Rice

Arroz Con Leche (Mexican Rice Pudding)

December 13, 2016

Can someone get addicted to Jimmy John’s?

I’m asking for a friend…

Their #12 Beach Club is sooo soo sooo good. And their pickles are awesome too. Grab an unsweetened ice tea and I have my current favorite lunch.

It’s becoming board line problematic.

Anyone else with this Jimmy John’s problem? What is you #?

I can’t believe that my year of Taco Tuesday series is coming to a close. Just 2 more recipes to make! I am excited about my next venture as well as bummed as I only just scratched the surface on all the taco, burrito, enchiladas, cookies, drinks, desserts, etc I wanted to make. I had such a long list at the start of the year and had to narrow things down more and more to pick my favorites for the year to make. Just means I will need to continue to make all these goodies in the next year as well.

I did realize that I didn’t share soo many desserts so that is why this awesome Arroz Con Leche is gracing the blog today. Can’t resist a good rice pudding, esp one made with condensed milk. Bliss.

I was so excited about making this rice pudding since every recipe that I have ever tried from Marcela Valladolid has been a smashing success. I can’t wait for her next cookbook to come out this spring. In the mean time, I’ll made and remake my favorite of her recipes- her Chocolate Margarita… oh you’ve been warned!

The main thing that I changed up from the original recipe is that it called out for golden raisins, and I left them out. One… my rabbit has recently eaten the last of them so I was fresh out. Two… I like my rice pudding creamy so I don’t like the texture of raisins in it. If you like raisins in your rice pudding, and you actually have some, then add them in.

Be sure to save some room after your taco dinner for some of this rich, creamy and delcious Arroz Con Leche. Happy Taco Tuesday!

Arroz Con Leche (Mexican Rice Pudding)

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

7 cups water
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 (4-inch) cinnamon stick
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or the caviar of 1 vanilla bean
3/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Process

In a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water, rice, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and cook until the rice is tender, about 18-20 minutes. Strain out rice and discard the cinnamon.
Return the rice to the saucepan. Stir in the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk.
Continue cooking over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick, about 20 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and golden raisins, and stir well.
Serve warm or chilled. Dust the top of the pudding with ground cinnamon prior to serving.

Slightly adapted from Marcela Valladolid, via Food Network

Cilantro Lime Rice (Chipotle Copycat)

November 15, 2016

Autumn is turning 3 on Friday. I can’t deal!!!

In typical Mom style, I can’t handle that she is going to be 3 years old. It’s all gone by so quickly.

…

Apple and Mushroom Wild Rice Stuffing- SRC

November 24, 2014

I have a funny story.

It happened on Saturday, but it all starts with something that happened on Thursday. Kinda. Sorta.

See, on Thursday our wonderful dog walker emailed me asking for me to call her. She wanted to let me know that Kemper’s left eye was all puffy. Not the eye actually, but all around it. Top and bottom lid. My poor bug eyed dog was even more bug eyed. It looked like he was punched. Well, a trip to the vet later, he was having an allergic reaction to something. Nothing in his diet or in the environment changed. Nothing that we could think of. So, he had to get a benadryl shot and keep taking it 3x a day for 3 days, plus pepcid for his stomach as allergic reactions will often upset their stomach. (The things you learn.)

Fast forward 24 hours to Friday night and my stomach starts itching. No big. It’s the winter. My skin is dry.

Then it’s Saturday morning and my feet and hands start itching. My hands get splotchy and a bit puffy, enough to take my ring off. So while Kemper is getting Benadryl dose I take a pill too. What the hell is going on!?!? Anyway, Autumn and I then go grocery shopping. Enough of a distraction for me to stop scratching my palms. By the time we got home it was time for Autumn’s nap so I put her down and then got the perishables away. I was crashing so I figured I’d take a 5 minute catnap, or maybe a 15 minute nap. I’m usually great at getting myself up at a certain time, but I didn’t do so well as I woke up at 10.40. And panicked. Why? Because I had to make mac and cheese to bring over to our friend’s house for 1pm. I sprung up and stumbled into the kitchen while freaking out ‘How did you let me sleep so late? I gotta make mac and cheese. We are never gonna get to Mark and Allie’s on time!!!” “Umm, we’re going there tomorrow…” And so there we were. So I took a deep breath, stumbled back to the sofa and fell back asleep.

