Restaurant-Style Ham Fried Rice

We have tried MANY different fried rice recipes, but none of them tasted quite right– so we made up our own! This recipe tastes just like the fried rice at the Chinese restaurant by us! You won’t be disappointed!

2 c. uncooked long-grain white rice
4 c. water
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (only if you REALLY like sesame oil, use 3 Tbsp. sesame oil and no vegetable oil)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 c. cubed ham (you can also use shrimp, chicken, or a combination of all 3)
Diced veggies or peas (optional)
3 eggs, beaten
soy sauce

Cook rice according to package directions (with long-grain white rice it is usually 2 c. rice to 4 c. water.. but if for some reason your package directions are different, cook it accordingly). We actually prefer using a rice cooker, it always turns out perfectly. Heat sesame oil and vegetable oil in a LARGE skillet over medium-high heat and stir in onion. When onions become clear and light brown, add garlic. When garlic is lightly browned, add ham and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until ham is nice and hot. Add veggies (optional) and cook until veggies are tender. Stir in beaten egg and cook until egg is scrambled and firm. When rice is done, add to skillet and mix in thoroughly. Stir in soy sauce (we use just enough to get it LIGHT brown, you don’t want to add to much… remember, you can always add more later when it’s on your plate, but you can’t take it away if you use too much!) Serve immediately.

Mongolian Beef

This tastes JUST like P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef! You can serve it how P.F. Changs does (by draining the excess sauce and serving it semi-dry) OR you can keep the excess sauce and spoon it over rice (which is what we like to do because the sauce is SO good).

4 tsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. water
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
2 c. vegetable oil
2 Lb. flank steaks
½ c. cornstarch
3 large green onions

Make the sauce by heating 4 tsp. vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit about 10 min. so the cornstarch sticks. As the beef sits, heat up 1 c. oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until its hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.

After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook for 1 minute while stirring and add green onions. Cook for 1 more minute. Now at this point you can either remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs and discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang’s does) OR thicken the sauce with a cornstarch-water mixture to desired thickness and serve it over rice with the beef.

Broccoli Salad

This is another favorite side dish that we make every summer, and really any other time of the year too since the ingredients taste good year round. This is a great way for me to get my kids to eat broccoli and love it.

2 heads broccoli chopped in small pieces

1/2 cup bacon pieces

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup Craisins

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Mix dressing and add to all other ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well and chill in fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Mediterranean Spring Bowls

This is my copycat recipe of the White House Grill’s Spring Bowl. The White House Grill is a small Mediterranean restaurant in Post Falls, ID. If you know anything about the White House Grill, you will know that you can’t come within 10 feet of it without smelling like garlic the rest of the day but oh man all their food is TASTY! This is definitely my favorite dish of theirs. If you like garlic.. you will love this recipe! (I, personally, think this recipe is right on with the restaurant’s recipe. If you are from the area, I’m excited to see how you think it compares!)

1 bottle Lawry’s (or any) lemon pepper marinade
2 chicken breast halves
lemon pepper
1 onion, diced
1 medium-sized zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. garbanzo beans
12-15 cherry (or grape) tomatoes
feta cheese
Kalamata olives

For the rice:
1 c. long-grain, white rice
2 c. water
3 Tbsp. olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp. lemon zest (or to taste)
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed (add more if you dare)
1/2 tsp. pepper
salt (to taste)

Marinate chicken breast halves in lemon pepper marinade for at least an hour (sealed tightly in a plastic Ziploc bag works best). Remove chicken and discard marinade. Place chicken in a 9×13 glass baking dish and sprinkle with lemon pepper on both sides. Bake at 350-degrees for about 35 min or until juices run clear and chicken is completely cooked through. While chicken is cooking, heat a little bit of oil in a large skillet. Add diced onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and garbanzo beans. Saute until onions become clear. Add tomatoes and saute an additional minute or so until tomatoes become hot.

Chop up cooked chicken into smaller pieces (at the restaurant they cut up the chicken into little cubes.. I would normally do that too but for the sake of a prettier picture I cut the chicken into strips) and stir in with sauteed veggies.

For the rice:
Cook rice with water according to package instructions (or in a rice cooker). After the rice is cooked, combine remaining ingredients (from olive oil on…) and pour slowly over rice while fluffing with a fork. Add more lemon juice a little at a time if needed.

Put a scoop or two of rice on a plate (or in a bowl). Add sauteed veggies and chicken (at White House Grill, they just kind of toss everything together and put it over the rice, I know the picture above is more layered.. I just did that because I thought it looked prettier.. it all tastes the same..) Top each bowl with about 2 Tbsp. feta cheese (or to taste). Garnish with Kalamata olives.

Homemade Almond Joys

Has anyone noticed how much candy bars have gone up in price lately!? I remember being able to get candy bars for a quarter- and it wasn’t that long ago. These are a great solution and you get a lot for your buck. Not to mention they are delicious and easy to make! My husband likes these better than the actual candy bar.

