Vegetable Fried Rice

Pin It Looking for a quick and delicious side dish?  Look no further.  This fried rice is super fast and easy and you probably have all of the ingredients in your fridge right now.  And if you don't you can definitely substitute with what you have.

Vegetable Fried Rice
2 cups cooked rice
1 egg
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup frozen edamame
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3-5 Tbsp soy sauce
Optional: dash of soyaki sauce
green onions for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add vegetables and stir fry until starting to get brown and tender.
2. Add egg to skillet and stir vigorously until cooked and broken into bits.
3. Stir in rice and soy sauce.  Cook for about 2 minutes or until heated through.

Garden Vegetable Medley

Pin It My parents have an awesome garden and they are very generous with sharing their vegetables with me.  All of the veggies, except the mushrooms came from their garden for this dish.  This is a simple substitute for your usual vegetable at dinner.  It also looks pretty on your plate.  You could use any vegetables that you have in you fridge or that you grab from the farmer's market.  I think eggplant or asparagus would be an excellent addition.

Garden Vegetable Medley
1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed an cut in half
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 small summer squash, thinly sliced
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1. In a large skillet heat olive oil.
2. Add veggies and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

Steak Fajitas

Pin It I love the sizzle of fajitas cooking.  I also love how fast you can whip up an entire dinner when making them.  I marinated my steak for a few hours before cooking to help tenderize it and it worked wonders on my cheap cut of steak.  These were bursting with flavor from the marinated steak and the fresh veggies.

Steak Fajitas
1 lb thin cut steak
1/2 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano

2 bell peppers, cut into strips
1 large white onion, sliced

flour tortillas

Optional toppings:
sour cream
shredded cheese
guacamole
fresh cilantro leaves

1. Place steak, lime juice, oil and spices in a gallon size zip top bag, squeeze it a bit to mix everything together, and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before cooking.
2. Remove steak from bag and pat dry with a paper towel.  Cook steak in a skillet over medium high heat about 3 minutes on each side or until deisred doneness. 
3. Remove steak from skillet and set aside.  In same skillet saute peppers and onions until starting to get tender and browned.
4. Slice steak into thin strips against the grain and return to the skillet.  Toss with peppers and onions.
5. Serve in warm flour tortillas with toppings of your choice.

BBQ Chicken Salad

Pin It I love BBQ chicken pizza.  If it is on a menu, I will order it.  So when I had some leftover BBQ chicken I was really tempted to make a pizza, but I was short on time and I decided that I could probably make a healthier choice. I decided on a salad.  It has all of the ingredients from a BBQ chicken pizza (minus the crust) with a delicious BBQ ranch dressing.  Healthy, yet satisfying.

BBQ Chicken Salad
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, grilled and basted with BBQ sauce
Romaine lettuce, chopped
Red onion, sliced
Red pepper, diced
shredded cheddar cheese

BBQ Ranch Dressing
2 Tbsp ranch dressing
1 Tbsp BBQ sauce

1. Arrange salad ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix dressing ingredients together until uniform in color.
3. Pour dressing over salad

Strawberry Nectarine Poppyseed Salad

Pin It I've been on a salad kick for lunches lately.  I think it has something to do with all of the fresh produce that we have in the house from going to farmer's markets.  It inspires me to eat healthy.  I also just recently started making my own salad dressing.  It is surprisingly simple and so much healthier than bottled stuff because you know exactly what is in it.  I also used some of my Glazed Pecans for this salad to add some crunch.  This salad is crisp, sweet and healthy...all around summer perfection.

Check out Trick or Treat Tuesday for some craft and recipe ideas!

Strawberry Nectarine Poppyseed Salad
**Adjust amounts depending on the crowd you are feeding
Romaine lettuce
Nectarines, thinly sliced
Strawberries, thinly sliced
Glazed Pecans
Red onion, thinly sliced

Poppyseed Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tbsp white sugar, or to taste (I like mine a little sweeter)
2 tsp poppyseeds

1. Whisk all dressing ingredients together until well combined.
2. Arrange salad with romaine on the bottom and nectarines, strawberries and onions on top.  Sprinkle with glazed pecans.
3. Drizzle with dressing when ready to serve.

Boneless Hawaiian Pork Ribs and Veggies

Pin It So here's one meal we used the Hawaiian sauce on.  This meal just screams summer.  Fresh veggies, grilling, delicious sauce...mmmm.  I also liked that almost the entire meal could be cooked on the grill.  The only thing I had to cook inside was some rice.  The leftovers were delicious the next day too!
This recipe was shared at the Weekend Potluck.  Check out all of the delicious recipes!

