Mon 6/20/11: Fried Rice & Banana Nut Muffins

Today I decided to take dinner to a friend. I wanted to make something that would be easy to reheat and make plenty for everyone. I also had a lot of veggies in my fridge that could have gone bad if I didn't eat them.

I love buying veggies, but seeing on how I am the only one in my house who gets enthusiastic about them, sometimes more veggies than I want go to my chickens.

So I made fried rice. I got the recipe on I think the Food Network website sometime last spring. It is called Veggie and Bacon Fried Rice with Cress- probably something like that. I can't find it now... sorry Food Network. Your website is just too big.

First I made some rice. I think I made a cup and a half (dry). I set the timer becuase I ALWAYS forget the rice and overcook it or I check it too early and under cook it. Rice. At high altitude. Is not my friend.

So.While that was boiling...

I chopped up a whole mess of veggies- there was... hmmm.... a carrot, a quarter of a green cabbage, a couple mushrooms, a yellow bell pepper, like a quarter crown of cauliflower, a crown of broccoli. You know, whatever's in the veggie drawer looking like "eat me!" I put them in a bowl.

(Look! You can see my kitchen!)
I chopped up a few cloves of garlic and a knot of fresh ginger and put that to the side.
Then I chopped up about a quarter pound of bacon.
I don't have a wok, so I put that in my giant noodle boiling pot on high with about a tablespoon of oil.
I know, oil... with bacon?
I was following the recipe. And in the end I needed all the lubrication. Anyway the rice soaks it up. And I used center cut bacon that has less fat.
When that was all crisp, I added in a couple cups of leftover cooked chicken that I had and mixed it around.
Then per the recipe, I put in a couple tablespoons of soy sauce and a couple teaspoons of brown sugar.
(Well, the recipe didn't call for brown sugar, it called for regular sugar, but I like brown sugar in my Asian dishes. So there.)
Then I took the meat out and put them in another bowl, and left all the juices and oils in the pot (using a slotted spoon)
That's when I threw in the ginger & garlic. I was also supposed to put in some red chili flakes, but I couldn't find them at the moment, so I used a few small squirts of that spicy red chili sauce. Urgency in the kitchen!
When that was smelling yummy, I dumped in the big old bowl of veggies and stirred that around until they seemed crisp, yet cooked.
That is when I added in the pot of rice (which you thought I forgot about, didn't you). And doused the whole thing in soy sauce again. I also added in a half a cup of broth made with water and Better Than Bullion (LOVE that stuff).
What else? Anything? No. I guess not.
WAIT! It is called Fried rice with CRESS, right?
I took the cress out of the fridge, washed it, chopped it and mixed it in. No cooking required. I also had some basil in there left from a different recipe, so I added that in too.
What is basil NOT good with?
I mean, seriously?
Here's our dinner:

And goodness, there was enough to feed like 8 people. Easy.
That is a close up of the rice dish. HERE's our dinner:

Note, Willy's home brewed porter! (First batch after Audry was born- ready just this week! <The ice is because we need to get a kegerator>)
Note the banana nut muffins with cream cheese frosting.
Taking dinner to a friend was the perfect excuse to make cream cheese frosting. And what better to put it on than banana nut muffins? Anyway, I had some browning bananas in my fruit basket and the hens gave me just enough eggs.
For your viewing pleasure, a close up:

I'm not going to put the recipe here. But man. That frosting. I had to make only a half batch so that there was just exactly enough for the muffins. Because I would eat the rest myself with a spoon.
I could take a bath in that frosting.
That is what heaven will taste like, I am sure of it.
And speaking of heaven, here is the view out our window at dinner:

Gorgeous ending to a rather not so awesome day.

The Recipe:
1 & 1/2 cups of rice- dry- cooked makes like 3 cups of rice I think?
Cook & set to the side.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 lb center cut bacon
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
Cook bacon in the oil on high. Add the chicken. Sprinkle with sugar & soy sauce (will bubble up). Remove meat, leave juices.

1 lg knot of fresh ginger, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
a few squirts of red chili sauce
Put that in the oil until fragrant (30 seconds or so)
Lots of chopped up veggies- carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, mushroom, bell peppers, peas and/or onion would be good (it was really only supposed to have broccoli)
Add that in the pot and stir.

Stir in the cooked rice.
Stir in the cooked meat.
Add 2 tbsp soy sauce.
Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth.
Remove from heat.

Stir in 1 bunch of chopped cress.
Stir in 1 bunch of chopped basil.
It would also be good to stir in 4 eggs that had been scrambled, but I used all my eggs making banana nut muffins.

Enjoy!
Makes enough for a small army.