What to do with rice leftovers? Fried Rice

If there's one thing I hate in life, it's throwing out a perfectly good dish because we've gotten bored of eating the same thing. Every time I toss rice that's been stared at for too long, a little part of me feels sad. So I decided to seek out the best ways to use leftover rice, one I came across was easy fried rice so I figured, why not? What Jewish doesn't like a good Chinese dish? 

Ingredients:

Onion or 2 Scallions

Garlic

1 Egg (or more if desired)

Canola or vegetable Oil (due to the smoke point, you shouldn't use EVOO)

1 cup mixed frozen veggies

1-2 cups day old, cold rice

3 tablespoons lite soy sauce

3 tablespoons water

Heat up the wok (Thanks to my sister in law for getting me a wok because I definitely wouldn't have bought it myself) and make sure to add 1 tablespoon of oil when it's pretty hot. To test, add a drop of water, should jump when the pot is hot enough. Saute the garlic and scallions/onions (for the image, I didn't have any scallions, so I used onion instead). *However, I've used both and it comes out pretty good*

Once the onion/scallion and garlic mix are nice and golden, throw in an egg or two (we like eggs around here so we add two) vigorously mix until the eggs break up and have a nice golden brown crust. 

Add a tablespoon of oil and toss in veggies, if you'd like to throw in fresh broccoli then I suggest doing it once the veggies and mostly cooked through to not over cook the broccoli. 

Then add two tablespoons oil and throw in the cold, day old rice. The reason they suggest not using fresh rice is because the rice will be too tender, older rice that's cold will hold up to all the stirring and mixing and won't turn into a pate. 

You want to mix in a small bowl the 3 tbsp soy sauce and water, it's recommended to mix it separately to so don't throw it into the rice before mixing the sauce together. 

Then mix well and let the sauce nicely coat up all the rice and serve. 

Potato & Mushroom Bourekas

I keep getting asked about my bourekas, I usually make two versions a chicken version and a mushroom-potato one. They normally are a big hit and the great part is I can make the uncooked bourekas in advance, freeze them and when needed cook them up.

What you need:
Mushrooms, minced
Red and Idaho potato, cubed
Salt
Garlic, minced 
Onion, shredded 
White cooking wine
Osem chicken powder
Mazor's Mini square puff pastry dough
Olive oil


Step 1: Minced well the mushrooms, the amount used will vary based on your or your guests love of mushrooms. I happen to be a mushroom lover, so I usually put in 16 oz mix of bella and white.

Sauteed in olive oil, minced garlic (I use a tablespoon) and shredded onion (Throw it in the food processor or use a hand grater) over medium heat, once the onions are translucent then throw in the mushrooms. 

The mushrooms will start to cook up in its own juices, add a splash of white cooking wine and add about a tablespoon of osem chicken powder, once the juice thickens, turn off heat and set aside. 

At the same time, boil quartered potatoes with salt until soft. Then mix well the potatoes and mushrooms together. 

Your Mazor dough should be frozen when not in use however, defrost the package an hour before starting by leaving out. Get a plate, baking tray and fork ready. 

Add a heaping tablespoon to your palm and squeeze into a football shape. 

The dough can be stretched if you'd like to really fill up the pastry but keep in mind how it will bake up.

I tend to fold them into particular shapes in order to easily tell a potato mushroom from the chicken, my go to shapes are rectangular or triangle. If you make the 'pocket' design, seal the edges very well or they will open when cooking. 

Once, you've placed the filling and decided on a shape, use a fork to pinch down the sides. Do not worry if you puncture the dough, it will fill back up in baking. 

I lay them closely together on a baking sheet and freeze then over night.

Then once fully frozen I placed them in a freezer ziplock and save for later. 

To bake, spray a foiled baking sheet with some non stick spray or olive oil spray if desired. Pre-heat oven to 350. Place the bourekas on the sheet with at least 1.5'' spacing and bake. If takes about half an hour, you want them to be nicely golden brown on the bottom and a good gold on top. 

Serve and eat. 

To reheat leftovers, I suggest not covering or else it will get soggy and also not microwaving. 

Sharing

I was once asked why I'm always cooking for people and bringing food to work for others, I never knew the answer other than "I don't mind helping out." This answer from Rebbetzin Jungreis sums it up perfectly. I recently heard her speak and she is an incredible speaker, if you get a chance to hear her speak, I recommend you jump on it.  

Starting off the new year sweet... Chocolate Chip Stuffed Oreos

Happy new year to you all! Sorry I've been MIA on the blog for so long but sadly work, life and traveling to Italy (!!!) has taken over. So figured I should start off the new year right with a sweet treat that I made for a charity bake sale at my husband's office-- This chocolate chip stuffed oreo recipe that I snatched from Tablespoon.com was perfect.

Ingredients:

*Softened 2 sticks or 1 cup butter (highly recommend room temp, do NOT melt)

*Packed 3/4 cup light brown sugar 

*1 cup sugar 

*2 large eggs 

*1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

*3-1/2 cups flour 

*1 teaspoon salt 

*1 teaspoon baking soda 

*10 oz chocolate chips 

*1 package Oreo cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars, followed by eggs and vanilla (just like your standard chocolate chip cookie recipe). Slowly shift in the flour, salt and baking soda and then when combined well pop in the chocolate chips.