Boneless Hawaiian Pork Ribs and Veggies
2 lbs boneless pork ribs, country style
1 green pepper, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
1 small summer squash, diced
1/2 cup pineapple, diced
Hawaiian Sauce

**any vegetables would be delicious.  Next time I plan on using some red pepper and shredded carrots.

1. Heat grill to medium high heat.  Cover a grilling basket with foil for the veggies.  My basket is from Target or Kohls.  If you don't have a grilling basket, fold a piece of foil to make a shallow dish.
2. Cook meat on one side of the grill, basting with sauce and cook veggies on the other side.  Boneless pork ribs should cook about 5 minutes per side depending on the size of your pieces.
3. When vegetables start to brown, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the Hawaiian sauce and let the sauce and veggies simmer for 3-5 minutes.
4. When pork is almost done cooking, add it to the veggie pan so that it really gets coated in the sauce.
5. Serve over rice, with extra sauce if desired.

My grilling basket

Just before serving

Garden Vegetable Quinoa

Pin It I'm always looking for interesting side dishes for dinner.  While I do love baked potatoes and pasta, I get bored.  I had a box of quinoa and had just gone to the farmer's market and inspiration struck.  I chopped up some veggies and tossed them with quinoa.  Simple, delicious and healthy.  Use any fresh vegetables that you have on hand.  Next time I make this I plan on adding some asparagus, squash and eggplant.   A great summer side dish!

Garden Vegetable Quinoa
1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked according to package directions
2 cups diced fresh vegetables (I used onions, peppers and cherry tomatoes)
olive oil
garlic powder
salt and pepper

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions and set aside.
2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Saute vegetables for 3-5 minutes or until starting to get tender. 
3. Season veggies with salt, pepper and garlic.
4. Stir quinoa in with veggies.  Allow to cook for about 3 minutes or until quinoa is heated through and flavors combine.

Curry in a Hurry

Pin It I love Thai food, but I don't make it at home very often.  I saw a recipe for soup that uses Ramen noodles and that inspired me to make some curry with Ramen noodles as the base.  It was delicious and fast.  This would make a great lunch or fast dinner.  This is one of those versatile recipes that you can use any veggies or meat that you want. 

Curry in a Hurry
2 cups chopped veggies (I used red and green peppers, onions, carrots)
1 can lite coconut milk
2 Tbsp red curry paste (or to taste)
1 package Ramen noodles (any flavor)
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled

1. In a small pot, boil the Ramen noodles until cooked.  Don't use the seasoning packet.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute veggies in a little olive oil until tender.  Add the shrimp to the pan and cook until pink.
3. Add coconut milk to skillet and stir in curry paste.  Allow sauce to come to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Add cooked noodles to the skillet and toss with sauce.

Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Tacos

Pin It Another crock pot gem.  We just got back from a trip to Mexico and had lots of delicious, authentic mexican food.  Now these are in no way authentic, but they are at least a step up from regular ground beef tacos (which I also love).  Don't be fooled by the title, these puppies are SPICY!  Slow cooked beef in a savory, spicy sauce.  These tacos are great with my Mexican beans.

Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Tacos
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
2 lbs beef stew meat or a 2-3 lb roast
1 can Dr. Pepper soda
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 whole chipotles in adobo (adjust amount depending on how spicy you want your meat)
garlic, salt, pepper

1. Season beef liberally with garlic, salt and pepper.  Put meat in a lined crock pot. 
2. Add onions and chipotles.  Pour soda over the top.  Cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 on high.  You will know it is done with the meat can be shredded easily.
3. Shred meat and return to juices.  Serve as tacos or burritos with your choice of toppings.

My favorite toppings:
shredded cabbage
peach salsa
queso fresco (mexican crumbly cheese)
sour cream

Mexican Beans

Pin It Now I'm not claiming that these are authentic by any means, but they are delcious and we have them with all of our Mexican inspired meals.  In about 10 minutes you can have a flavorful side dish that is more exciting than canned refried beans or plain black beans.

Mexican Beans
3 strips bacon, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 30 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup salsa - any variety
1/2 can beer - any variety
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp taco seasoning

1. In a sauce pan brown bacon.  Remove bacon from pan and cook onions in bacon drippings until browned and translucent.
2. Add beans, salsa, beer and seasonings.  Return bacon to pan.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until sauce begins to thicken.
3. Using a potato masher, lightly mash beans (I only press down about 3 times) just to break up some of the beans and give the sauce a thicker texture***this step completely optional.

