Mongolian Beef & Thai Fried Rice

More uses for the wok - Mongolian Beef and Thai Fried Rice.

(yes, we do keep chopsticks at the house)

I thought the rice, while pretty salty, tasted a lot more like take-out rice than a lot of other recipes we have tried in the past (I think next time we'll either decrease the fish sauce or use low-sodium soy sauce). Mike liked the beef more while I preferred the rice. I like the meat to be a bit more tender than this turned out to be but I really enjoyed the sauce that the beef cooked in more than the beef itself.

Cinco de Mayo a la Gwyneth Paltrow

A few weeks ago I had to use a B&N gift card that was about to expire. Not that I am ever short on books I want, I waited til the last minute to use it so Mike & I took a trip to one of my favorite places. The first thing I see when I walk in is this:

from barnes & noble

How did I not know this existed? Clearly, I grabbed it on the spot. I should probably also say, I'm a huge Gwyneth Paltrow fan. I do not really understand why people love to hate on her/her website Goop/the cookbook etc. (See the comments on this post for an example, people can be so mean!) I loved reading the stories of how cooking became important to her and what a family thing it is for her, I totally relate to some of the comments she has.

I've been trying to decide what to make first and with Cinco de Mayo approaching, I chose the recipe for fish tacos. She describes it as the perfect family meal. Also included is a recipe for pico de gallo.

Here's how I made it (adapted from My Father's Daughter):

ingredients
1 pint cherry tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
sea salt

directions
toss all ingredients in a bowl. adjust seasoning as needed. cover and keep refrigerated. (I let sit overnight before eating so the flavors could all come together.)



Fish tacos were made using a beer batter recipe from the cookbook. It was our first time using the mini-deep fryer Mike registered for. (I'm not one that likes to fry at home!) It came out really good though and a lot less scary than frying on the stovetop.



I also made a side of rice and black beans to make sure Mike gets enough to eat haha.

Green (Cilantro) Rice

ingredients
1 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, packed
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 cup long grain white rice
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
vegetable, canola or other neutral oil

Combine cilantro leaves, garlic and splash of broth in food processor. Process until smooth and set aside.

Cover the bottom of a frying pan (that has a lid) with a thin layer of oil. Heat over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add onion and cook 2 minutes or until softened. Add rice and salt, stirring to coat in oil, and cook about 2 minutes more. Pour the cilantro mixture and remaining broth into the pan and stir to combine. (A good amount of steam will come off pan when you add the mixture and liquid.) Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer until rice is tender (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and let rice rest, covered, for a few minutes before serving.

And let's not forget the margs! YUM! I love me some Bethenny & some SkinnyGirl!

Pork & Rice

For our second grill dinner, I put together pork tenderloin crusted with green onion, jalapeno and ginger from Bobby Flay via Envie. I totally forgot to reserve any of the marinade to pour over the cooked pork! This mistake probably explains why the flavor wasn't quite enough. The pork was cooked well but the flavor was really too mild. I like the ingredients and the idea though so I'll have to try this one again!

As a side, I made Tijuana kitchen rice from Guy Fieri. Really good. I have always looked for good Mexican rice recipes and this one is pretty on point. I'll definitely keep this recipe around!

Chinese Chicken Casserole

I made this yummy Chinese chicken casserole over the weekend. I'm not sure what qualifies something as a casserole but whatever you want to call this, its so good!


The recipe was sent in to thekitchn.com during a healthy casserole recipe contest. It is so simple and makes a ton. I did not use the sausage or its substitute called for in the recipe so I substituted boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the breasts to make up for the lost fat which was needed in the recipe.


Everything was really easy and came out with well cooked rice right on time. And it only dirties one pot! Next time I'm going to increase the amount of mushrooms, add chopped spinach and substitute pork tenderloin for the chicken. Mike of course wanted more meat in the dish haha.

photo from thekitchn.com

Cooking with Leftovers: Pork Fried Rice

A few weeks ago I made Asian Pork Tenderloin. Since its usually just Mike and I eating, we end up with a good amount of leftovers. I froze the leftover slices of pork for a day when we needed a quick dinner.

Yesterday, I thawed the pork and found a quick recipe online for fried rice. I had mine without pork since it was Friday and Mike had his with pork.