Easy Fried Rice

Here is a super easy fried rice recipe that I use when I'm lazy and want something tasty for dinner. It takes about 30 minutes or so to whip up from start to finish. I also used my handy dandy rice cooker to cook the rice which makes my life (and yours) so much easier.


2 Cups of cooked rice (white or brown)
2-4 Tablespoons soy sauce (add as much or little as you like, but start small and add more as you go)
2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, rough chop for finer pieces
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 red pepper, diced (I left this out since I am not a fan, but pretty much everyone else likes em)
1/2 cup peas (I use the frozen kind, works and tastes just as well)
Sriracha to taste
2 eggs
Sesame seeds (optional)
Also feel free to add any other proteins.. Shrimp, chicken, beef, tofu?

Makes 2 servings



1. Heat a medium sized skillet on medium, low heat. Add the first teaspoon of oil and the carrots to the skillet. Let cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Then add peas and red pepper flakes, cook until heated through. Remove both the carrots and peas from the skillet, set aside in a medium/large bowl for now (we'll use it again later to mix everything together.

2. Pour the remaining vegetable oil to the same skillet.

2. Add cooked rice and pour soy sauce over rice. Mix the rice to evenly incorporate the soy sauce. Cover and let cook stirring every 5 minutes or so for 10-15 minutes. While this is cooking, crack and scramble the eggs.

3. Remove rice from skillet and mix into the bowl with the veggies, add green onions.

4. Add the eggs to the skillet and constantly mix to get to desired texture. OR Alternatively, let the egg cook through, in one giant, thin egg pancake. Then cut this into narrow 1/4" strips. This works best with a non-stick pan, but you can use a regular pan, just add a little extra oil to lessen the sticky mess.

5. Combine eggs in the bowl with rice and veggies and enjoy!
You can also add more/less/different vegges as you please.

An Army of Penguins

I recently made myself an small army of penguin cookies... Here they all are pre/post baking.. These are just a few, in total there were probably close to 50+

Banana bread with a Twist

Looking for another easy recipe for the holidays? This banana bread is right up my alley. It makes a giant mound of banana bread and the toasted coconut gives it a little extra texture.

This banana bread recipe is from one of my favorite blogs, spoonforkbacon! Bonus, its the first in a three post series about banana bread. 

Chocolate Chip Coconut Banana Bread

makes one GIANT 9" loaf or five 3" loaves

Ingredients

2+1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 medium (overripe) bananas

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

mix-ins

3/4 cup chocolate chips

2/3 cup shredded coconut, toasted

1. Preheat oven, 375 degrees. Sprinkle coconut on a baking sheet and toast for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it and toast until a golden brown. 

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. If you have a sifter, sift them together. 

3. In a small bowl, mash bananas and milk. 

4. In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter together for 2 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla. 

5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and coconut. 

6. Lightly grease the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the bread.
**Make sure bread it cooked through. I baked mine for 80 minutes, passed the toothpick test and the middle still wasn't completely done. I took it out, let it cool and after an hour the middle of the loaf sank in :(

7. Allow bread to cool in the pan for 2030 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. 

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!!

Holiday time!

Hello hello again. Its been awhile, I apologize. I've had a busy fall, but I plan on getting my act together for you folks for the holidays!! So here it is, caramels. Rich, buttery caramels. If you're looking for something easy to pull together in a night and impress this recipe is perfect! All you need is a little patience and elbow grease.

Materials

Candy thermometer
Parchment paper
9x13' pan (glass or metal)
1 package waxed paper candy wrappers OR you can cut and make your own
To make your own, cut waxed or parchment paper into 4x5" squares

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter + extra for pan
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
dash of salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla


Prep:
I highly advise using parchment paper to line the pan, this makes the removal process a gazillion times easier. I have made these guys with and without it.
First, fold the parchment paper so that it wil cover the bottom and longer sides of the pan. I found it easiest to fold it down on the sides so that the 3 largest/longest are covered by the paper. (Leaving the smaller 'top' and 'bottom' sides uncovered) lightly butter the pan sans parchment paper, this helps keep the paper in place. Then put paper back in the pan and lightly butter again.

1. Heat butter on medium low heat until completely melted.
2. Add dash of salt and brown sugar. Stir throughly to ensure melted butter and sugar come together.
3. Turn up heat to medium. Be carful not to turn it up too high, you don't want to heat the mixture too quickly or it wil burn.
4. After about 5-10 minutes of stirring, add the corn syrup. Continue to stir.
5. Gradually add the condensed milk
6. Keep stirring and cook until the candy thermometer reaches 245 degrees.
This should take between 10-15 minutes, if you're still cooking turn the heat up a little at a time but be patient. Too much high heat will burn them and make them brittle.
7. As soon as the mixture reaches 245 immediately remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.
8. Pour hot caramel into the pan and let cool for 3+ hours. I put mine outside and it took about 2 hours in 20 degree weather to cool.
Make sure it has completely cooled before trying to remove and cut the caramels. If not, the caramels will be very sticky and difficult to cut.
9. To remove, gently run a butter knife around the outside of the pan to help loosen. Place a large cutting board on top of the pan and invert. Gently pull the parchment paper to easy the giant caramel mass onto the board.
10. Cut into long strips and then cut into what ever size pieces you desire. I cut mine into approx. one inch squares.

Enjoy!! Happy Holidays!!