Packing your lunch/Yummy recipe!!

I pack my lunch everyday. I work in two different schools so that is the best option on my wallet, waist, and taste buds! I usually pack a sandwich, goldfish, and a drink, however after a few weeks of alternating between turkey, ham, or roast beef I become sick of sandwiches!  So last night I had the idea of making a meal (large meal) to get my husband and I through the week and something different than what we usually have.  I have made this meal many a nights for dinner with an extra night of leftovers but decided to make a lot of it and have it for enough meals for the week.  Here it is....Chicken Fried Rice.  It is easy to heat up, easy to store, and tastes good for the entire week!

Cook some rice in water.  We use brown rice to make it a little healthier, but it will work with any rice.  Then the recipe calls for the rice to be cold once you stir-fry it so after it is cooked I stick it in the fridge while I am making the other parts of the meal.

Meanwhile, you can cook the chicken. You could also use beef, pork, or shrimp as well.  We have only used chicken.  It just has to be cooked so whatever method you prefer.  I just boiled some chicken so that it could easily be shredded.

Wash some green onions and begin to slice them.  Notice the end of the green onion.  He reminded me of this little guy...

           

This has nothing to do with the recipe of course but I just couldn't help including how much it resembled Mr.  Pepe the King Prawn from the Muppet Babies.  Okay now back to the recipe....

As I was saying, chop the green onions. This has got to be my favorite ingredient in the whole meal.  Love green onions!!

This is the seasoning packet for the rice meal.  You can find it in th asian/oriental section of your grocery store.

And to save you some time from having to write this down, the recipe is on the back of the seasoning packet!!

You will need some peas. I have used both frozen and canned. I can't tell a difference in taste, but the canned peas make it easier when cooking all of this at once. Just stick them in the microwave for a minute and they can then be added to the rice mixture. Easy peasy (no pun intended!)

Eggs are also a good addition to this meal.  FYI:  the recipe says to add the raw eggs to the rice mixture and they will scramble within.  That grosses me out. It might be fine to do that, IDK, but I just quickly scramble them in a skillet to the side...

Saute the green onions in olive oil over medium-high heat.  Then add the rice.

There is a lot of rice in this pot, but remember I doubled the recipe...Then add the seasoning to the rice.

During this process, the smell is wonderful.  It smells like sitting in front of a Hibachi grill, yum!

Add soy sauce.  I have to get less sodium, since soy sauce has TONS of sodium I can justify doubling the amount, plus a few more shakes of the bottle.

Add the eggs to the rice...

Add the peas to the rice...

And last, add the shredded chicken to the rice. And there you have it: Easy lunch-for-the-week Chicken Fried Rice!

Go ahead and place in tupperware containers for the week and your life has just become easier!  Again, if you want the entire recipe and the how-to in a more detailed fashion, pick up a seasoning packet by Sunbird.  They also have other good seasonings as well like beef and broccoli and sweet and sour chicken.

Hope you enjoy!  If you make it, come back here and let me know what you think.  Also, give me some ideas on what else to make for lunches when I'm tired of the usual, or meals in general!  Have a good Monday!!

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Easy Week Night Meal
I always make this dish when I have a few busy nights during the work week because it is so easy and tastes just as good reheated.
Start out with some chicken breast and boil them.  I always boil them for about 20 minutes, just in case because raw/half cooked freaks me out.  It is always done/completely cooked that way and then I let them cool for a few minutes so I can shred the chicken without burning my fingers off!

I used three chicken breasts and this casserole ends up being enough for Kevin and I plus an extra night with big portions everytime (thats how we eat around here).  Meanwhile while this is cooking, you can cook the broccoli according to the package directions, so either stove or microwave.  I choose microwave=less dishes to hand wash.

I like fresh, steamed broccoli when prepared as a side dish, but this does just fine in a casserole.  Once your chicken has cooled, shred it, then place in a 8x8 greased baking dish.  In a small bowl, combine cream of chicken soup and 1/3 cup of milk and blend together.  Meanwhile in the same dish that you microwaved your broccoli (see, another dish saver), add this soup mixture and combine---then pour over chicken.

You then add cheese, normally we add a shredded cheddar cheese, but we were feeling rebellious this week and deviated from the recipe.  We added Habanero cheese, and loved it! I also think sprinkling some Ritz crackers on top would be great--kind of like broccoli casserole meets broccoli chicken casserole...mmmm!

See how easy!  Below is the recipe listed to make it easier if you decide to make it yourself.  Let me know what you think!  This can easily be modified depending on the size of your family and preference.

• 2 (10oz) boxes of frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
• Chicken Breasts (I used 3 and it was perfect) cooked, and shredded
• 1 (10.75oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like, and for the record, we used almost the whole bag, not just 1/2 cup---we like cheese!

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, ENJOY!!

Yummy Winter Dish

I love to cook.  It is one of my favorite stress-reducing activities that I can think of.  I look forward to making something, and enjoy reading cookbooks and making lists to the grocery store of what I can make for the week ahead.  Crazy, I know, but it is what I love to do. 
I recently came across a dish that I love to make and eat while looking through the Taste of Home Annual Recipes Cookbook of 2010 called "Firehouse Special".
The recipe was under a 'potluck pleaser' and therefore made two casserole dishes, however it is just me and the hubby at home--we can't eat that much of the same thing without going crazy.  Although this lasts us three or four days and I look forward to every meal! So needless to say I cut all the ingredients by half, but if you want to make it for a large, LARGE crowd then just double the measurements.  Here goes:

• 1 can (14.5 ounce) chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (I use brown rice)
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• 2 pounds ground beef (it called for 1 lb of beef, and 1 lb. of sausage--not a fan of sausage so substituted another pound of beef)
• 1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms (I just used a pkg. of sliced baby bellas)
• 1.5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pkg. (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Creole Seasoning (see below if you don't have Creole Seasoning)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

If you don't have Creole Seasoning: use a pinch of all of the following: Salt, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Dried Thyme, Ground Cumin, and Cayenne Pepper.  (I only had about half of these spices, still turned out great)
Below is the method:

• In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Stir in rice, cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes, Stir in 1 tbsp. of butter; set aside.

• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef (and sausage if you choose to) over medium heat until nolonger pink; drain.  Transfer to a large bowl.

• In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and garlic in remaining butter until tender, add to meat mixture.

• Stir in the spinach, cottage cheese, eggs, soup mixes, garlic powder, Creole Seasoning, and reserved rice mixture.

• Put in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees  for 45 minutes.  Uncover, bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through. 

Makes 10 servings

As I typed this, I noticed that this does sound intimidating with lots of ingredients.  Don't let that stop you because it is easy and oh so good!  Make it for yourself and family, then let me know what you think!!