Kimchi Fried Rice

A fried rice made with leftover rice and kimchi.  A popular recipe in Hawaii and a great comfort food.

Hawaii is known for diversity.  So many cultures and cuisines come together and make one big 'ohana (family).  This makes for spectacular food.  Kimchi fried rice is just one of those foods that make Hawaii great.

HI's diversity makes great food #KimchiFriedRice  [Tweet this]

Kimchi is a Korean side dish made from fermented cabbage and hot chili paste (among other ingredients).  Adding it to fried rice makes a delicious, simple, and inexpensive meal.  This may not have originated in Hawaii, but it's a common menu item at many restaurants.  Of course, I had to try my hand at making it.  It turned out great.  It was spicy, tangy, bacony, nutty, and I added spinach for  little more nutrition.  This will be a common menu item in my home.  Some day I even want to try making my own kimchi.

#Kimchi FriedRice is an #inexpensivemeal  [Tweet this]

Kimchi fried rice can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or meal.  I think it makes a great lunch or snack while drinking beer and watching football (or any event--and you don't have to drink beer to enjoy it).

Kimchi #FriedRice is a great #Gamedaysnack  [Tweet this]

Kimchi Fried Rice

Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

2-3 cups leftover rice
dash sesame oil
dash rice vinegar
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 lb bacon chopped
1-2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1/2 large onion, chopped
2-3 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed
12oz jar of hot kimchi, drained & rough chop
1 cups chopped green onions, divided

KimchiFriedRice is a great use for #leftoverrice  [Tweet this]

I think fried rice always works best with leftover rice that has been refrigerated for a day or two.

Remove leftover rice from the fridge.  Add it to a large bowl with sesame oil, vinegar, and soy sauce.  Stir well breaking up any clumps and mixing well.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon, over medium heat, until it becomes crisp.  Pour off most of the grease (leaving some adds to the overall flavor of the dish) and add the oil.  Bring up the heat to about medium-high.

Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the onions and stir-fry until just softened.

Then add the spinach and kimchi.  Stir fry until just heated and add the rice mixture.  Continue stir-frying until the rice is heated through and fried to your liking. (I don't know what I did this time...maybe used plenty of oil, --closer to 2 Tbsp than 1, maybe a little more-- but the rice did not stick to my pan)

Turn off the heat and stir in about half of the chopped green onions.

Serve warm garnished with more green onions.  Sriracha can be added if you would like a little more heat.

Enjoy.

For more leftover rice recipes check out:

Spicy Vegetable Fried Rice

Coconut Rice Pudding

Pork Fried Rice

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Spicy Edamame

Young soybeans, in the pod, sauteed in ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sriracha.  A spicy, salty, and nutritious snack.

This is my new favorite game day snack.  I love having salty and spicy snacks/munchies when I'm drinking (alcohol) and I do a bit of that while watching my favorite teams play.  Even when not drinking these beans are a great snack.  The recipe is very customizable to your individual tastes add more or less of any ingredient as you prefer.  Use any hot sauce, minced chilis, or none at all.  It always turns out great. Spicy Edamame also makes an excellent side dish.

Spicy Edamame is my new favorite #gamedaysnack  [Tweet this]

If you've never eaten soybeans like these you should definitely give them a try.  You only eat the beans inside the pods (the pods are tough).  So what you do is put the whole pod in your mouth and kind of suck/squeeze the beans out of the pod.  The beans are tender and buttery and you suck the spicy salty oil off the pod with the beans.  Just 1/2 of a cup is considered a serving but I've been known to eat it all by myself.

You gotta try this Spicy #Edamame #snack  [Tweet this]

Best of all, this is a nutritious snack.  There are 5 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein in just 1/2 a cup.  As well as many other health benefits of soybeans, ginger, and garlic (they are all on The World's Healthiest Foods site click to check them out).

