that is what you are into.

So, your pasta is done and drained, you want to fold in the skillet ingredients into the pasta, and continue folding, so that pretty much every strand of pasta has the tomato mixture through out. With the olive oil having been in the pot of the boiling pasta, it actually attaches to past, even after the water is drained, and gives a consistency that is wonderful. Once its all mixed together, its so lovely and light! Add a sprinkling of grated Parmesan if desired, it never hurts!

Add-Ins:

Grilled Italian Sausage

When I'm in the kitchen, my husband is tending to the grill, grilling the sausages to perfection, then slicing the sausage, so that those whom desire meat in their dish, its a nice addition to add to their plate. The flavors mix well, trust me, but I prefer this pasta dish to last on its own sans meat. This is a great base for any twists!

Bon appetit!

Chicken Dijon

This a constant staple in our kitchen, and with the ingredients involved, it may become yours! I learned this from a dear French friend, over 10 years ago, and its been a winner every time.

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 cups broccoli florets

1 small yellow onion, slightly chopped

1 large zucchini (2 small if you can't find a large one) sliced into medallions

2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms

1/2 cup white wine (whatever wine you are going to serve)

1/2 cup chicken broth

(if you don't prefer to use wine, 1 cup chicken broth)

2-3 Tbsp. dijon mustard (depending upon your desired intensity, I prefer more, and I prefer Maille, available at most supermarkets.)

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Herbes de Provence (if you don't have this handy: sage, rosemary, thyme)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

One skillet is all you need! Pick a rather large non-stick skillet. Heat Olive Oil on medium heat. Once throughly heated, add onions, and saute until translucent. Before cutting chicken, massage the spices onto both sides of chicken breasts (1 Tbsp of Herbes de Provence and S&P), a light dusting, or to your preference. Cut the chicken into 1 inch thick cubes, and add to skillet. Immerse the seasoned chicken cubes with the onions, let the flavors play together, this takes about 10 to 15 mins. When you notice the chicken cubes are a lot of white on the outside and bit pinkish on the inside, add the wine and chicken stock, gently stirring so that flavors gather. Let simmer for 5 mins. Add in Dijon mustard, I do this with a spoon, and really concentrate on making sure the mustard is distributed with the broth and wine, coating the chicken and onions. Once all well coated, add in the broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms. If you feel more liquid is needed, add in more stock and maybe more wine, as I would do! Its a happy party, why not? If you feel you need to add more Dijon, go ahead, you want the Dijon flavor to be noticed. Stir occasionally, making sure all veggies are reducing, allowing the "dijon broth" to be absorbed, which these guys are good sponges, hence why they are apart of this dish! Once all veggies tender, chicken is done, you are set!

Sides:

The best sides are rice or potato, whether in the form of wild rice, risotto, or garlic mashed potatoes, you'll want something starchy on the side to soak up the remaining juices, or just a baguette! Also, if you add a spinach salad with the vinaigrette dressing I have on this blog, you have a menu to serve guests! I don't do desserts, by the way (btw), I'll try that in the fall/winter when it isn't terrible to turn on the oven! Bon appetit!

My famous Dijon Vinaigrette

My husband loves loves loves this, I make it a lot! There are different variations to share, but once you get into the grove of making this very easy dressing, you'll find your own twists to make it unique.

I learned this simple recipe from a Parisian woman, when I lived in France. I thank her to teaching this to me.

I don't go by measurements for this one, as I do for other recipes, because its all up to taste and consistency. The status quo for oil to vinegar is 3 to 1, (i.e. 3 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp). Here's the ingredients and then I'll discuss the process:

Olive Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

Dijon mustard

Salt & Pepper to taste

Easy ingredients, easy to prepare. What I do is start with the mustard and place about 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp into a small mixing bowl. I then pour in enough olive out to cover the mustard up. Then I add in the vinegar, keeping its ratio small to the olive oil. Add in the Salt and Pepper, and with a small wisk or fork, wisk all ingredients together, until the mixture is emulsified, the consistency should look creamy, no signs of separation, if you see this, continue to work with it until you get the smoothness, it will get there, trust me! If you get tired get your spouse to help you, its rare for me that it takes a while. Et voila, you have your vinaigrette basics.

