Chinese Fried Rice

Yield: 4 Servings
4 c Rice, leftover; cold
6 sl Bacon; cooked,crumbled OR-
1/4 c BACOs
1 T Sugar, white
3 T Soy sauce dark
3 Eggs
4 Green onions; including
- green, sliced
1/4 c Peas, frozen (optional)
- Bacon drippings or oil
Cut bacon into cubes and cook until crisp. Drain but keep drippings.
Set bacon aside.
Beat 3 eggs in bowl with a little water until well blended Heat wok
over med high temp, pour 1 Tbl bacon fat drippings into wok. Pour eggs
in wok, scramble until set and remove and set aside.
Place 2 Tbl bacon fat drippings into wok. Place cold rice into wok and
stir fry for 2 - 3 mins. Add sugar and soy sauce, stir fry until
uniform in color. Add green onions, (peas - optional), bacon and cooked
eggs. Stir fry for another minute, serve hot.
You can add any other meats such as leftover cooked pork, chicken, ham,
etc. Add with the green onions and peas.
MEATLESS VERSION
Follow above except use peanut oil instead of bacon drippings. Replace
bacon with 1/4 cup of BACOS or BACO chips.

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Chickenlegs with Mango Chutney & Carott Rice

Yield: 2 Servings
18 oz Chickenlegs,allready cooked
---Chutney:---
1 Mango, fresh or
1/3 oz Mango ,canned
1 Onion
1 Piece of fresh Ingwer
1 T Oil
2 oz Raisins
1 T Sugar
3 T Vinegar
1 T Catsup
Pepper
1/2 t Coriander
1/2 t Kurcuma
---Rice:---
5 oz Rice
3 T Coconut, shredded
3 1/2 oz Carotts
1/3 oz Butter
2 T Sugar
Bake the precooked chickenlegs in 200 C oven untill they are brown. 2.
Peel the mango, remove stone and cut into small cubes. 3. Peel and chop
onion finely. 4. Peel and chop ingwer finely. 5. Heat the oil and saute
the onion; add the mango and ingwer.Saute a minute more.Add the rest
and let it simmer 30 minutes. Let it cool and season as hot as you
like. 6. Simmer the rice in saltwater until done; keep warm 7. Put the
coconut into a dry skillet and brown it. Peel the carotts and cut into
fine strips or grate them. 9. Heat the butter in skilett and fry the
carotts shortly; add sugar and heat until sugar has become caramel.
Stir all the time. 10.Add carotts and the coconut to the rice, mix and
serve with the cold chicken and the cold mango. Good for hot
summerdays.

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Chicken Flavored Rice Mix

Yield: 1 Serving
4 c Uncooked Long Grain Rice
1 t Salt
2 t Dried Parsley Flakes
4 T Instant Chicken Bouillon
2 t Dried Tarragon
1/4 t White Pepper
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir until evenly
distributed. Put about 1 1/3 cups into three 1-pint containers and
label as Chicken-Flavored Rice Mix. Store in a cool, dry place and use
within 6 to 8 months.
Makes about 4 cups of mix.
CHICKEN-FLAVORED RICE: Mix 1 1/3 cups CHICKEN-FLAVORED RICE MIX with
cups cold water and 1 T butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Bring
water to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat and cook for
15 to 25 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Saucy Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1-1/2 pounds)
Nonstick cooking spray
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup cornflakes, crushed (about 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, basil, or oregano, crushed, or 1 teaspoon snipped fresh basil or oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/3 cups spaghetti sauce
4 ounces dried spaghetti, fettuccine, or other pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Fresh herb sprigs (optional)


Directions
1. Place each piece of chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, lightly pound to flatten slightly (about 1/2 inch thick). Remove plastic wrap.
2. Lightly coat a shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a shallow dish combine egg white and the water. In another shallow dish combine crushed cornflakes, the 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, the Italian seasoning, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces, one at a time, into egg mixture; coat with crumb mixture. Place coated chicken pieces in prepared baking pan.
3. Bake in a 400 degree oven about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink (170 degrees F).
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan warm spaghetti sauce over low heat. Divide pasta among 4 dinner plates. Place chicken on top of pasta. Spoon spaghetti sauce over chicken. If desired, sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. If desired, garnish with fresh herb sprigs. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 312, Total Fat 3 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 68 mg, Sodium 566 mg, Carbohydrate 37 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 34 g. Daily Values: Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 0%, Calcium 0%, Iron 0%. Exchanges: Vegetable .5, Starch 1, Other Carbohydrate 1.5.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Pasta with Eggplant Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
1 medium onion, chopped
1 28-ounce can Italian-style tomatoes, cut up, undrained
1 6-ounce can Italian-style tomato paste
1 4-ounce can (drained weight) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup dry red wine or beef broth
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives or pitted ripe olives, sliced
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
Salt
Ground black pepper
4 cups hot cooked penne pasta
1/3 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (optional)