Crock Pot Philly Cheese Steak

Pin It Albert LOVES Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches.  Whenever we go to a restaurant and they have a version of a cheese steak you can bet money that is what he will order.  I've been wanting to make cheese steaks at home for a while now and I just got this recipe from my mom.  It is incredibly simple and the result is as good as any local deli.  I think I also like this recipe because it allows me to use my crock pot.  You need to do a little bit of prep work involving your oven, but the bulk of the cooking is done in your crock pot.

Crock Pot Philly Cheese Steak
2-3 lb beef tenderloin
garlic salt
pepper
1 can beef broth
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
provelone cheese
hoagie rolls

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Season beef with garlic salt and pepper.  Place in a shallow baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
3. Allow beef to cool slightly and slice into thin slices.
4. Place sliced beef and beef broth into a crock pot.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
5. Just before serving, slice onions and peppers and saute in a little butter for 2-3 minutes, until just golden brown.
6. Serve by slicing hoagie in half and layering beef, onions, peppers and topping with cheese.  I placed my sandwich in a toaster oven for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese.

**I do not like green peppers so I didn't use any for the picture.  You can also add mushrooms if you like.  Feel free to use whatever type of cheese you like the best also.**

Shrimp and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Viniagrette

Pin It Sorry for the delay in posting.  I've had some hail storm/car damage issues to deal with.  But no worries.  All is well and now I can get back to normal life.  Now that the weather is warm I like to eat more salads.  Number 1 to be healthy and number 2 to have lighter meals.  But don't worry, just because this is a salad doesn't meal it won't fill you up.  The warm dressing wilts the spinach just enough, the shrimp adds some protein and the onions and peppers add nice color. This is a great light dinner or you could make smaller servings as an impressive start to a meal.

Shrimp and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Viniagrette
1 lb bag baby spinach
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 c roasted red peppers, diced
6 strips bacon, cubed
1/2 cup rice  vinegar (white vinegar would work too)
4 tsp sugar **or to taste
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 lb shrimp
garlic salt
pepper

1. Cut bacon with kitchen scissors into small cubes.  Place in a small saucepan and fry until bacon is cooked, stirring frequently.
2. Remove bacon and allow to cool on a paper towel.  Leave bacon grease in pan and remove from heat.
3. CAREFULLY add vinegar, sugar and mustard to pan. (It will bubble and sizzle) Season with salt and pepper.Whisk to combine.  Warm over low heat for 2 minutes.  Place dressing in a serving dish.
4. Sprinle shrimp with garlic salt and add to the same pan that the dressing was in.  Cook 3-5 minutes or until pink.
5. Assemble salad with spinach topped with peppers, onions, shrimp and bacon crumbles.  Drizzle dressing on top.
6. Salad tastes best when you allow the dressing to wilt the spinach a bit.  I usually pour it on and then get my drink or rest of my meal ready and it is perfect.

Wine Bar Sliders

Pin It Albert and I frequent the local wine bar.  In addition to their great wine selection, they have quite a tasty menu.  Last time we went we had sliders and they were fantastic.  They were so good in fact that I decided to recreate them for dinner later that week.  I have to say these turned out quite well.  Juicy burgers topped with melted gruyere, crispy bacon, red onions and roasted red peppers on a bakery fresh bun.  What more could you want?  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Wine Bar Sliders
* makes 6
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp steak seasoning
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
3 strips of bacon, cooked
gruyere cheese (enough for 6 slider sized slices)
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1 large roasted red pepper, cut into short strips (I buy them in a jar)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp basil pesto (or 1/2 tsp dried basil)
olive oil
6 rolls (we used bakery dinner rolls)

1. Mix ground beef and seasonings together.  Form into 6 sliders and grill.
2. Meanwhile, brown onions and red peppers with olive oil in a skillet.  It only takes about 3 minutes.
3. Mix mayo and basil together.
4. Top burgers with cheese for the last few minutes of cooking.  Cover and let the steam melt the cheese.
5. Spread basil mayo on buns, top with a burger.  Top burger with onions, peppers and bacon.  Enjoy!

**you can substitute your favorite cheese if you can't find gruyere.  We just like how it melts and the mild taste that doesn't overpower the other ingredients.

Couscous and Shrimp Salad

Pin It I guess we need to blame it on global warming, but I could take a few more of these 60 degree days in the middle of winter.  Because of the beautiful weather I was inspired to make a summer salad for lunch.  The tartness of lemons, the aroma of dill and the crispness of cucumbers make this a wonderfully refreshing dish.