How to mix it up?

Have you been to the grocery stores lately, and walked down the aisle with the oils and vinegars? There are so many choices! Let's play with the palettes. If you're having an Italian dinner, instead of red wine vinegar, maybe opt for the white wine balsamic vinegar. If you're serving steak, with bold flavors, use red wine balsamic for that bold flavor to carry through in your salad. For something light, red wine vinegar is perfect. I've even used the basis of my vinaigrette for an asian twist, using rice wine vinegar, half olive oil half sesame oil (sesame oil can be really over powering, so I cut it with olive oil), still dijon as that is what makes the creamy texture, and some soy sauce and pepper, eliminating need for salt use. Yum!

Also, some extra add-ins that are great:

Chopped shallots

Crushed fresh garlic

Lemon juice ( if you have a lemon a little squeeze is all you need, if you have juice a lemon shaped bottled, about 10 drops-this is generous, if want less then go with that)

Any of these do amazing things to the vinaigrette.

How to serve:

I usually opt for baby spinach, or any really green earthy leaves. First I pour vinaigrette to bottom of bowl, and then add spinach on top, and then toss the salad lightly to evenly coat all the pretty leaves with the vinaigrette. Action is kind of like "folding" egg whites. Then plate it, and you're all set!

Happy experimenting and Bon Appetit!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

I attempted for the first time in my life to make spaghetti sauce from scratch, last night! It turned out amazing. I do not have pics of this blessed recipe, I will have them down the road.

Since its just my husband and I, amounts are on the small side, yet we still manage to have leftovers!

1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 pound ground italian mild sausage (I wanted turkey italian sausage, but they were out)

1 whole onion chopped

1 green pepper chopped

1 can 14 oz petite diced tomatoes (drained)

1 can 14 oz tomato sauce

2 Tbsp tomato paste (I used tomato paste in a tube, rather than the canned kind)

1 cup red wine (whatever wine you'll be serving with pasta is fine) (optional!)

5 cloves garlic (minced/chopped/pressed)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Spices: (all to taste, no measurement here, start small and add gradually to fit your taste)

Italian Spice Blend

Sea Salt

Crushed Pepper

Directions:

In large non-stick skillet, begin browning ground turkey and ground italian sausage over medium heat. Generously salt and pepper meat, ground turkey is easy to be bland.

On separate burner, start heating up dutch oven, or whatever large pot is handy, with olive oil on medium heat. Once pot heated thoroughly, add in chopped onion, green pepper and garlic mixture, stirring all to get evenly coated with oil, until onions translucent and peppers soft, do not let them brown, especially the garlic. Next add in tomato paste, stirring to make sure onion mixture is coated with the paste, and let absorb for a couple minutes.

Once meat is browned, turn off heat, and add meat mixture to the large pot with onion mixture. Stir everything completely so that all meat and all onion mixture incorporated. Turn heat down to lower temperature, and let simmer for a few minutes, allowing the meat juices to coat the onion mixture, and visa versa, you want the flavors to mingle and get to know one another.

Add the wine and let pot simmer again, stirring to make sure evenly absorbed. Once wine incorporated, add the diced tomatoes, again stirring to evenly distribute throughout pot. Stir occasionally and let flavors meld for about 5 minutes. Then add tomato sauce and spices, I was really generous with the spices, mostly with salt and pepper, as all of these ingredients can be bland, this is why to taste.

Let pot sit for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally, on a low heat.

And that is it! Use for spaghetti, tortellini, ravioli, as your lasagna sauce, whatever Italian dish you desire, you have this wonderful sauce, and it freezes beautifully to reuse later, as it makes a lot!

Bon appetit!