Directions
1. Peel eggplant, if desired; cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes. In a 3-1/2- to 5 1/2-quart slow cooker, combine eggplant, onion, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms, wine or broth, the water, garlic, and oregano.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours.
3. Stir in olives and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta with Parmesan cheese. If desired, garnish with toasted pine nuts.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 263, Total Fat 4 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat 0 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 3 mg, Sodium 845 mg, Carbohydrate 47 g, Total Sugar 8 g, Fiber 6 g, Protein 10 g. Daily Values: Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 0%, Calcium 0%, Iron 0%. Exchanges: Vegetable 1.5, Starch 2, Other Carbohydrate .5, Fat .5.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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10 Reasons Why I Hate My Diet

hree weeks ago on the advice, no let’s be more accurate, the DIRECT ORDER of my cantankerous & curmudgeonly doctor I went on a diet. So I thought it was time to check in with an update on the 10 Reasons Why I Hate My Diet.

1 – I hate my diet because it has the letters “D – I – E” in it and early on it felt like it too….but it hasn’t killed me yet so I might as well keep going.

2 – I hate my diet because it says you should drink DECAF coffee with fat free half & half….but there are some things in life I can’t do and decaf with my 2 hour commute is a definitely one of those things so I am still having my KAHUNA sized travel mug on the way to the train but I have stuck with the fat free half & half (oxymoron) and stopped getting the double espresso from the office swill machine.

3 – I hate my diet because I can’t eat regular bacon and we all know that bacon makes everything better and this diet needs a lot of help in becoming even tolerable….but turkey bacon, while having fake white stripes that crack me up, and Canadian bacon aren’t actually half bad. In fact, as a kid I used to order Canadian bacon whenever I saw it on the menu so in some ways my diet is nostalgic.

4 – I hate my diet because during the first few weeks you aren’t allowed fruit yogurt which to my son isn’t a bad idea at all as he can’t stand yogurt even though I try to tell him that it is fruit pudding….but I couldn’t give up my morning fat free yogurt so I didn’t. My diet was just going to have to live with that.

5 – I hate my diet because I am addicted to chocolate and there are no two ways about it, chocolate is not allowed….but I will have to give it up to the people at Baskin-Robbins who have made great SUGAR FREE Mint Chocolate Chip and SUGAR FREE Cookies & Cream hard candies. My daughter swears that if you freeze them, they taste like a nugget of ice cream in your mouth and they are only 10 calories.

6 – I hate my diet because I had to start it just before my daughter’s birthday and my birthday and my daughter’s birthday party and a Mother’s Day Brunch so there were plenty of minefields and culinary booby traps in my path….but I didn’t let those bother me, I had a sliver of cake for my daughter, I had a slice of cake for me, I had a sip of a Red Velvet Cupcake Smoothie for the party and I skipped dessert and had sugar free jello when I got home from the Mother’s Day Brunch instead.

7 – I hate my diet because I can’t eat fruit during the first couple of weeks and I love fruit….but those first few weeks are almost over and in checking the booklet I see that pineapple, watermelon & raisins seem to be the only fruits I can’t have. Summer is almost here and not only do I love watermelon but I have a couple of great watermelon ties so we shall have to see about this one.

8 – I hate my diet because I need to run every morning at 3:45am so I can still catch my train in the morning and see my kids at a somewhat decent hour each night….but getting up early to workout (which I used to do a lot before I got fat) actually isn’t so bad now that I have a DVR on the basement TV. Combine that with Xfinity On Demand and I actually have something to watch other than infomercials & repeats of Joy Behar while I count down the miles.

9 – I hate my diet because it says that Gatorade is not a beverage that is allowed…. but if you think I am going to run 3+ miles every morning and work on my garden outside and only drink water, then you are crazy. I drink one bottle of Gatorade (17.5 oz) every 2 days during the week and 1 to 2 a day on Saturday & Sunday depending on how much work I am doing. I shoveled 7 cubic yards of dirt this past Saturday so I might have had an extra bottle.

