Mexican Fried Rice

We had a Mexican themed dinner on Saturday night with the family and I made my usual chicken enchiladas, which I will be sharing with you, as well as a new recipe. I found this one on grouprecipes.com and I was excited to try it out. The family loves fried rice so I figured this would be another winner and it was. I didn't care for it but I think it was because I was in one of those moods. I had managed in about a two hour time period to make the chicken enchiladas, Mexican fried rice, and the peanut butter delight cookies so I was worn out about the time dinner rolled around.

Mexican Fried Rice~

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked jasmine rice (I used 1 1/2 cups instant white rice)
1 1/2 cups water
1 egg (I used 2 eggs)
1 tablespoon garlic-flavor olive oil or olive oil ( I omitted)
1 pound fresh chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) can Black Beans, drained
1 (11 ounce) can Whole Kernel Corn, with Red and Green Peppers
1 (7 ounce) jar sliced roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 (8 ounce) jar Taco Sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1.) Cook rice in water as directed on package.

2.) Meanwhile, spray 12-inch skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat until hot. Beat egg in small bowl. Add egg to skillet; cook 1 minute or until firm but still moist, stirring frequently. Remove from pan; cover to keep warm.

3.)Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Add chicken, onion and garlic; cook and stir 4 to 6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add beans, corn and roasted peppers; mix well. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly and breaking up chicken and roasted peppers as mixture cooks.

4.) Add cooked egg and rice; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in taco sauce; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Stir in green onions. Spoon mixture onto serving platter. Garnish with cilantro.

Peanut Butter Delights

Yes people I came up with my very own cookie recipe and if you enjoy peanut butter than this will more than likely become a favorite for you. The addition of peanut butter and milk chocolate chips adds to the peanut buttery goodness.

Peanut Butter Delights~

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1-11 oz bag Tollhouse peanut butter and milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

2.) Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in the peanut butter and vanilla extract.

3.) Combine the flour 1/4 of a cup at a time. Add the baking soda and the salt. Mix until everything is incorporated.

4.) Gently fold in the peanut butter and milk chocolate chips.

5.) Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to sit on baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.

Veggie Pizza

This another dish I learned how to make from my Step-Mom, it's a favorite of ours that doesn't get made very often but this week I was having a hankering for it. The hardest part of making this pizza is all of the chopping involved. If you want to cut some chopping corners use your food processor or you can buy everything pre-chopped and ready to go straight from your grocers salad bar.

Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:

2 tubes of crescent rolls

1 8oz. block cream cheese, softened

1 16oz. container sour cream

1 packet of Hidden Vally Ranch Seasoning

4 cups shredded carrots

4 cups finely chopped broccoli

4 cups finely chopped cauliflower

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.) Roll out each tube of crescent rolls onto baking sheet, pressing together edges to form a pizza crust. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown. Allow to cool. (One tube of crescent rolls for each pan)

2.) Mix together softened cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch seasoning.

3.) Chop up vegetables and set aside.

4.) Put half of cream cheese/sour cream mixture on each "pizza" crust. Spread evenly.

5.) Top each crust with half of carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheese and top with cherry tomatoes.

6.) Chill for one to two hours.

We often times eat this as our main dish, however it's great for snacking. The vegetables that I have listed above are the ones we like sticking to however feel free to experiment by adding different veggies.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I first saw this recipe on Monday and I had full intentions of whipping up a batch that night. Laziness got the better of me though. I had a full weekend of cooking, baby-sitting four dogs by myself, cleaning my house, and oh yeah...getting my very first speeding ticket. I was spent and decided to wait a day or two to make them.

The plan was to make them last night so when I ran home for lunch yesterday I set out two sticks of butter, I placed them high up on the counter resting on top of several canisters. When I came home the butter was gone, vanished, no where to be found. I thought...maybe Daniel stuck them back in the fridge before he left for work. Nope, not in the fridge...where in God's name are they I asked myself, questioning whether or not I had really set them out? Reality hit me when I noticed Lennon wasn't his normal puppy self. He was a bit sluggish and did nothing but go back and forth from the living room to outside on the Florida room. For crying out loud, first it was pineapple, then loaves of bread, followed by about a cup of grease that I had drained from some ground beef...now it was butter. The dog ate the butter and the wrappers to boot without leaving a trace of his poor judgment on my counters.

Anyway, these cookies were pretty good. I thought they were a little bitter from too much cocoa powder so next time I think I will ease up on it.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies~
Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

2.) In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3.) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

This is the third food item that I have made that has required baking that has come out successfully. I didn't forget ingredients or skip important steps. Maybe I am starting to gain the patience I have been lacking in the baking department.

Banana Banana Bread

I had four very ripe bananas that I needed to use up quick or risk losing to the trash can. Of course whenever someone has bananas that need to be used ASAP what better to make with them than banana bread. I found this recipe off of allrecipes and it has thousands of reviews. I made it according to the directions and boy was it good with a nice cold glass of milk.

Banana Banana Bread~
Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Hope everyone enjoys. I think next time I am going to add a touch of cinnamon and a touch of vanilla extract.

I am off to make Daniel his chocolate chocolate chip cookies that got derailed yesterday due to the fact I have a one year old Great Dane that likes to eat sticks of butter at room temperature. He paid dearly for it last night...someone had a bad tummy ache!

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

Tonight to go along with the pasta salad that I made I decided to do grilled chicken. Normally I just marinate my chicken in italian dressing and then slather on some BBQ sauce while it finishes on the grill. I decided to try something different tonight so I searched on allrecipes and this is what I came up with.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken~
Ingredients:
1/3 c. dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
2 tbsp. mayo
1 tsp. steak sauce
4 chicken breasts

Directions:
1.) In a bowl mix together wet ingredients, add chicken and allow to marinate for 2 to 3 hours.
2.) Grill, using extra sauce to baste with periodically during the grilling process.


I doubled the recipe for 8 chicken breasts and I also omitted the mayo as I hadn't realized we didn't have any and I didn't want to use Miracle Whip. This chicken was really good although I thought it was a little too sweet. No one else agreed with me as they all thought it was perfectly fine.

Shout out to my Uncle Dan for manning the grill. I am intimated by the charcoal grill so he happily took over the reins!

Katie's Pasta Salad

Katie's Pasta Salad~
1 lb. bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced into quarters
1 16oz. bottle italian dressing
1 block colby cheese, cubed
1 cup pepperoni, quartered

Directions:
1.) Cook pasta according to the box, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside to cool.
2.) Chop all of your vegetables and add to a big bowl. Add pasta and gently toss.
3.) Toss in pepperoni and then mix in dressing. Tossing gently. Add colby cheese.
4.) Refrigerate for 4-8 hours.

I make this dish several times throughout the summer. It's great for BBQ's!! You can also use any sort of pasta that you have on hand.