Things that get in the way of menu planning.....

Well this week has been interesting.....I did not get to shop on Saturday @ all,  I have 2 very sick little ones. My oldest got sick early in the week and seems to be in recovery fully, however the littlest ones caught it from him.  First our baby and then his next oldest sister.  ( His oldest sister has been spared so far since she was @ Grandma's for a week) 

Joeleah however and Peter are running very very high fevers, and coughing and Joeleah seems unable to keep anything other than Mama's milk down @ all.  This means no shopping for the time being.  Karl ran to the store, but came back with .....bacon, white bread and premade lasgna ( actually very helpful)

I seem to now be officially fighting it since I can hardly breathe....will see what I can prepare with what is in the house, will keep you posted.

Plantain Perfection

Ever wonder what in the world you are supposed to do with Plantains?  You know those things that look like very big bananas and cost a bit more?

Well here is a very very simple, but also very very good recipe!


2 Plantains

3 tblspns butter

Cinnamon to taste



Heat a skillet ( I prefer cast iron) on a med heat.  while it is heating, cut up the plantains into slightly angled    slices ( so that they are oval shaped) . Add butter to heated skillet, add cinnamon, sprinkling over plantains.  Put plantains into skillet and cook over med heat until cooked through.  Serve warm.

Very good and very easy!

(Matsunaga) Family Fried Rice

Do you ever have left overs, or trouble getting your kids to eat veggies?  If you answered yes to either one, or just want a great easy to please dish that works at least in an Asian household ( and I don't see why not any other one) as your choice of a breakfast, lunch or dinner, main dish, side dish or snack...then THIS is the recipe for you.

I have made this for over 23 years, it is never quite the same two times and it just keeps getting better, I will save you 23 years of improving and just take you to where we are now....

Family Fried Rice-

Ingredients-

1-2 Table spoons of bacon drippings
1 onion chopped
3 large broccoli stems chopped ( no florets)
2-3 carrots cut into tiny cubes or into coins or matchsticks- ( your choose)
2 small or 1 med zucchini cut into small pieces-half or 1/4 coins or cubes or matchsticks
1/2-1 cup frozen peas
1 small yellow squash cut same as zucchini
1/4 of a small red/purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper
Sea salt to taste, a small amount
Bragg's liquid aminos or Chinese soy sauce - again a small amount, start with a teaspoon or less
Long grain cooked brown rice between 2-3 cups
Your choice of meats already cooked and cubed unless it's small shrimp
2-3 eggs
butter or olive oil for cooking eggs
fresh pepper

To Make-

Start the night before you will make this by soaking 1.5-2 cups of brown long grain rice in 1 and a half times as much purified water. 

The next day pour water into rice cooker ( or if you don't have one drive to the nearest grocery store and purchase a cheap one, unless of course you are Asian and eat rice for pretty much breakfast, lunch and dinner in that case buy one that is a couple hundred dollars at least, but if this is the case you already HAVE one, there are also brown rice cookers that make it so you do not need to soak your brown rice prior to cooking to get good results, I just have not splurged yet!)  Cook the rice until done, then mix it up to finish with it's steaming and unplug the cooker and allow to cool, better yet if you have time, put it in the fridge so it is all the way cooled.

Then when you are ready to make the rest of the dish....go to your fridge, find any and all left over meat, ( steak, pork chops, chicken, shrimp, turkey, even hot dogs or lunch meat will do, but don't let the "authentic ethinic food police" find out.....) Chop this meat into small cubes.  If you do not have any left overs you can cook some up, but half the purpose of this dish is to use the left overs so....I think you should make it when you have them, it is part of what makes the recipe good too since you get the flavors of how ever you made the meat before in it, and the mix of several meats. The one I made last week had chicken, steak, porkchop and bacon in it.

Once you have cut these up, set them aside and cut up your veggies, just open your fridge and see what you have, if you have preplanned you can have any or all of the veggies I listed in the recipe, but if not use what you have.  The amounts do not have to exact.  When you are almost done chopping, heat a cast iron skillet up with either the bacon drippings or instead for better health use the same amount of olive or safflower oil with a bit of old hickory smoke salt, or just sea salt.  Then add the chopped veggies and pan fry until tender, start with the harder to cook up veggies like the carrots and broccoli stems and add things like peas that cook fast at the end.  While you are doing that also heat up your omlet pan and cook up your eggs after scrambling them in a dish flat on a preheated pre oiled/buttered pan.  When both are done add meat to veggies and cut up eggs and add them too. 

Last but not least add the rice and mix everything up.

Then when it is all mixed up and coated taste, add the braggs or soy sauce and sea salt very very slowly as needed.  Hint asian dishes only use soy sauce as a tiny bit of seasoning, not as a main flavoring....if in doubt skip it!  Top with a little fresh ground pepper, again taste as you go.

I love this dish because it helps my daughter who will hardly touch veggies eat them and it uses left overs and it is WAY more veggies than rice....


Other possible ingredients--

Scallops
green peppers
green onions
green cabbage
leeks
shallots
spinach stems
califlower
sausage

Ingredients are really only limited by your imagination and common sense and good taste...have fun and let me know how you like it!  I never make it exactly the same twice...no reason you should either!

P.S. Lee this is for you, I know you miss this dish lots....now you can make it and eat it for a week!