10 – I hate my diet because during this first phase, pasta is not allowed and I have to go to a lot of charity events & cocktails parties where I have discovered that pasta is served a lot….but having to cut back on most cocktail party & charity dinner foodstuffs other than beef, veggies & cheese actually hasn’t been so bad. My lovely wife (and partner in dieting crime) has been extremely amenable to just make an appearance and get the hell out so I am spending less time standing around eating goat cheese puffs and slimy stuff on a stupid. (As an side to all caterers out there – stop serving food on a spoon unless the server is going to stand there and wait for me to slurp whatever the hell it is in there)

BONUS # 10 (because I don’t know how to count) – I hate my diet because I love desserts and I have always had a sweet tooth….but where there is a will, there is a way and with the help of Fat Free Cool Whip, Sugar Free Jell-o, Splenda, Light Ricotta Cheese, Vanilla extract and Werther’s Sugar Free Caramel Coffee, Caramel Cinnamon & Caramel Mint hard candies I have been able to keep my sweet tooth somewhat at bay. I did make one of those weight watchers diet soda cakes and the kids liked it. I had a small bite and will try it again but I will bake it longer and will try a different flavor – the lemon cake dominated the diet orange soda.

So with all this hating of my diet, how have the results been you ask ? Well head to your pantry or to the baking aisle at your local grocery store and pick up a 5lb bag of sugar. Now pick up another one. If you can, pick up one more and start walking around. Now put them down and start walking around again. It isn’t easy carrying 15 extra pounds around with you and I bet it felt good to put the bags down. Well 15lbs (as of last Friday, I refuse to weigh myself on a Monday Morning) is what I have lost so far and it does feel good to get the weight off again. I am eyeing that 4th bag of sugar as we speak.

Come back next time when we discuss what I am watching at 3:45am as I run and how I am doing once I transition to Phase 2 of the diet and start adding back some forbidden foods who’s absence have helped me lose as much as I have.

[ View Recipe ]

Tilapia with Parsley Potatoes and Carrots

It’s efficient to cook two vegetables in one
pot, and it saves on cleanup, too.
4 tilapia or catfish fillets 4
(about 1˙ lb/750 g)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 15 mL
˙ tsp salt 2 mL
oe tsp pepper 1 mL
Half onion, minced Half
1 tbsp minced fresh dill 15 mL
(or 1 tsp/5 mL dried
dillweed)
Lemon wedges
PARSLEY POTATOES AND CARROTS:
8 small new potatoes 8
(about 1 lb/500 g)
2 carrots, thickly sliced 2
1 tbsp minced fresh 15 mL
parsley
1 tbsp butter 15 mL
oe tsp each salt and pepper 1 mL
¡PARSLEY POTATOES AND CARROTS:
Scrub potatoes. In saucepan of boiling
salted water, cover and cook potatoes for
10 minutes. Add carrots; cook until potatoes
are fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain
and return to pot over low heat, shaking
pan until moisture evaporates, about
30 seconds. Add parsley, butter, salt and
pepper; toss to coat.
¡Meanwhile, arrange fish on foil-lined
rimmed baking sheet or greased broiler pan;
brush with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
then onion and dill. Broil until fish flakes
easily when tested, about 8 minutes. Serve
with potatoes and carrots and lemon wedge
to squeeze over top.
Makes 4 servings. PER SERVING: about 322 cal,
32 g pro, 11 g total fat (3 g sat. fat), 24 g carb, 3 g fibre,
87 mg chol, 942 mg sodium. % RDI: 3% calcium,
10% iron, 112% vit A, 23% vit C, 12% folate.

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Gravlax and Avocado Mousse

When you end up with leftovers of gravlax, this mousse
is a great way of using them. On a hot summer evening
serve it refrigerated, but on a cold winter day it can
even be served at room temperature.

Ingredients:
· 200 g gravlax
· 200 g avocado meat (scoop
out the meat of a medium
size ripe avocado)
· 2 tbsp dry sherry
· 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
· salt and pepper as desired

Proceed as follows:
1. Set aside 50-75 grams of the gravlax. Puree the
remainder in the food processor.
2. Add the avocado meat and continue pureeing.
3. Add the sherry, the lemon juice and pepper and
salt as desired and continue the pureeing until
you have a smooth mousse.
4. Spread the mousse on crackers or small pieces
of toast.
5. Cut the remaining gravlax into thin strips and
use these to adorn the mousse.
We have tried several ways of spicing the mousse (e.g.,
cognac and port wine) but dry sherry is by far the best
way. What remains to be tested is what a few dashes of
Tabasco® would do to the dish. If you try that before
we do, please let us know about the result.

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