1/2 c. white Karo (corn) syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
10 large marshmallows (exactly 10 or the consistency is off)
2 c. coconut – its better if you chop it more finely
1/2 tsp. vanilla
roasted almonds
1 bag Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips (they are worth the extra money)

In a heavy sauce pan (over medium on the stove) heat syrup, marshmallows, and salt until marshmallows are melted. Continue to stir over heat for an additional minute. Remove from stove and add coconut and vanilla. Stir well and transfer to a bowl to cool in the fridge. The mixture needs to get cool enough that it can be rolled into balls. In the meantime, melt the chocolate chips. I like to do this by putting them in a metal bowl and placing the bowl over a pot of boiling water. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Roll the coconut mixture into small balls and press an almond into the top. Dip each one in chocolate then let cool on a chilled marble slap or on wax paper over a chilled cookie sheet.

*For Homemade Mounds- omit the almond and use dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Chicken Lime Tacos

Here’s another healthy recipe for you! I love how fresh and summer-y these taste. Yum. You just can’t go wrong with cilantro and lime!

1 1/2 Lbs. chicken, cubed
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
4-5 green onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp fresh cilantro (or to taste)
Flour tortillas

Optional toppings:
Pico de gallo
cheese
onions
tomatoes
jalapeno
guacamole
cilantro
sour cream

Sauté chicken in a medium skillet in a little oil for a few minutes until chicken becomes white all around. Combine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and cilantro and add to chicken. Simmer for an extra 10-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Add chicken to tortillas and top with lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, or any other taco topping you like!

Our Version of Winger’s Wings with Freakin’ Amazing Sauce

I LOVE Winger’s sauce and I crave it all the time. I like to put it on grilled chicken, chicken kabobs, or just dip popcorn in it. Add a little ranch to the sauce to make Winger’s Creamy Amazing Sauce and put it on salads! You can’t go wrong with this sauce! Click HERE for our version of Winger’s Sticky Fingers recipe!

Wings:
1 c. flour (I like to use Wondra flour but regular flour is great too)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch salt
20 (or so) chicken wings
oil for deep frying

Sauce:
1/3 c. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce… no other sauce will taste as good)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water

For the wings:
In a bowl mix together the flour, cayenne and salt. Place chicken wings in a large bowl and toss with flour mixture until they are evenly coated (or you can do it the Shake n’ bake way and put it all in a large bag, do 5 or so wings at a time so they get evenly coated). Cover bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.

(Sauce): Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepot until all the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp before adding to wings OR prepare ahead of time and refrigerate. The wings turn out best if you don’t pour warm sauce over them. You want it nice and thick.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add sauce mixture and stir together.

Lemon Bars

I don’t know why, but I especially love these in the summer. They are so bright and tangy and yummy, a perfect treat for summer get togethers. If life gives you lemons, save a couple for this dessert.

2 c. flour

1 c. margarine

½ c. powdered sugar

Mix with pastry blender til crumbly, then press into the bottom of a 9×13 pan lined with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until slightly brown.

4 eggs

1½ c. sugar

¼ c. flour

Juice of 2 lemons (or about 6 Tbsp. lemon juice)

½ tsp. baking powder

a little lemon rind

Mix and pour over pre-baked crust. Bake 20 minutes at 350. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bars.

Lasagna Roll-ups

There so are many things I love about Lasagna Roll-ups.. probably my favorite is how easy they are to roll up and freeze! You can make a bunch of extra rolls and then just freeze the em’ (without the sauce).. that way next time you make them you can just thaw them and throw them in a pan with some sauce and they are ready to bake!

Sauce-
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. Spaghetti sauce (you can use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce or you can make your own)

Filling-
2 c. cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper, to taste

9 lasagna noodles (cooked)
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet cook ground beef, onion and garlic until the beef is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes. Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a glass baking dish. In a bowl combine cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spread a little of the cheese mixture evenly over each lasagna noodle.

Roll up and place seam side down in rows in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. About 5 minutes before the dish is finished cooking remove from the oven and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese has melted.

Emily’s Southwest Taco Soup

This is by far my favorite taco soup recipe, it has so much flavor! My husband loves to eat it by dipping in one chip at a time, I like to crunch a bunch in at once. We eat this constantly at our house. I make up a big batch in the crock pot and freeze the leftovers in individual containers – it reheats really well.

3 chicken breasts

Valentina hot sauce

2 cans chicken broth

3 cans italian stewed tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro, with the stems removed

salt to taste

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans sweet corn, drained and rinsed

Stick the chicken breasts in a crock pot and smother with Valentina hot sauce. Cook on high for three hours or until you can shred up the chicken with a fork. Add the chicken broth. Blend the stewed tomatoes until smooth then add the cilantro and pulse a few times. Add the tomato mixture to the crock pot, then the corn and black beans and salt. I also like to add some more hot sauce here because I like it spicy, but this part is optional. Let cook for about 1 more hour. Serve in individual bowls. Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.