Spicy Edamame is a #healthysnack  [Tweet this]

Spicy Edamame

Servings:  2-4
Cook time:  about 10 minutes

2 cups frozen edamame (in pods)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1-2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sriracha

Boil the edamame, in enough water to cover them, for 5-8 minutes then drain.

While the edamame is boiling, simmer the garlic, and ginger in the oil over low heat.  Then add the drained edamame stirring and tossing to coat with the oil mixture.

Pour in the soy sauce and sriracha and turn up the heat so that the liquid boils off while mixing to coat well.

Turn off the heat and remove edamame to serving dish (with an empty trash bowl on the side).

To eat you just suck the tender beans out of the spicy coated pods (make sure you suck all that spice and oil off the pods and don't forget to lick your fingers too--it's so good) and discard the pod.

Enjoy.

For more healthy snacks check out:

Hummus           -

Cucumber Bites      -

Sun-dried Tomato Spread

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Show off, Best of the Weekend, 2 Cup, Lou Lou Girls, TicklemyTastebuds, Wake Up, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends

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Best of the Month September 2015

A recap of my most popular posts from last month (September 2015).

Last month's #bestrecipes #BestoftheMonth Sept2015  [Tweet this]

First let's look back at September's best from previous years.

Best of September 2013:

Bacon Wrapped French Toast

Sweet french toast sticks wrapped in crunchy, salty bacon.  A great handheld breakfast.  Now has 1925 views. 35 +1s, and 8 'yum's.  This is one of my most popular posts and I use it in many round-ups (like 8 Game Day Recipes, Bacon Day Round Up, and 30 Recipes for Super Bowl).

#BaconWrapped FrenchToast: #BestoftheMonth Sept2013  [Tweet this]

Best of September 2014:

Cucumber Bites

Crisp, fresh, cucumber slices on baguette spread with cheese.  Now has 586 views, 34 +1, and 46 'yum's.

#Cucumber Bites:  #BestoftheMonth Sept2014  [Tweet this]

Now back to this year's best of September:

Spicy 3 Beans and Rice

A spicy, one-pot, one-dish, vegetarian meal of beans and rice made with 3 different types of beans.  565 views and 86 +1s.  This recipe was popular on Tumblr and re-blogged about 7 times with many likes.  It was also 'Yum'ed 19 times.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: Spicy 3 #BeansandRice  [Tweet this]

8 Game Day Recipes

A round-up of my favorite gameday recipes.  From drinks to breakfasts snacks and meals there is something for everyone.  505 views and 62 +1s.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: 8 #GameDayRecipes  [Tweet this]

Beer Cheese Nacho Sauce

A spicy cheese sauce made with beer.  Great as a dip, on nachos, tacos, or veggies.  485 views, 38 +1s, and 9 'yum's.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: #BeerCheese NachoSauce  [Tweet this]

How to Roast Garlic

A simple tutorial on how to roast garlic.  A repost of my original from February of 2013.  416 views, 83 +1s, and 1 'yum'.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: #Howto RoastGarlic  [Tweet this]

Cucumber and Tomato Dill Salad with Smoked Salmon & Feta

A light and fresh salad with cucumbers and tomatoes tossed in a lemon-dill vinaigrette then topped with smoked salmon and feta.  341 views, 51 +1s, and 4 'yum's.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: CucumberandTomatoDill #Salad  [Tweet this]

My best of the month September from previous years:

Best of the Month September 2014

Best of the Month September 2013

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Crispy Pizza Sticks

Crispy cheesy bread sticks with garlic and salami dipped in marinara sauce.  A great finger food for gameday or a snack any day.

I came up with this recipe on the fly when I was home alone so it only makes one serving...maybe two if you aren't too hungry.  I had one pizza dough leftover from making Spinach Artichoke Pizzas (I'll post about it soon) and wanted an easy, crunchy snack.  Have I mentioned that crunchy/crispy is my favorite (food) texture? Does anyone else have a favorite texture or am I just weird like that?  Anyway, I made these pizza sticks crunchy by baking the crust twice.