And that is why you should buy NON-DROWSY Benedryl. Noted.

Now it’s time to discuss this amazing side dish.

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club post I was given Sarah’s blog Curious Cuisiniere. Sarah shares her adventures; whether it’s in the kitchen, traveling or her recent bakery position. It all makes for well balanced blog with wonderful recipes including the one I chose for this months SRC.

Sarah shares hundreds of recipes, thankfully all very well organized. I enjoyed browsing through them as she shares a unique range of dishes from all different cultures. As I had been focusing on Thanksgiving recipes I picked her Apple and Mushroom Wild Rice Stuffing as it sounded easy to make – just about 30 minutes- and really flavorful with the layers of flavors from the apples, mushrooms, raisins, and, of course, the wild rice.

This Apple and Mushroom Wild Rice Stuffing is the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving. It’s off the beaten path which will make for a tasty alternative to stuffing but goes great with roasted turkey or other fowl. The earthy texture and filling taste of the dish makes for a hearty side for tummy and palette. The wild mushrooms mixed with the apples and long grain rice are a wonderful combination.

I changed things up a bit by using fresh mushrooms, as opposed to canned. But the recipe was so great that there was little personalizing needed. I did garnish the stuffing with chopped pecans and dried cranberries but you can leave it plain. Or you might even want to add some pecans into the rice. I love pecans but Autumn doesn’t do too well when nuts are mixed into things. She just spits them out. ha!

Apple and Mushroom Wild Rice Stuffing

Makes roughly 2 quarts

Ingredients

3 Cups water
1/2 Cup wild rice
1 Cup white rice
2 Tablespoos butter, divided
1 Tablespoon chicken or vegetable broth
8 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, white button mushrooms are okay too
1 medium onion, chopped (approximately 1 Cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (approximately 1 Cup)
1 medium green apple, cored and chopped (approximately 1 Cup)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 Cup raisins
3 Tablespoons parsley, dry
1 teaspoon thyme, ground dry
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Process

In a large sauce pan, mix water and wild rice and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered for 5 min. Add white rice, turn the heat down to low, and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender, but not overcooked. Note: You may have some water left over in the pot when the rice is tender, simply transfer the rice to a strainer to eliminate the excess liquid.
Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms in 1 Tablespoon butter and 1 Tablespoon chicken broth over medium heat. Cook until browned and reduced in size, approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove from the skillet.
Add 1 Tablespoon butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the onion and celery. Sautee for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon chicken broth and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the apples, and garlic and sauté an additional 3-4 min. Remove from heat.
Add the onion mixture to rice along with remaining stuffing ingredients.
Stuffing is ready to serve, or be stuffed inside a turkey.

Inspired by Curious Cuisiniere

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Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

February 25, 2013

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken will quickly become one of your weekly recipes when you realize how easy it is to make at home.

Every month there I have Pricer pick out a recipe he would want me to make for my Secret Recipe Club post. Sometimes I give him a few suggests or restictions, like I’m not feeling like making cookie or pizza then, but other than that he gets pick. I love having him involved and I love to see what intersts him.

Well, this month I sent him over to check out the recipe index for Erin’s blog called the The Spiffy Cookie and he picked her Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken. It sounded good to me so I was looking forward to when I’d make it. We love to get Chinese food take out but 99% of the time I order shrimp as I do not like the quality of chicken dishes at Chinese food places so this would give me the chance to have some good Honey Sesame Chicken. Plus much cheaper, fresher, and healthier than take out.

