Thai Fried Rice

I've been making Thai Fried Rice for a while. I had a Thai friend tell me how to make it once a long time ago - throw in some of this and some of that and Voila! I never really had a recipe, but it always comes out really good. I was thumbing through my Thai cookbook, Thai Food and Cooking - one that I hardly open, though I don't know why - and, to my surprise, actually found a recipe. Its almost exactly the same way I used to make it.

Making fried rice is really easy. I decided to make some for dinner tonight because I didn't want to really slave over the stove and wanted to make something quick. What's really great about this recipe is that you can practically use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Just make sure you have the basic seasonings - fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar. My daughter loved this because it had rice and egg, her favorite combination. This was a whole meal in itself, so hubby and I were quite satisfied with this simple dinner.

3 Tbsp. oil

1 small onion, sliced

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

4 oz chicken (or pork, beef, or shrimp) cut into small cubes

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups cooked rice

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. suar

4 green onions, finely sliced (for garnish)

sliced limes (for garnish)

sliced cucumbers (for garnish)

1) Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes until softened.

2) Add meat and stir fry until met is cooked through. Add eggs and cook until scrambled into small lumps.

3) Add rice and continue to stir and toss to coat with oil and prevent it from sticking together. Add fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Mix well and cook until rice is thoroughly heated.

4) Place rice in a serving platter and garnish with green onions, cucumbers and sliced limes.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I've been wanting to make a strawberry cheesecake ice cream for a long time. I tried making one before, and I believe it was a Tyler Florence recipe using eggs. I mistakenly added the cheesecake chunks during the churning process and it was a disaster. So I vowed never to make ice cream with eggs and learned that I should add the mix-ins after the churning. I always like searching for ice cream recipes that didn't require eggs and so I found this recipe in one of my favorite blogs, Sing for your supper.

Strawberry season is in full swing, so I've been crazy with strawberries lately and decided to try to make this. I've doctored the recipe a little bit and used heavy cream instead of half & half because its all I had. I also added cheesecake cubes in the mixture to give it an extra surprise. I just love the extra bite of cheesecake in the ice cream. This came out super rich and yummy. A definite make-again recipe.

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cut into small cubes

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

strawberry sauce (I used my homemade Strawberry Jam)

prepared frozen cheesecake, cut into small cubes

1) Place all ingredients, except strawberry sauce and frozen cheesecake, in blender. Puree until smooth. Refrigerate mixture for about an hour.

2) Place chilled mixture in ice cream maker container and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

3) Remove container from ice cream machine. Fold in desired amount of cheesecake cubes in the ice cream mixture. Once folded in, place half of the ice cream mixture in a container. Drizzle strawberry sauce on top. Repeat layers. Swirl a knife into mixture to create a marble effect. Freeze for 3-4 hours before serving.

Cheesecake-stuffed Strawberries

I first saw these awesome little desserts on the Food Network a while ago. Strawberries are in season right now, and I found some really nice looking ones at the local Farmer's Market, so I thought to try to replicate them and got the idea from Tiny Tyrant's Kitchen. These were super easy to make and delicious. This is not one to pass up. You can use prepared cheesecake, but I made some from the Jell-O no bake Cheesecake mix because it was easier to stuff in the berries.

1 lb. fresh strawberries

prepared cheesecake or Jell-O no bake Cheesecake mix

crushed Graham Crackers

1) Remove stem of strawberries and hollow out the berry from the top to its center (I used a melon baller). Set aside.

2) If using prepared cheesecake, scoop out cheesecake filling and stuff in the berries.

If using the Jell-O mix, prepare the filling according to the package. Once the filling has thickened, place filling in a piping bag or ziploc bag with the tip cut out. Pipe into the berries.

3) Roll the top of the berries with the filling on the crushed graham crackers and place on a platter. Chill for 1-2 hours to harden the filling.

Salsa Verde Sour Cream Enchiladas

My daughter and I are house/dog sitting for my parents for the next 4 days because they're in Hawaii with my siblings. Hubby drops us off at their house in the morning before he goes to work, and then comes back for us after work. We have dinner, then we head home. Although I used to live in this house, its just feels weird cooking outside of my own kitchen. I don't know where everything is kept anymore.

Today's dinner was planned last night. Meaning I packed my own ingredients to make at my parents house. I found this recipe from another blog I visit, Sing for your supper. This dish was really yummy. Hubby says its restaurant quality. It was pretty easy to make. I used store-bought rotisserie chicken to eliminate the cooking process of the chicken. I also omitted the Jalapeno that it calls for because I didn't want it to be too spicy for my daughter. This is another great make-ahead-meal.

4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or use store-bought rotisserie chicken)

2 Tbsp. butter

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 Jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups sour cream

16 oz jar Medium Salsa Verde

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper (I used black pepper, its all I have)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

10-12 flour tortillas, small fajita size

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute onions (and Jalapenos if using) until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour and let cook 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth and let cook until bubbly.

2) Stir in sour cream, salsa, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cilantro until sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.

3) Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the pan. Place chicken and cheese on center of each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in the dish. Pour sauce over the enchiladas. Top with leftover cheese and bake for 25 minutes or until top is brown and bubbling.

