Category: Side Dishes

Fried Rice by Hazel

This fried rice was a hit with my family and is super easy to make. The secret to this rice is that when you go to fry the rice, you do so in the bacon grease. Definitely not for the vegetarian.

Ingredients:

  • White rice, cooked (amount depends on how many people you are feeding)
  • 4-5 slices bacon, cooked and cut up into small pieces, reserve bacon grease
  • Bunch of green onion, chopped
  • Soy sauce to taste
  • 2 eggs
  • Pepper to taste

Directions:

Make white rice, fry bacon and reserve grease, chop onion, scramble eggs and set aside. Place white rice in bacon grease to fry, add bacon and onion, make some space in the pan and add eggs, scramble those eggs and combine. Begin adding soy sauce and pepper to taste. Do not use salt due to soy sauce having a lot of salt in it. Be sure not to burn rice while frying because it will dry out.

Spanish Rice

I need to get this recipe on the site before I lose the tiny slip of paper with the directions. This recipe comes from my friend Nathaniel. I came home from work one night and my boyfriend and Nathaniel were making fajitas. Homemade Pico de gallo and Spanish rice included. I’ve tried to replicate it a couple times . For now, I make it the old-fashioned way with a pot on the stove. Note to self: do not use sushi rice for this dish.

I have refined this recipe for the stovetop and changed it a bit but I still wanted to keep the short story above.

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil
  • 1  cups rice
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup tomato puree (passata)
  • 1/2 yellow onion-diced
  • 1 clove garlic-minced
  • Salt to taste
  • Garnish with fresh cilantro

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a pan on the stove and add garlic and onion, sauté for a couple of minutes.

Add rice and toast.

Add tomato puree, chicken broth and salt.

Bring to simmer and cover until rice is tender (20-25 minutes); garnish with cilantro.

Homemade Mac n’ Cheese

My daughter and I came home tired and hungry from a day of traveling home from Canada a few weeks back and we opened the fridge and found this delicious baked mac n’ cheese inside; comfort food was just what we needed. My oldest child found this recipe on the website http://www.momontimeout.com and made a couple alterations.

Ingredients:

  • 1 16 oz elbow macaroni, cooked
  • 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 TBS unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded (they used cheddar in place of Gruyere)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs
  • 4 TBS butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a large 3-4 quart baking dish. Combine shredded cheese in a large bowl and set aside.

Cook the pasta 1 minute to al dente. Drain and place in a large bowl. Drizzle pasta with olive oil. Set aside to cool.

Melt butter in a deep saucepan, dutch oven or stock pot. Whisk in flour and continue  whisking for 1 minute until bubbly and golden. Gradually whisk in milk and heavy cream until smooth. Whisk until bubbles form on the surface and then an additional 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add 2 cups of shredded cheese and whisk until smooth and thick. Add 2 more cups of shredded cheese and whisk until smooth and thick.

Stir in cooled pasta and fully coat with cheese sauce. Pour half of the pasta into baking dish, top with remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese and then add the remaining pasta on top.

In a small bowl, combine panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, melted butter and paprika. Sprinkle this mixture over the top and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.

Twice Baked Potatoes

 

This is a modified recipe from Horne of the Moon Cookbook, a vegetarian restaurant in Vermont. It is simple, but not as simple as a baked potato. Well worth the extra effort. I am not listing the amount of each ingredient because it varies depending on how many potatoes you cook. Just keep tasting the mix.

Ingredients:

  • Large russet potatoes (however many you care to serve).
  • Butter
  • Sour cream
  • Cheddar cheese, grated
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork (1-1 1/4 hours). Cut the top of each potato so that the inside can be easily scooped out. Scoop out insides and place in a bowl. Mash with butter, lower over temp to 400, add sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Fill the potato shells and sprinkle each with paprika. Bake for 15 minutes and serve.

 

Chow Mein (Panda Express Copycat)

I know, I know, when you think of Panda Express you don’t think of yummy; or maybe you do?  My daughter brought this recipe home from her cooking class at school and I have made it several times. It is a simple and delicious version of chow mien.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2 gloves garlic, minced
  • 1 TBS brown sugar, packed
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 1 package refrigerated Yakisoba noodles, seasoning packets discarded
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 stalks celery. sliced diagonally
  • 2 cups (heaping) shredded cabbage

Directions:

Combine soy, garlic, sugar and pepper in a bowl, set aside. Pierce noodles (all 3) and microwave for 1 minute. Loosen noodles and rinse in colander; place aside. Heat oil in wok or skillet. Add onion and celery until wilted (3-4 min) then add cabbage until soft and heated (2-3 min). Add noodles and soy mixture until all is well heated and mixed. Enjoy!