This recipe was so super easy. There was very little prep and active cook time and the rest of it was just letting it do its own thing in the slow cooker. I got it all started by mixing up the sauce, adding it to the chicken, and let it be for about 3 hours. Around that time I cut up my brocolli and got my rice going in my rice cooker. When I needed to take the chicken out I added some corn stach to the sauce to thicken it and while I was cutting up the chicken I added my broccoli in my steamer basket to my rice cooker. Perfect for a great Sunday night dinner. Plus, I had very little clean up which is always a win as well.

I just about made the recipe exactly as Erin wrote it, with the exception that i steamed the broccoli instead of sauteeing it, and it came out exactly as described. Don’t you just love when that happens?! Plus it was super tasty. Overall, I think it was a little sweet to me but I typically LOVE really spicy Chinese food. If you do then maybe you can increase the amount of red pepper flakes or add some Siracha to the sauce. While this is a slow cooker meal I think it can be converted into a week night super meal by cutting up the chicken and cooking it in the sauce in a skillet while you cooke the rice.

I only wish I made a double batch so I would have had leftovers for all week. This def beats spending too much money on a sandwich or salad for lunch.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.25 lbs)
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 onion, diced
2-1/2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp sesame seed oil or extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced, pressed or grated
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 cup dry brown/white rice
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb broccoli florets

Directions:

Put the chicken breasts in crock pot.
In a small bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic, and redpepper flakes. Pour over chicken in the slow cooker.
Cook the chicken on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.
Cook the rice according to package directions.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet until hot. Add broccoli and saute 5-6 minutes or until cooked but tender. Or steam the broccoli instead of sauteeing.
Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Whisk the cornstarch into liquid in the crock pot. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.
Shred chicken or cut into bite size pieces, then return to pot and coat with sauce. Serve chicken over rice with broccoli, garnish with sesame seeds.

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Fried Rice

December 6, 2009

Making Chinese food with my Dad has become one of those experiences that leads to great food, dirty dishes, lots of laughs, and full stomaches. One year our bird, Studley, ‘got hungry’ and flew into the bowl of fried rice- no one was happy then. Or we always seem to bring up the time when my brother, Dad, and I made chinese food and the kitchen looked like a nuclear holocaust. Food on the floor, sauces dripping down the cabinets, spills in the fridge, and a sink full of bowls. Of course everything was worth it since the food is always amazing. We have made shrimp with lobster sauce, chicken with cashews, chicken and shrimp chow mien, and, as always, fried rice.

When my Dad came to visit a few weeks ago we planned on making chinese food so he brought up some of the ingredients and his wok. This excited me to no end. It had been so long since I had the fried rice. Sure, you can get fried rice at your local chinese food restaurant, but I have to say that it’s not the same. I find the fried rice from most chinese food places has too much soy sauce for my preference. So that is why it is worth it to take the time to make amazing fried rice.

Fried Rice

3 C. rice

1 C. diced chicken or shrimp or pork

Marinating sauce

1 TBS. cooking Sherry
1 ½ tsp. sugar
1 ½ TBS. Cornstarch
1 ½ TBS. Soy sauce

1 chopped onion (small)

3 eggs

½ tsp. black pepper (optional)

½ C. diced celery

4 Tbs. oil (wok oil is prefered)

diced scallion

soy sauce as much as desired

Marinate the meat in the sauce for 30 minutes to an hour.

Cook 3 cups of rice accordingly.

Add 1 TBS. of oil to a wok on medium heat. Add the eggs into the oil and break them into bite size chunks while scrambling them. Cook until they begin to set. It is very important not to cook them entirely as there will be carry-over cooking. Put the eggs to the side until ready to use them again.Add the rest of the oil to the wok. Add the onions and stir-fry for a minute. Push to one side of the wok when done. Then put the meat and celery in the wok; stir-fry until the meat is beginning to brown. Add the rice, soy sauce, and pepper; Mix that for about 2 minutes/until everything is coated. Then add the diced scallion and the reserved scrambled egg and stir-fry until everything is well mixed.** If you use shrimp add the celery a minute prior to the shrimp because of cooking time.