Summer Corn Dip

I found this recipe at one of the blogs I visited and thought to make it today. I still had a few ears of corn leftover from last week, so I thought it would be perfect to use on this. The original recipe called for canned Mexi-corn, which I obviously substituted. It came out quite good and hubby was addicted. He says I'm not much help to his diet. I say, everything is okay in moderation.

1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup red and green bell peppers, finely diced

Mix together all ingredients until well incorporated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting

Its my brother's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRO! I decided to make a cake for his birthday instead of buying one to give me an excuse to try out this recipe I found. As far as I can remember, my brother always loved having chocolate cake for his birthday. My mom used to make chocolate cake (without frosting) from scratch and her potato salad for his birthday. She hasn't done that in a while. So I thought now would be a good time to bring back that tradition, minus the potato salad. The chocolate cake recipe is from Hershey's. We're taking him out to dinner tonight, so we'll probably be cutting this cake before we go out to dinner. Hope he likes it :)

Update: The cake came out really moist and flavorful. I got a thumbs up from the birthday boy. Which is a big deal, because he's very picky with his food. So I'll definitely be making this one again.

For the Cake

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans.

2) In a bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium for about 2 minutes. Pour in boiling water and continue to mix until well incorporated. Batter will be thin. Evenly distribute batter between the two prepared pans.

3) Bake for 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Start checking cakes around 25 minutes as oven temperatures may vary.

4) Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then run knife around the edges and gently remove from pans. Place on wire racks to cool completely.

For the frosting

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese at room temperature

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) at room temperature

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Mixture will be thick like wet sand at first, but will eventually turn fluffy.

2) To frost cake, place first layer on your serving platter and frost top, leaving about an inch border. Place the second layer on top (bottom-side up) and frost the top and sides.

Disneyland & California Adventure

Since hubby is out of school, we decided to make another trip to Disneyland to commemorate the end of his first year in his program. Also, its the weekend of my brother's birthday. So what better way to celebrate than to go to the Happiest Place on Earth.

We started our day early. Early, as in as-soon-as-it-opened early. We were able to go on rides that my daughter wasn't able to ride on the trip we made last December. We were also able to get on rides that we had already taken her to. Unfortunately, some of the rides she liked before scared her now. So she didn't enjoy much of the rides. But she did enjoy meeting more Disney characters on this trip.

We made it a point this time to visit Critter country and see Winnie the Pooh. We were lucky enough to see Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. After the photo-ops, we ventured to the sweets shop there and bought some goodies.

After going to a few more rides, we headed back to the hotel to give my daughter a nap and re-energize. We then headed to California Adventure for a lunch date with Ariel and the other Princesses at Ariel's grotto. It had been a while since hubby and I had lunch here.

After meeting with Ariel as we entered the dining area, we were given an appetizer tower, consisting of fruits, cured meats, cheeses, salad, and bread.

For my main course, I had the redfish

My daughter had her usual Macaroni & Cheese

And finally, we were served with an array of desserts on a platter

The main course and appetizers served were "okay." Nothing to write home about. The desserts are always delicious. But I guess you pay for the ambience and experience of meeting with the princesses.

The following day, we decided to have breakfast again at Goofy's kitchen for some Mickey waffles.

This time, we were able to meet Jasmine and Alladin during our breakfast. I think we'll be making this a tradition every year. I hope so. Because its always fun to visit the Happiest Place on Earth and to have breakfast with some of the Disney characters.

Happy 1st Blogeversary to me

I can't believe its already been a year since I first started this blog. The original intent of me starting this blog was to keep track of my recipes. But its now evolved into so many things - from my love of cooking and trying out and creating new recipes, to adventures in eating different foods, to my newfound love of food photography. I never knew how much I've taken for granted the beauty you find in food. Food is not merely something you smell, taste and eat, but also to see.

I can also say that hubby, daughter, a few of my family members and co-workers have enjoyed these adventures with me. Whenever I make something new, I split the final product between hubby/daughter, my family, and then co-workers. Its been quite rewarding watching them eat my dishes and watching the expression on their faces as they enjoy the food. My toughest critic really is my daughter, as she is quite picky with her food. Many of my recipes revolve around her and its a challenge to figure out if its something she'll eat. For the most part, however, she's been able to eat the food I make.

To commemorate my blogeversary (aka anniversary), I've listed a few of my favorite recipes and culinary adventures this past year. I hope those of you who do read my blog have enjoyed these adventures as much as I have and thank you for taking part in this blog.

Korean BBQ Short Rib
Crockpot Korean BBQ-style soup
Stuffed Burger
Crockpot Ropa Vieja
Albondigas
Hot Cocoa
Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
Pumpkin Cake roll
"The Elvis"
Gooey Chocolate Brownie cookies
Red Velvet Cake bon-bons
Watermelon Sherbet
Tiramisu
Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies
Cake Batter ice cream
Peach Cobbler
Monkey Munch
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla soup
Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo with Andoullie sausage
Cioppino
Chicken Tikka Masala
Vegetarian Samosas
Crockpot Chile Verde
Basil Pesto Pasta
Pasta Bolognese
Argentinian Chimichurri sauce
Creamed Corn
California Club pizza