This is what the batter should look like... standard chocolate chip cookie batter

  On to the assembly! 
Take a tablespoon of the dough and plop it on top the of the oreo. 

I used peanut butter oreo cookies to have a mind blowing flavor effect

 Start to gently 'squish' the dough and mold it around the oreo. If you hear th oreo break, it's ok it's encased in the cookie. 

Finished product- a MASSIVE COOKIE

 Bake at 350 for 9 to 13 minutes... however, I go by the golden test. 

 Check the cookie of the cookie, if you start to see a lovely golden brown edge then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

At the end of the day, you've got a massive cookie with massive taste...

Interior shot....

Here's to a happy and 'healthy' new year! 

"Pita" chips

The Mr. and I were having friends over so I popped over to the local supermarket to pick up pita chips to go with my homemade olive tapanade (recipe to eventually post, pinky promise) and much to my surprise, it was $4 a bag. I don't know why this shocked but it did and I refused to buy them and make them myself instead! Innovation and cheapness go hand in hand, no?

I went to the local kosher market that makes their own Persian sangak bread. It's a heavenly, lightweight, airy and addictive bread. Since it doesn't store well and turns stale quickly I had to work fast.  

 Inside shot of the deliciousness

 The bread comes in this oblong shape, so I decided to quarter it the best I could and eat the sides that were funny shaped... alright, I just wanted to eat the ends.

 Then I started cutting the sections into triangular and rectangular shapes or whatever shape you want really. I just got into the zone while chopping them into triangles. 

Place them on a baking sheet - no need to spray or oil the pan

I made my own mixture of minced garlic and olive oil, I let it sit for a bit to really get infused. Though now a days, I make my own garlic infused olive oil but throwing some cloves into an olive oil bottle. 

With a pastry brush, brush down the pieces, I made sure to leave pieces of garlic on it for that extra bite to it. 

 Preheat the oven to 350 and place inside. (don't mind that stain, I was cooking all day and spilled something-it's clean now I promise)

Bake until it's at a desired crispiness. We like ours super crisp so we let them get nice and toasty. 

 And then proceed to stuff your face.  

This is a great trick and can be used with pita, challah and pretty much any other bread you've got laying around and you don't want to go bad. 

Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce (Baby got bok)

So we've been getting (a lot) of veggies from the farm share... and most times when the Mr. sends over the list I just sigh heavily because for weeks on end, we were getting baby bok choy. So I decided to dive in and made the only thing I could think of.... something with loads of garlic.

1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic (about 8 cloves)

2 pounds baby or Shanghai bok choy, halved lengthwise

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

Recipe taken from Epicurious


First off, wash your bok choy because those little suckers can be dirty. Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until cornstarch has dissolved

 The recipe called for a 'well seasoned wok' ... I got this at the bridal shower and never used it before so let's totally pretend it's well seasoned and not just taken out of the box.

Heat wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates instantly. Pour peanut oil (I used canola oil with no issue) down side of wok, then swirl oil, tilting wok to coat side.

Add garlic and stir-fry until pale golden, 5 to 10 seconds

Add half of bok choy and stir-fry until leaves wilt, about 2 minutes, then add remaining bok choy and stir-fry until all leaves are bright green and limp, 2 to 3 minutes total

Stir broth mixture, then pour into wok and stir-fry 15 seconds. Cover with lid and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes

Stir in sesame oil, then transfer to a serving dish

If you are cooking this ahead of time, be careful to reheat on a very low temperature so not to dry out the sauce. 

Sage Lemon Chicken

Patience is a virtue but it sucks if you forget to marinate from the night before. This recipe called for overnight or 6+ hour marinating, I apparently skipped that part when reading the recipe due to my 'gung ho-ness' on wanting to create this dish.

Ingredients:

8 whole garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest of 2 lemons (use a microplane)
Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
6 (8-ounce) bone-in chicken breasts, skin on




Place garlic in a food processor and process to a puree. Add olive oil, honey, kosher salt, and pepper, processing to combine. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and sage. Pulse a few times until sage is rough-cut.




Pour the marinade into a freezer zip-top bag. Add chicken breasts, seal, and toss to coat the pieces. Open the bag, squeeze out all the air so the chicken is covered, then seal again. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before grilling or baking. Discard the used marinade. *Since I didn't 6 hours, I opted for 1 hour with constant turning of the bag.





To Bake: Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and insert a baking rack. If you're keeping a kosher kitchen and only have dairy baking racks or just don't want to clean a grill after baking chicken on it... you may want to skip this part.







So I opted to pop the chicken on to a sprayed pan and I prayed for the best.


Bake chicken breasts for 40 to 45 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 170 in thickest part of the meat not touching bone. Crisp skin under broiler for a few minutes, if needed. Do not overcook or the chicken will be dry.




Recipe source-

http://homecooking.about.com/od/condimentrecipes/r/blcon116.htm?p=1


(Eventually, I'll get the hang of photographing my dishes!)