Olga Bread

 

 

As a teenager, many of my friends worked at the fast food Greek restaurant Olga’s. On of my favorite things about this place was their bread. My best friend forwarded me the recipe found on food.com and my daughter absolutely loves it. You can use it as a wrap with meats or vegetables or just eat it plain like her, enjoy.

Ingredients;

1  cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup margarine ( I used butter)
1  teaspoon salt

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 pkg.)
1/4 cup warm water

1  teaspoon sugar

4  cups flour, divided
1 egg

  • Directions;
  • Scald milk, remove to large bowl. Add honey, margarine and salt to milk, stir until margarine is melted.
    Set aside to cool until lukewarm. Combine yeast, warm water and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
    Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour to lukewarm milk mixture and beat well. Mix in egg and yeast mixture.Add remaining flour, a little at a time, until sticky dough is formed. Turn out on a floured surface, knead about two minutes. Place dough in oiled bowl. Turning once to oil whole surface of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm place until doubled in bulk.
  • Punch down dough; divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece to a thin rough circle about 8-1o inches in diameter.
  • Heat a large dry skillet over medium-high heat; do not use any oil.
    Bake 15 seconds, flip and bake about 10 seconds on other side, until mottled brown spots appear.
    Cool and store in a plastic bag. Makes: 16.

Corn Bread Muffins

Corn bread is a great side to serve with BBQ. Make some honey butter to spread on them and it’s even better. This is another recipe from America’s Best BBQ cookbook and the restaurant these delicious muffins come from is Branks BBQ & Catering in Sumner, Washington. They fall apart easily if you don’t let them cool as directed.

You can add chopped jalapeño and whole corn kernels (cooked) to make them even tastier.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 to 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 11 TBS butter, melted and cooled
  • Jalapeño (seeded and minced) – optional
  • Corn kernels (cooked, I used canned and sweet)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter 12 muffin cups. Combine all dry ingredients then sift into another bowl. In a separate bowl mix the buttermilk and egg together with a whisk. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until incorporated, do not over mix. Pour into muffin cups and bake in middle rack for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Puree with Brown Sugar and Sherry

This is an intriguing recipe I found in my epicurious app and adapted a bit with marshmallows. The thing I absolutely loved about this dish is the hint of sherry. This is the second sweet potato dish I have placed on the website. You might be able to tell, I love sweet potatoes. If you don’t use 4 pounds of potatoes, reduce the amount of Sherry.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds medium-sized red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
  • 2 pounds medium-sized tan-skinned sweet potatoes
  • 10 TBS (1 1/4 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 5 TBS dry Sherry
  • 1 bag mini marshmallows
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pierce all sweet potatoes with fork and bake until tender, about 55 minutes. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop potato pulp into large bowl. Add butter and brown sugar, using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Beat in Sherry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking pan and cover with one layer mini marshmallows. Bake for 6-8 minutes at 400 degrees or until marshmallows are tanned.

Fried Rice

 

This is my own version of fried rice adapted from the Food Network and courtesy of Tyler Florence.

My daughter came home from her friends and said she loved fried rice. I had never made it before so I found a recipe online and served it to her. She said “yuck peas”, so a couple weeks later I tried again, but this time I replaced the peas with mushrooms, which she loves. This version turned out great but I took the cabbage and shrimp out of Tyler’s recipe. The nice thing is you can add whatever veggies you like and include or omit shrimp and/or chicken.

Ingredients:

  • 6 Tbs peanut oil
  • 2 shallots
  • 1 (2in) piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 cups cooked rice, preferably cooled.
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • ¼ bunch scallions, sliced for garnish
  • ½ cup chopped peanuts, for garnish

Directions:

Heat 2 Tbs of the peanut oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium high. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the shallots and ginger stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 2 more Tbs of peanut oil, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, sauté mushrooms until tender, set aside.

Add remaining oil in wok and when hot, crack the eggs into the center. Scramble the egg lightly, and then let it set without stirring so it stays in big pieces. Fold the rice in and toss with egg until well combined.  Return all other ingredients to dish and season with salt and soy sauce, heat through. Garnish with scallions and peanuts.