Chicken Fried Rice

You would think that something with "fried" in the name of it wouldn't be healthy but this recipe surprisingly is supposed to be.  It is also very tasty and satisfied my ethnic tooth on the cheap.  PLUS I knew exactly what was in it which made me feel better about eating it.  It was also easier to make since I learned that you can scramble eggs in the microwave!  Stir with a fork and then microwave for 45 seconds to a minute for every egg.  Worked great and a tasted perfect! We'll be making this fried rice frequently!

Chicken Fried Rice

2 cups cooked rice (I used brown rice)

3-4 cups Veggies (I used frozen green peas because I had them on hand)

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken 

2 eggs, scrambled

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

3 tablespoons reduced sodium Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon minced Garlic

1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar

1. Add sesame oil to a wok or frying pan over high heat.

2. In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, garlic and vinegar.

3. Drop a single piece of rice in the oil, if it sizzles the wok is ready.

4. Add rice, chicken, and any thick veggies that you're using.  Stir a couple of times and then add the soy sauce mixture.  Stir frequently for about 3 minutes.

5. Add in any remaining veggies and eggs.  Stir for 2 more minutes.

6. Serve immediately.

From The Joy of Clean Eating via Pinterest

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

This is my first recipe from Pinterest!  It sounded very easy and good so I tried it as my first recipe.  It turned out very good and was so easy that I'm sure we'll make it all the time!

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

8 oz cream cheese (let it sit out to soften)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet Italian Dressing Seasoning

Rice

1. Stir the cream cheese, cream of chicken, and seasoning together in the crockpot.

2. Add chicken and spoon mixture so that it covers the chicken.

3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours (I cooked for 4.5 because that was when I was happening to put it in.  Make sure and check it about an hour before dinner to make sure that the chicken is done but that's plenty of time for thawed chicken to cook in the crock pot.)

4. Make rice before dinner.

5. Serve chicken mixture over rice.

Salmon and Citrus Rice Bowl

Now that I'm out of the first trimester I can stand going to Publix again and smelling the seafood department. I can also stand eating fish again (on some occasions). Because of this I really wanted to cook a salmon dish because it's so healthy and I hadn't eaten it for a while. This Martha Stewart recipe had been sitting in my recipe drawer for a whlie so I thought I'd try it since I figured Charlotte loves rice and oranges so she'd at least eat some of it. The dish was good if a little bland. I'll probably add some soy sauce to the rice and maybe some salt and pepper to the peas next time. But it was a very good recipe that I'll definitely make again!

Salmon and Citrus Rice Bowl
Serves 4

4 navel oranges
1/4 ounce (1 inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, plus 1 teaspoon finely grated
1 dried bay leaf
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon brown-rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 pound skinless salmon fillets
1 cup uncooked brown rice
5 ounces (1 1/2 cupes) sugar snap peas, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1. Cut away peel and pith from 2 oranges. Cut between orange membranes, and let fruit and juice fall into a bowl. Squeeze juice into bowl and discard membranes. Cut segments into small pieces, and place in a separate bowl. Juice remaining 2 oranges and add juice to bowl (for a total of 1 cup).
2. Bring orange juice, sliced ginger, bay leaf, and coriander to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 6 minutes. Let cool completely. Straing, and whisk in vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and oil.
3. Combine 3 tablespoons juice mixture and salmon in a resealable plastic bag, turning to coat. Refrigerate salmon and remaining juice mixture for at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to 3 hours).
4. Cook rice according to package instructions.
5. Preheat broiler. Remove salmon from marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Discard marinade. Place fillets on a baking sheet, and broil until cooked to desired doneness, about 5 minutes for medium. Transfer to a dish. Let salmon cool slightly, and flake into bite sized pieces.
6. Divide rice among four bowls. Top with salmon, peas, and orange segments. Drizzle each serving with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the reserved juice mixture.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

I got this recipe from Mrs. Smith at The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I was intrigued by her name for it "World's Easiest Chicken Casserole" and thought that I would make it for our dear friends Leigh and Justin who had just had a baby. I doubled the recipe because Mrs. Smith showed one recipe of it in a square pan and two recipes filled two square pans to the brim -- I probably could have put a decent portion in three different pans instead of filling two pans so high. This recipe is really easy and it is also REALLY good! Try it next time you want something quick and filling!


Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
1 lb chicken breasts or tenders
2 microwavable packages of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 can Chicken Broth

1. Cook chicken for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut into bite size pieces. (I salted and peppered my chicken before baking.)
2. Cook rice per instructions.
3. Mix together chicien, rice, soup, and chicken broth.
4. Pour into a square baking dish.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Simple Spanish Rice

I made this rice a few weeks ago as a side to chicken and it was really good.  The rice tasted like the rice that you get at a good Mexican restaurant.  I will definitely be making this again!

