Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fried Rice with Bacon mmmmmmm

Fried Rice


1 lb of thick-sliced bacon, cut into chunks-reserve 2-3 pieces for just frying to eat.
1 1/4 white rice before water (cooked and laid aside)
3-4 carrots-peeled and quartered and sliced
3/4 c of frozen green peas
1/2 white onion finely diced
3-4 eggs beaten in a bowl
4 or so green onions sliced
Season with garlic powder
Touch of salt and pepper
 
Brown the bacon pieces in a lined skillet. Cook until golden brown/crunchy or desired crispiness. Remove bacon pieces from skillet and put on plate. Leave 1/3 of bacon grease in the pan, put remaining bacon grease in a coffee cup or glass jar. Sautee onions and carrots in skillet of grease. Cook 5-7 min? or until desired tenderness. Add frozen green peas to onions and carrots. Toss 2 min. Add majority of cooked rice to the skillet, add beaten eggs, gr onions, season with garlic powder, Black pepper, maybe a little salt and a little more bacon grease. Continuously and gently stir over med or med low heat until egg has cooked in the rice (4 min?) and taste to check saltiness level.
Hope it turns out well.
 
I use the sticky Asian rice that comes in 5 lb bag from Kroger (Calrose brand) in a non stick pot on the stove. I cook 1 1/2 cups of dry rice with water according to the package directions-20 min. The 1 1/2 c is a little too much to put in the fried rice/skillet, so I only put around 1 1/4 c of what I really cook or maybe only 1 cup. I eat the plain white rice later in the week or make extra white rice for a casserole/another meal. BASICALLY, my recipe above works in my 9-inch non-stick skillet and is PLENTY for dinner and leftovers. Happy eating!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Ginger Ale Can Baked Chicken Recipe


After I have tried a recipe, I usually make some modifications by adding some hints that the original author didn’t include thinking that all self-taught cooks would know…but we don’t. So, hopefully, this will contribute to your success in the kitchen!

Ginger Ale Can Baked Chicken

1 3-4 ½ lb chicken
2-3 TBSP butter at room temperature
½ tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder each, mixed and put into a small bowl r empty spice shaker
Dash of Cajun seasoning
1 can of Ginger Ale (1/3 of liquid poured out or set aside to drink)
Utensils:
Can/Chicken holding device.
Roasting Pan Hint: (line it with aluminum foil)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Move the rack to its lowest position. Wash chicken in the sink. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Set the chicken’s hiney/booty over the partially-emptied can of Ginger Ale. Much like applying sun tan lotion, take the butter and rub it over the entire chicken. Next, sprinkle the entire chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic, Cajun spice mixture. If any extra spice remains, pour it down the neck and into the can’s opening if possible.
Total baking time is about 1 ½ -1 ¾ hours. Check it after 30 minutes as the neck and shoulder skin will probably brown faster as it is closer to the heating element. Take a small strip of foil and cover the already-browned area. Continue baking for another hour or so, and it will have an even, golden, crispy skin. Carefully remove from oven. Let it rest for a few minutes. Remove chicken from the can and place on carving board or platter. Allow it to rest another 5 minutes, and then serve. Throw out the can and its contents.

**Don’t forget to clean your sink with an anti-bacterial scrub or bleach. You don’t want raw chicken germs in your food tomorrow night!

**Leftovers-before going to bed, pull all the remaining chicken off of the bone and store it in the fridge. Tomorrow make a mayo based chicken salad, quick quesadillas, or enchiladas.

**Don’t waste those drippings! After your confidence in baking a whole chicken has elevated, why not try a Julia Child recipe (Mastering the Art of French Cooking Poulet au Porto)? It is a delicious way to clog your arteries with chicken drippings and 1 cup + of cream. I suggest looking at the ingredient list and be certain that you have port (or a sweet red wine) and some Cognac in the cabinet, especially If you are making this dish for friends on a Sunday evening and the liquor store is not open for a last-minute purchase, I’m not speaking from experience or anything. Well…yes I am…it happened to me last month.
**For clean up-Use a brillo pad on your roasting pan and rinse thoroughly. It will make that pan look brand spanking new!