Easy Like Sunday Morning

Today was a typical Sunday. I slept in rather late and when Greg came in the bedroom to wake me up I said oh so cheerfully, "I'm not getting up today. At all." After waking up at 5:15 every weekday morning, the last thing I wanted to do was drag my body out of bed this morning. But, Rylee and Camden jumped in bed and nuzzled my face and barked until I finally pulled myself up.

Rylee

Camden

Today was grocery shopping day so the routine began shortly after waking up. I spent the first year that Greg and I were living together rebelling against his structure and planning. But I have finally given in, reluctantly. I still like spontaneity, but I've realized that things really do work much better when you plan ahead. I'm still not as much of a saver, planner, and scheduler, but I'm getting there.


So nowadays, I first look in the freezer and cupboards to see what leftover ingredients we have from the week before. If we haven't used  all of them, I try to incorporate those into a meal the following week. Then I look through all of my cookbooks to find a recipe that uses anything  that we already have.

After I pick out the recipes, I make a list. This week I'm making:

Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice- Sunday
Thai Beef Basil- Monday
Fettuccine Bolognese- Tuesday
Chicken Cacciatore- Wednesday
Creamy Chicken with Mushrooms- Thursday
Meatballs, Cheese Dip and Chips (and pizza delivery) -Friday ( fantasy football draft...)

Our List

This week we went to Whole Foods to get some organic ingredients.

Milk

For my Bolognese Sauce. 

For my Beef Basil

Have you tried grass-fed beef? I think it's more tender. Maybe it's just in my head, but I think organic, free-range, and/or grass-fed meat tastes better too. Do you agree?

For Me.

 Have you bought sun chips in this compostable bag? The bad is so loud. No sneaking chips in this house!

Some of the produce From Whole Foods.

Bring a bag, save .05 cents

After shopping, Greg and I went to play golf with some of my Glen Burnie High friends,  John and Judd. It was a lot of fun, but by the end we were tired and HUNGRY!

Camden doesn't want us to leave her to play golf!

Luckily, fried rice is quick to whip up when you have pre-made rice in the fridge. I'm catching on to this whole planing-ahead thing.

I love my wok and my new wooden stir-fry utensils from Greg's parents. 

I added pineapple, which adds the best flavor kick to salty fried rice. Isn't sweet and salty the best combination?

The recipe:

(Actually, it's not a real recipe, just a conglomeration of recipes that I've used over the past 3 years that have stuck in my head.)

• About 3 cups of pre-made rice that's been refrigerated for at least a day. 
• A wok on med-high heat with high temp. cooking oil. Wait for the wok to get hot.
• Whisk two eggs with about a teaspoon of soy sauce in a small bowl. 
• Add to wok and scramble. Then remove from wok and set aside.
• Add more oil if needed as well as chopped onion and garlic. I put about a teaspoon of minced garlic and however much onion I have around. Maybe about 1/2 a medium onion. 
• Then add the chicken and saute until it is cooked on all sides. 
• Then add defrosted frozen peas and pineapple, if desired. Saute.
•   Then add cold rice. Saute on medium/high until it is hot and then add soy sauce over everything. It will sizzle delightfully. : )
• Then, I add the chopped green onion and eggs as well as bean sprouts, or any other fun stuff you want to put in for the last 2-3 minutes. 
• Taste it and add more soy sauce if needed. (Not too much. It can get overbearing.)

I hope you can use this REALLY easy and quick dinner idea. I use this for leftover meat from the week. Just cook some extra rice next time you make it and put it in the fridge until you want to use it again. Even if you only have veggies left, all you really need is rice, soy sauce, and a pan to make fried rice. You can add pretty much anything that can be stir-fried. If you want real recipes, they are all over the Internet, as well as in many cookbooks.

Well, the weekend is over, back to the grind tomorrow. I hope you all have a great week and eat well! Thanks for reading my thoughts about food!