Chicken Fried Rice

Michael and I have a really good Asian friend. We played basketball with him this semester and our team ended up winning the championship! We were so excited we decided to have a "Super Asian Basketball Champion Party" with our team. I volunteered to make some fried rice. Cheng, our Asian friend, approved of it, so I decided it was good enough to put up on the blog :)

This rice was super fast and easy to make. Mostly because I used leftovers (rice and chicken). I don't like when people say add this and that and boom, your meal is done. I hate to admit that when I made this, that is exactly what I did, but I tried my best to guesstimate with the measurements.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

4 cups cooked white rice

3 eggs

1/2 chopped onion

1 tsp garlic powder

1 package of peas

1-2 cups chicken

salt to taste

soy sauce (optional)

Instructions:

If you don't have rice and chicken already, I would suggest cooking that first. 

Heat oil in a pan and add onion and garlic powder to it. 

When the onion is softened add peas and eggs to pan. Add some salt, too.

When you have scrambled the eggs, add the chicken and rice. 

Cook until everything is warm add salt to taste and serve with soy sauce. 

After eating this I was "chi-bo-la"... That's Mandarin for "I'm full." Hope you enjoy!

Enchiladas Suizas

Remember Chile Verde from a few weeks ago? Well if you have heaps left over, you can use it to make Enchiladas Suizas! These enchiladas came from the Swiss immigrants who moved to Mexico and established dairies.  

I had never heard of these enchiladas until I started working at a Mexican Restaurant in town. I had to know what items were on the menu so I could recommend things to customers, so I tried these and liked them (without the sour cream though... I'm not a fan).

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Baking Time: 10 minutes

*Everything I used was already cooked, so all I had to do was pop it in the oven to melt the cheese and warm the tortillas.

 

Ingredients:

Corn Tortillas

Chile Verde

Mozzarella Cheese

Sour Cream

Instructions:

Grease your pan.

Put Chile Verde in the tortilla and roll it up. 

Once the pan is full, pour a little green salsa on top and sprinkle cheese over them. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes.

Mine don't look very pretty because I didn't warm my
tortillas before rolling them up... but they still tasted
great!

Serve the enchiladas on a plate and put a dollop of sour cream on top.

There you have it. Enchiladas Suizas. Enjoy :)

Aussie Meat Pie

Today in America it's Pi Day, you know π, 3.14. What better way to celebrate Pi day than to eat an Aussie meat pie?

My first experience of going to eat Aussie pies went a little like this. We had just made friends with a couple in the town we were living in and they invited us to go to a fun pie shop. We were meeting up with them around noon and I kept asking my husband if I should eat something before we went out with them. I didn't realize that pies are like a main dish in Australia! Good thing I didn't eat anything before we headed out because the shop we went to had heaps of different kinds of pies to choose from.

I found this recipe and read the reviews and it sounded pretty authentic, so I decided to give it a go. It was a pretty good pie. Next time I will branch out and do something different, maybe a chicken curry pie.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Baking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (500g minced beef)

1 onion, chopped

1 cup water, divided

2 beef bouillon cubes

1/4 cup ketchup

3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 pinch nutmeg

3 Tablespoons flour

2 puff pastry sheets

Instructions:

Brown meat and onion

Add 3/4 cup water, bouillon cubes, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, nutmeg, and salt and pepper.

Let boil and cover for 15 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 430*F (220*C)

Blend flour with remaining 1/4 cup water until it becomes a smooth paste. Then ad to the meat mix.

Let cool.

Grease a pie dish and line with puff pastry.

Add the filling and brush edges of pastry with milk or beaten egg. 

Place the pastry top on and press edges down.

Trim edges and glaze top with milk or beaten egg.

Bake at 430 (220) for 15 minutes

Reduce heat to 350* F (180*C) and bake for 30 more minutes, or until golden brown.

HAPPY PI DAY :)

Enchilada Casserole

While I was growing up, it seemed like we were always having people over to eat with us. One time I remember my dad didn't want to roll up all the enchilada's so he decided to make it into a casserole instead, so that is how this meal came about. And trust me... it's fast and delicious!

I had some ground beef left over from making lasagna and decided to whip this together. In the ingredient section I listed what I used, but you can totally use whatever you want and it will be great!

Preparation time: 15 minutes*

Bake time: 40 minutes**

* I just had to take things out of the fridge, if you were starting from scratch it would probably take you longer.

** Since all my things were cold, I baked it longer. If all your ingredients were already warm, I would just put it in oven for 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients:

Ground Beef (minced beef)

Corn Tortillas

Enchilada Sauce*

Cheese

Olives

*If you don't have enchilada sauce, try using tomato soup and put your own spices in it. That is what I would do when we lived in Australia.