Simple Spanish Rice

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

½ whole Onion, Chopped
1 cup Long Grain White Rice
1 pint Chicken Broth
¼ pounds Tomato Sauce

1. In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil (or your oil of choice). When hot, add the onion and rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until rice is light golden brown.
2. Add chicken broth and tomato sauce to the rice; stir to combine (this is the only time you’ll stir it). Bring just to the boiling point and immediately reduce heat to low. Cover and cook on low for about 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
3. Remove from heat. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Cashew Chicken

Yet another Rachael Ray Kid Food recipe.  So good!  Although next time I'll use plain rice instead of jasmine rice, we didn't like the flavor of the jasmine rice.  Also, Jason requested that I reduce the amount of water chestnuts next time.

Cashew! God Bless You Chicken with Jasmine Rice

1 box Jasmine rice

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

2 T sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced and mashed

2 T rice wine vinegar (or rice wine or dry sherry)

A couple of shakes crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 large carrot, peeled and diced into small cubes

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 can (about 7 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped

3 heaping tablespoon-size scoops hoisin sauce

A couple handfuls unsalted cashews

3 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle

Follow directions on rice box and start rice.

In a large bowl, combine chicken with 1 T sesame oil, garlic, rice wine, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.  Set aside and let it hang out.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until it smokes.  Add carrot and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the coated chicken and cook another 3 or 4 minutes.  Toss in the bell pepper and water chestnuts.  Heat through for 1 minute.  Add the hoisin and toss to coat evenly. Place chicken on a bed of jasmine rice and top with cashews and green onions.  Feeds 4 well.

Shrimp with Rice

Wild Rice and Shrimp has long been a favorite of mine. It's pretty easy to make and includes my favorite ingredients like shrimp and mushrooms. However, my sweet husband isn't such a mushroom fan and while he likes the dish he usually picks the mushrooms out. So as a compromise I found this recipe from The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. It was really good and just as easy to make. I did make a little bit of a modification since Charlotte isn't liking when I eat cheese. I'll include the original and my modification. Enjoy!

Shrimp with Rice
Two 6 ounce boxes Uncle Ben's long-grain and wild rice
2 pounds shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined
1 onion, diced and sauteed in 2 tablespoons butter
1 bell pepper, chopped
Two 10 3/4 ounce cans condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
16 ounces Grated Cheddar Cheese; reserve 1/2 cup for top
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Remove seasoning mix from rice; do not use. Cook rice as directed on box. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix rice with remaining ingredients in a baking dish and sprinkle reserved cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

My Modified Recipe:
Omit the cheese
Add Bread crumbs

Remove seasoning mix from rice; do not use. Cook rice as directed on box. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix rice with remaining ingredients in a baking dish and sprinkle bread crumbs on top to cover dish. Bake for 45 minutes.

Pork Fried Rice

I have been inspired by the Pioneer Woman's recipes to make mine more user friendly. So, starting this week, I'm going to try and include more picture with steps!  We'll see how often I have time to do this.  :)

This weeks recipe is really easy and was so good! I have been craving anything Thai, Chinese, Japanese, etc during my pregnancy so I'm excited to have found something that I can cook at home.  If you enjoy any of the kinds of food listed above you'll love this.  And I'm betting that it would be just as good with chicken or shrimp too which makes it very versatile!

Pork Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 pound boneless pork chops, cut into 1/4" strips

2 scallions, trimmed and sliced (I omitted these)

2 packages (8.8 oz) fully cooked brown rice

1 c Frozen Peas, thawed

1/4 c Soy Sauce

2 t Sesame Oil

Here are the ingredients measured and cut up.

Heat the skillet to medium and fry egg.  You should just leave it until it's together enough to be flipped and then cook through until it's one large piece of egg.  Remove and put on a cutting board.

Replace the egg with the pork chops and turn the heat up to medium/high.  Cook the pork strips until there is no pink remaining.

Once the meat is cooked through add scallions (if you're using them), brown rice and peas.  Cover and cook for an additional two minutes.

Cut up the egg into small pieces.

Stir in egg, soy sauce, and sesame oil and heat through.

Serve warm!

Chicken and Rice

This is a great recipe and pretty easy!  You make everything in the skillet so you only get one cooking dish dirty.  The bacon really adds a lot of flavor to the dish!  

Chicken and Rice

Makes 4 Servings

1 1/2 lb skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts

2 8.8 oz pouches ready to serve long-grain rice

4 bacon slices, diced

1/2 c chopped Onion

1/2 c frozen Green Peas, thawed

1 4 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

3/4 t Salt

1/4 t Pepper

1. Cut chicken into 1/4 inch slices and set aside.

2. Heat rice according to package directions; set aside.

3. Saute bacon in a large skillet over M/H heat 8 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon with slotted spoon, reserving 1 T drippings in skillet.

4. Saute onion in hot drippings in skillet 3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in chicken and saute 8 minutes or until chicken is done.  Stir in rice, bacon, peas and next three ingredients; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

You can substite 4 oz snow peas for green peas if you're like my Dad and don't like green peas. :)  Microwave snow peas and 1/4 c Water in a bowl 2 minutes before adding to chicken mixture.  Proceed with recipe as directed.

Also, there are just the perfect amount of mushrooms in this recipe for me.  But for Jason (and those like  him who don't appreciate mushrooms quite as much) I will only use 1/2 jar of mushrooms next time.

If you make it let me know how it turns out!