"Use What You Have" Super-Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Yummy Fried Rice

This recipe is so good and so easy. It's also a good way to use up veggies or meat that are about to go out of date. It is super versatile, this could easily be shrimp, beef or vegetable fried rice and you can use anything you like =)

You need:

Brown rice (I use Success Boil-In-Bag)
1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
Veggies! (I used carrots, frozen shelled soybeans, frozen green beans and onions)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon Spike seasoning
3 tablespoons soy sauce (or more if desired)
1 egg
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Boil water and begin cooking rice.

Coat large skillet with olive oil and set on medium heat.

Place chicken and minced garlic in skillet and season with salt, pepper and Spike seasoning. Sauté until fully cooked.

After chicken is fully cooked, put all veggies (1 1/2-2 cups worth) into skillet and set steam for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

When rice has finished cooking, transfer into skillet and incorporate with vegetables and chicken. Turn burner up to medium high heat.

Make a hole in the center of the rice, chicken and vegetable mix large enough for an egg.

Crack egg into hole and immediately begin stirring vigorously (should look like scrambled eggs).

As egg begins to cook but is not solid, mix with the rice, chicken and vegetable mixture. Stir until egg coats the rice and is fully cooked.

Add soy sauce and stir to coat.

Add salt, pepper and additional Spike seasoning to taste.

Enjoy!

Busy Bee

Well, I just got back from taking my exam. I was the first one done, and even though I am a quick test-taker, it makes me nervous! Makes me feel like I missed something. But, considering the topic of the test, I really should reevaluate that AT =)

I have only a little while before I need to start getting ready for my first practicum interview. I'm heading to Tara Treatment Center, an inpatient, residential substance abuse treatment center. I really like the site. I hope the interview goes well. But, to be honest, my biggest worry is how my hair is going to look because of this rain! This morning the coordinator called me and wanted to bump my interview up a couple hours. This turns out to be a good thing- more time this evening to study after.

I have a lot on my plate the next 4-5 days. I have a neurobiology exam on Tuesday that is going to require A LOT of studying. I am not even close to prepared so I'm kinda freaking out about it. Plus, before the exam I have to administer an intelligence test, write an article critique, volunteer at a battered women's shelter and do a long interview in Bloomington! I don't know how I'm going to get it done, but somehow I always do.

My plan is to wake up early tomorrow and work out then study until my study session. Tomorrow (hopefully) will be a day of progress and will set the tone for the weekend. I fear that if I don't make a lot of headway studying tomorrow I will be super-duper stressed for the rest of the weekend. So here's hoping everything goes according to plan!

~ Shout out to the boyfriend for being so supportive and giving me space and support to study. He's the best cheerleader and really helps me stay calm.

Morning Muffins

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins =)

Here is my recipe for whole wheat blueberry muffins. They are very dense and make a great breakfast on the go. They are easily frozen and reheated.

You need:

2 egg whites

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup honey

1/8 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups blueberries (I used frozen-thawed but fresh would be better!)

1 tablespoon cinnamon plus a bit extra for sprinkling

Turbinado sugar (or regular white sugar) for sprinkling

Optional: 1/2 cup nuts and or oatmeal

(makes 12 large muffins)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease muffin pan or line with muffin cups.

Combine all ingredients (except blueberries and Turbinado sugar) and stir until mixture is moist- may be lumpy and that's ok! Don't overmix.

Add rinsed-dry blueberries and fold gently until incorporated. 

Spoon batter into muffin tin (fill each about halfway).

Sprinkle cinnamon and a pinch of Turbinado sugar on top of each muffin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

~Enjoy~

This recipe is also very easy to adapt. Try chocolate chips, other fruits, nuts etc. 

To freeze, store in gallon size ziploc bag. To thaw, place in microwave wrapped in paper towel and defrost in 30 second increments until warm throughout.

Berry Yummy Dessert

Yummmmmmmmy! And it won't make you feel too guilty =)

Last night I made a yummy and healthy dessert. Here's how you can enjoy it too!

You need:

Angel food cake (I used a loaf, but a bundt style would be fine)
1 cup fresh mixed berries (I used blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)
Low fat vanilla frozen yogurt
2 tablespoons of honey
1/8 cup white sugar
1/4 cup red wine (I used pinot noir)
Whipped cream

(makes 2 servings)

Slice angle food cake into 1/2 inch slices. One slice per serving.
Combine berries, honey, sugar and wine in sauce pan and heat on high for 3-5 minutes. Stir throughout.
Allow sauce to bubble for about 1 minute. Then, remove pan from heat and let sit 2-3 minutes.
Place one scoop of frozen yogurt on top of angel food cake.
Spoon sauce and berries on top of yogurt and cake.
Top with whipped cream.

For a twist on this use other berries, a different wine or juice, flavors of yogurt or ice cream or flavor your whipped cream with extracts or liqueurs.

P.S. I didn't tell Kris that I used frozen yogurt and he couldn't tell the difference and still loved it! I guess he knows now though he he ;-)

Trivia Masters

Last night Kris, Adam and I went to Big Daddy's on the south-side to play a little trivia and drink some beers. Turns out, we are excellent at trivia and WON! We won a $25 gift certificate to use later at the bar. It was a great time and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It's a bit different from some trivia games you may have seen- it's not electronic. But, a rather portly fellow reads the questions and you have to write them down and select point values for your answers based on your confidence in the answer. There's a bit more strategy this way I think. So, pencil it in every week: Big Daddy's (2536 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46225), 8pm-10pm every Friday. 

Themes

What's going on with me:

I really want a puppy and am trying to figure out if that's a good idea with my lifestyle.

Trying to eat better- some new rules to live by in my life are: no unpronounceable ingredients, no HFCS, whole grain foods when possible, less soda, more fruits and veggies.

Trying to get back into shape. I've been really bad at working out since grad school began, so I recently rejoined a gym and am trying to be consistent with my workouts. Ideally, I would like to have a weekly routine that I can stick to.

Trying to keep up with politics in the midst of school. Keeping an eye on My Man Mitch.

Trying to be less of a control freak while still standing up for myself.

I'm sure a lot of this blog will be about food- new recipes, great things I've eaten etc.

Sounds like I'm doing a lot of "trying"-- that's because I am!

First Post

Hi Everyone!

This is my first post. I've never done this before, but I'm going to try and use this space as a journal, means of generating conversation and a way of sharing of things that I discover and enjoy. Hope you enjoy it. Please subscribe and please comment!

C