Instructions:

Put a little sauce in a pan

Layer with tortillas, ground beef, enchilada sauce, cheese and olives (3 or 4 layers).

Top with tortillas, sauce, and cheese. I stuck on some extra olives just for fun :)

Pop it in the oven at 350*F (180*C).

Enjoy :)

Super simple right? My husband and I are going to try chicken, with black beans, corn, and tomatoes next time. Let me know if you try any other creative ingredients that are tasty!

Chile Verde

This is one of my favorite Mexican dishes my dad makes! My dad is one of those amazing cooks that just throws things together and judges all measurements by looking at it. When I called him to get this recipe he would say things like " then put some water in." I would ask, "how much" and he would just reply "like a cup or so." We decided it would probably be best if I just went over to my parents' house to make it with him, so I could get some measurements.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 5 hours

Ingredients:

2 lbs Tomatillo's (peeled and washed)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 onion
3 garlic gloves
handful of cilantro (For you Aussie's a handful of coriander) *
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 Jalapeno
5 chicken bullion cubes
1 TBS olive oil
salt to taste
Pork Roast

*I couldn't get a real measurement what a handful
was, but this is what it looked like in my dad's hand.

Instructions:

Prepare your pork roast (I cooked mine in a crockpot for 4 hours with some oil).

Boil tomotillo's, onion, garlic cloves, and cilantro in water

Spoon out ingredients and reserve about a cup of water



Blend boiled ingredients with oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and jalapeno.

Warm olive oil up in pan, then add blended sauce. The sides of the blender will have the remains of salsa on them. Pour the reserved water in the blender to get as much out as possible. Return the pan to heat. Add chicken bullion cubes and salt to taste and let simmer for a 3 minutes.

Once your roast is done cooking, cut or break apart your roast, add the green salsa and cook for one more hour.

Serve with tortillas, rice, and beans :)

Chocolate Ripple Cake

Sorry I haven't posted for a while! We have been pretty busy around here and I have neglected to post, but I have some good ideas for the near future :) The next dish is going to be Mexican! One of my favorites!

This recipe is so quick and easy. I first found out about it from the Steed family. Remember her Pavlova recipe? Anyway, I found out that it is on the package of Arnotts Choc Ripple Biscuits and I had to try it. Australian's call our cookies biscuits or Bikkie's.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Chill time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

250 grams Arnott's Choc Ripple biscuits*

1 pint Whipping Cream (500 mL thickened cream)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

*I haven't seen Arnott's Choc Ripple biscuits in the United States so I am trying to find a substitute. I was thinking Oreo's might do the job, but I will keep you updated when I find a good cookie. Or if you know of one, let me know!

Instructions:

Place cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and beat using an electric beater until stiff

Even stiffer than this... mine was too runny

Spread a little of the cream onto the base of a serving plate.

Spread one biscuit (cookie) with cream then sandwich with another. Continue to do so until you have formed a log.

My log was a little wider than I wanted it. I should have
 used a longer plate

Spread remaining cream over log to cover entirely. 

Cover loosely with foil and pace in refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours.

Take out of fridge and enjoy :)

I did what the packaged suggested and dusted it with cocoa. You can serve it with fresh berries and I have even had it with ice cream. 

Cookie Monster

You've never heard of a cookie monster? How about the term "Pizookie?" Well the term Pizookie is a combination of the words pizza and cookie. It is a wonderful dessert to share with friends and family! I grew up calling these cookie monsters and have been wanting one for a while now. We invited some friends over, played some games, and enjoyed this lovely, rich dessert.

Preparation time: 5-15 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes (depends on oven)
Preparation before serving: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

Cookie dough mix*

Ice Cream
Caramel Syrup
Chocolate Syrup
Whipped Cream

*I like to make things easy around here. I just used a packaged chocolate chip cookie mix and added butter and an egg to it. However you can make your own with your favorite cookie recipe (chocolate, white chocolate macadamia, peanut butter, chocolate chip, etc...). It's up to you :)

Instructions:

Make cookie dough and put into a greased pan.

Bake according to instructions on package or recipe, but add a little extra time. I baked ours at 375*F (190*C) for about 20 minutes.

Take out of the oven (it's ok if your cookie is a little gooey in the middle; it adds to the experience and you don't want the edges to burn)

Add ice cream, syrups, and whipped cream.

You can dig in right from the pan or can serve it up individually. Then the person is free to put more toppings on if desired.