Do you have a favorite food texture? Mine's crunchy  [Tweet this]

I prefer to bake most things in my toaster oven and love that it's big enough to fit a frozen pizza.  When you bake frozen pizzas it always says to bake it directly on the rack for a crispier crust.  You can't bake dough directly on the rack though so I spread the dough on a baking sheet and baked it until it was light golden brown and sturdy enough to re-bake (with toppings) directly on the rack.  This worked great for a crispy crunchy pizza snack. And if you don't care if the crust is crispy just bake it all only once in the pan.

Crispy Pizza Sticks are perfect #snack for the #toasteroven  [Tweet this]

Crispy Pizza Sticks

Cook time:  20 minutes
Servings:  1-2 (use more dough and a bigger pan to serve more people)

Ingredients:

200g pizza dough, at room temperature (store-bought or your favorite recipe)
Butter
Garlic powder
Mozzarella
Salami (optional)
Easy Marinara Sauce

Spread pizza dough into an 8-inch pizza pan (I used an 8x8 inch square baking sheet which is close enough).  The dough should be about 1/4 inch thin.

Bake the dough (I used my toaster oven) at 450 for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  If you have a pizza stone you can skip these first two steps, proceed with the rest of the instructions, and bake the pizza directly on the stone...or if you don't care if the crust is crispy, just skip this first bake, top the dough as below, and bake in the pan.

Allow the baked dough (crust) to cool slightly and remove from pan (you can even do this ahead of time and freeze the pizza crust for later use--just thaw before continuing).

Spread the crust all over with butter, sprinkle on garlic powder (garlic butter made with roasted garlic would be even better if you have it), and as much cheese as you like.  Then top with salami.

Place the crust back in the oven, directly on the rack, and bake at 450F for about 10 minutes more or until cheese is melted and browned around the edges.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly and cut into sticks.

Serve Pizza Sticks with Easy Marinara Sauce for dipping.

Enjoy.

If you love pizza check out these recipes:

Focaccia Pizza       -

Meatball Calzones     -

Cheese Steak Stromboli

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Slow Cooker Shredded Barbecue Chicken

A very simple and delicious recipe with only 2 ingredients, cooked in a slow cooker.  Great for parties, gameday, or weeknight dinners.

Repost of original from 09/2013 minor editing, tweetable, pinnable image 770 views 0 +1s.

I was first introduced to this recipe when I was in college (what better place to have some easy recipes up your sleeve).  This recipe is perfect for a simple dinner.  It's also a crowd favorite at parties and perfect for gamedays.  This is a great recipe for beginner cooks or anyone who doesn't have a lot of time to prepare dinner.  The ingredients are added to a slow cooker and can cook while away at work.  I don't know anyone who doesn't like this chicken it pleases even picky eaters.

SlowCooker Shredded BBQ Chicken| 2ingredient simple dinner  [Tweet this]

Slow Cooker Shredded Barbecue Chicken

Servings:  6

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds boneless chicken
2 cups barbecue sauce

That's it.  Seriously, only 2 ingredients.

Place your thawed chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Pour about 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce on top (enough to cover the chicken).

Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for about 5-8 hours until chicken is cooked.  Using 2 forks shred the chicken right in the cooker and mix well with the sauce.

Put the chicken on a bun and serve with sides of your choice.  It's great with slaw or Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad.

I like to make homemade buns (try Best Burger Buns) and barbecue sauce, but this recipe works great with store bought too (and it is that much simpler).

Make plenty, you can use much chicken as you like just make sure you use enough barbecue sauce to cover it because people will go back for seconds.

Enjoy.

Recipes mentioned in this post:

Classic Barbecue Sauce

Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad

Best Burger Buns

Linked to:  Food on Friday potluck, Lou Lou Girls, Wonderful, Whimsy, Wakeup, Tickle my Tastebuds, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends, Pretty Pintastic, Show Off

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