Chicken Fried Rice... Minus the Chinese Take Out.

Hubbers LOVES this recipe. Adores it. I try to make plenty for leftovers and that usually doesn't happen because he and my "brother in law" (Jeremy's best friend/brother, best man at our wedding) destroy it before the plates even hit the table.

You'll need:
1 can of carrots
1 can of peas
1 cup of rice
3 chicken breast
1 bottle of soy sauce
*eggs, scrambled
*green onion, diced
*zest of two oranges
*juice of two oranges

(**Means optional ingredients)

First things first, boil your rice. That's one cup rice, two cups water. Pour the rice and water in together, and bring it to a hard boil. Once it's boiling, cut the heat off, stir it, then put a lid on it. Let the steam work from there. This takes about 20 minutes. 

In the meantime, cook that chicken in the skillet. (I only used a few strips of chicken for a smaller amount. I like less chicken, you may add more.)

Next, combine all of your ingredients together. The peas should be drained as should the carrots. The chicken, once done, should be diced. Stir it all together so it looks like it does in the picture above. *If using optional ingredients, now is when you'd add the green onion, scrambled egg, and orange zest.*

Go ahead and heat up that skillet, wok, pan, what have you. I have an electric skillet that works wonders for this. 

Use max heat if using an electric skillet. 

It's not fried if there's no butter ya'll! Use about 2 tablespoons of butter to drop in that skillet. Paula Deen would use more, but we're not trying to lube up our arteries here. 

Throw that beautiful mess into the skillet once the butter has melted and sizzled. At this point we'll add the soy sauce, as much as you like (you won't use the whole bottle, hopefully. Taste it along the way. I like mine a little salty.) **If you're using the optional ingredients, add the orange juice here.

It's done when the excess juice and sauce have cooked into the rice. Enjoy this bit, kids, cause everyone is digging it!

Love as always, 

Courtney 

Time for Easy Eatin' : Taco Bites!

Taco Bites... these are a flippin' lifesaver. They are easy to make, can be made two different ways, and they're quick. You could use these for a party, for a get together at work, or when you've been working all day and you want something filling with a little indulgence. Besides... it's got the word "taco" in it so it has to be good.

Taco bites are so incredibly easy that you'll be adding this to your weekly or bi-weekly grocery menu. So check it out below, then make them, fry them or bake them, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1. Grands biscuits (use a pack with 10 biscuits inside. We used a flaky buttery biscuit, but this is your choice.Get them in the cold section of your grocery store.)
2. 1lb of hamburger meat
3. 1 packet of taco seasoning
4. 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. (just cheat and buy the shredded cheddar at the store. We don't have time to grate our own! 

Procedure:

Gather together your ingredients, then get to work on browning that hamburger meat.

Next, follow the directions for the taco seasoning packet of your choice. Mine called for a half a cup of water, the taco seasoning, then bring that to a boil, stir, and you're done. Set it off to the side and let it cool, because you're about to get your hands dirty!

Pop those biscuits open, butter up a cookie sheet, and plop them down! You want these nice and flat but not too thin.

Add the meat....

...a little cheese... or a ton, as in my household.

Then fold one edge over to meet the other, sealing in the meat in a delicious taco pocket. Now what's next is up to you. 

If you have a fryer, or if you are patient enough to fry these on the stove, go for it! They only need to fry for about five minutes, and turn them so they get a nice golden brown all over!

If you're more health conscious, try baking them for about 15 minutes at 350. 

Let them cool, then serve them up! We added a little salsa and sour cream to the mix since these are so good for dipping. (Yes, in my house we use that much sour cream, so I buy bulk.)

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is super easy, really fun, and absolutely delicious. Another way to add more bang is to add a little salsa in the browning process. YUM! 

Eat it up, Super Spouses!

Courtney