Couscous and Shrimp Salad
*makes 3 lunch size servings
4 oz cooked couscous (1/2 of an 8oz box)
juice of 2 lemons
2 T honey
4 T olive oil
salt and pepper
1 T dill
1/2 lb cooked, peeled shrimp
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cup seedless cucumber, sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1. Cook couscous according to box directions.  Drain and rinse under cold water to cool.
2. Meanwhile combine, lemon juice, honey and olive oil in a small.  Whisk until well combined.  Adjust honey to desired sweetness.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl combine couscous, shrimp, onion, cucumber and feta.  Stir gently to mix.  Pour dressing over mixture.  Sprinkle dill on top and mix.

**This will keep well for several days in the fridge, however, if you aren't planning on eating it right away, you probably want to leave the cucumbers and feta out until you are ready to serve.  Otherwise they will get soggy.
**You can substitute orzo for the couscous

Island Soyaki Fried Rice

Pin It Happy New Year everyone!  One of my favorite stores is Trader Joe's.  They just have such unique foods and sauces.  I used a little help from their Island Soyaki Sauce.  This is a great side dish for Trader Joe's orange chicken or you can add some chicken or shrimp and make it a meal.

Island Soyaki Fried Rice
2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 egg
1/2 cup Island Soyaki sauce ( or a mixture of 1/4 c soy sauce and 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce)
green onions
**feel free to add any other veggies or meats that you would like such as bean sprouts, chicken, shrimp, or even pineapple)

1. Heat up a skillet/wok over medium high heat on your stove.  Add onions, carrots and peas and cook until starting to brown.
2. Add egg to pan and quickly stir it to cook the egg (so it breaks into small pieces like scrambled eggs)
3. Add Soyaki Sauce and heat to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and stir in rice.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Top with chopped green onions before serving.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Pin It A great meal for a cold weeknight.  Warm, tomatoey, meaty goodness nestled inside crisp green pepper shells and toppd with cheese.  Very easy to assemble, minimal cleanup, great leftovers.  What more could you want?  These could easily be assembled the night before and baked when you get home from work.

Stuffed Green Peppers
4 medium green bell peppers
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Cut off tops of peppers and remove seeds.  Submerge peppers in boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. ***do not skip the boiling or it will take forever to bake these***(I learned my lesson)
3. Meanwhile, brown ground beef and onions.  Drain well and return to skillet.
4. Add tomato sauce, rice and spices.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Remove peppers from water and drain well.  Place peppers in an oven safe dish.  Fill peppers with meat filling.  Top with shredded parmesan.
**if you have extra filling, pile it between all of the peppers.  It is still dellicious and great for people who want a little bit more, but not a whole pepper.**
6. Bake 20-25 minutes until peppers are tender and cheese is lightly browned.

Fool Proof Shrimp Boil

Pin It My friends and I have a dinner club once a month.  Last month the host made a down home shrimp boil in her tiny apartment kitchen.  I had always shied away from this East Coast staple because of the amount of food it makes and the multitude of ingredients I was convinced I would need.  However, after our delicious meal at dinner club, I was inspired to make a mini shrimp boil at my house.  This version serves 4, but could easily be halved or doubled to fit your crowd.  (I would recommend making more than you need because the leftovers are quite delicious).  I call this recipe fool proof because you only need 1 large pot and you keep adding ingredients to the pot at different times.  I don't think the outcome would be any different if you accidentally added an ingredient at the wrong time or if you overcooked the whole meal.  It would still taste wonderful.  You would have to try really hard to mess this one up!
I cannot take full responsibility for this recipe.  It is adapted from the original Old Bay Shrimp Boil.

Fool Proof Shrimp Boil
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning
2 onions, chopped into wedges
1 tsp salt
1 can of beer
4 medium sized red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 2 inch sections
2 ears of corn, broke in half
1 lb shrimp with shells

1. In a large stock pot, bring 2 quarts of water, beer, salt and Old Bay to a boil.
2. Add onions and potatoes and cook for 8 minutes.
3. Add sausage and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add corn and cook for 7 minutes.
5. Add shrimp and cook until pink (about 5 mintues).
6l Remove from heat and spoon into bowls.  I like to serve mine with a little of the cooking liquid and a sprinkle of Old Bay.  Also delicious with a slice of warm cornbread.

I stored my leftovers in the fridge with the container about half way filled with cooking liquid so the leftovers would not dry out when reheated.  It was just as delicious for lunch as it was the night before.