Smoked Salt & Pepper

I love making fried rice when I've got any leftovers I need to get rid of quickly.  You can sub pretty much any protein or meat and as long as you've got a few basics in the fridge and pantry, you've got dinner on the table in a few minutes.  I usually keep some lap cheong or peas in the freezer for this. Reid loves Americanized Chinese food, so this is a great compromise for both of us.  I like to make this in my wok, but any large pan would work as well. Egg Fried Rice Ingredients 2 c. rice, cooked 1 tbs. vegetable oil 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/2 c. cha siu (Chinese barbeque pork), sliced or lap cheong (Chinese sausage), sliced on the bias* 1/4c. frozen green peas 2 tbs chopped green onion 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 tsp salt** optional: 1/2 tsp. garlic chili paste * you can substitute any protein.  I've used leftover shrimp, chicken and/or pork before **I use my Muoi Tieu Hue (smoked salt and pepper) Directions In heated wok or pan over medium-low heat...

It's national veterinary technician week! So give all your pet nurses a hug, because they work hard to help make your dog/cat/horse/goat/cow/snake/guinea pig feel better!  Sometimes as vets, we get busy trying to diagnose crazy illnesses (I diagnosed my SECOND case of Addison's in the past 3 months, what?!) that we don't get to love on your pets.  That's why we have awesome staff who help us provide the TLC your pet needs to feel better, help restrain animals during exams, pull blood, run labwork, and take x-rays.  They work hard, often coming home bruised, bitten, scratched and smelling like who-knows-what, but still manage to come in the next day with a smile on their faces.   I brought in cookies and pumpkin-ginger snap bites to the office as my little way of saying thanks to all our awesome vet techs.  A few of our vet techs are vegan or vegetarian, so I had a bit of a baking challenge.  Usually, I'd be all about adding 1/2 lb. of butter to make my...

Meatless Monday is here! Reid and I occasionally do a meatless Monday since I like to decrease the amount of meat we eat in a week.  It's kind of insane how much meat we eat as Americans, compared to many other countries.  Since my parents are vegetarian, I'm used to not eating meat when I'm home, but things are a little harder when I'm on my own.  I don't have my moms amazing vegetarian Bun Bo Hue to eat, or any of the other countless creative dishes she makes.  I wanted to do something other than just fried (although the Sirachi Honey Glazed Fried Tofu recipe I made the other week was ah-mah-zing!) or broiled/sauteed tofu, so I picked up some vegetarian Italian sausage.  Definitely does not taste like meat, but it is tasty! Pairs well with homemade garlic bread.  I made a loaf of the four-ingredient no knead bread yesterday and used some of that for the garlic bread, but any rustic type bread would work.  Just smeared it with some butter, Italian s...

There is something about the fall that makes me want to buy every vegetable I see in the grocery or farmer's market and stuff it with some kind of grain/meat/cheese combination.  Once that 70 degree cold-snap happens (yay! Texas!), I'm buying zucchinis, acorn squash, and bell peppers.  I've posted about my chorizo stuffed acorn squash   and my stuffed green peppers , but I keep forgetting to post this recipe I've been putting into rotation lately.  I came across it in Martha Stewart Living (thanks for the subscription, Amy!).  It's pretty tasty and easy for the week night. Italian Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Ingredients 4 zucchinis, halved length-wise 1 lb. mild Italian sausage, casings removed 1 c. chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. red chili flakes 3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese 1 egg, lightly beaten zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 c. coarse chopped fresh breadcrumbs (or 3/4 c. dried breadcrumbs) Directions Using a ...

Sometimes, it's hard being a morning person.  Like on weekends.  As much as I try, I have to get up at around 7 or 8am.  Every once in a while, I can go back to sleep after feeding the animals breakfast and letting them out but for those weekend days where I can't get back to sleep, making a big breakfast keeps me busy while Reid sleeps in. This morning, I made banana muffins and a mango-strawberry-orange-banana smoothie.  This banana bread recipe came from my mom's recipe box.  It had been clipped out of the Houston Chronicle who knows how long ago.  I've tried a few other recipes (usually when I can't find this one), but always come back to this one.  It's the perfect balance of moist, sweet, and banana-y.  This morning I made them in a cupcake pan instead of a bread pan and I think I prefer it this way.  It doesn't seem to dry out as much, because I didn't have to bake them as long.  The bread would always get a little more crispy a...

"Wow! That doesn't taste like Mylanta!" -Reid Mint chocolate chip ice cream is my favorite classic ice cream flavor, but my husband never shared my love of that Blue Bell mint chocolate chip with it's garish in-your-face-green color and a flavor he associated with heartburn/stomach medication.  I think I've converted him with this recipe. That deserves making another pint.  And another. And another.  It's now a summertime staple, especially when our mint plant needs some pruning (you can only make so many Mojitos...).  The great thing about using fresh mint in any recipe, especially ice cream, is that it does what extracts can't do: provide that subtle, cool, refreshing feeling that is exactly what you want on a 100 degree Austin August summer day. Adapted from David Lebowitz's recipe . Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Ingredients: 2 c. heavy whipping cream 1 c. whole milk 2 cups fresh mint leaves 2/3 c. sugar pinch of salt 5 egg yo...

It has been reaching the 100-110*F temperatures here in Austin.  And you know what that means...time for some frozen delights.  Oh, also, we got an awesome Cuisinart ice cream maker for our wedding so I had to bust that thing out. Take a look at this bad momma jamba.  Pic courtesy of Google  Images With fourth of July coming up (haha, oops, published this post a little late!), this would be the perfect dessert to bring to a backyard BBQ.  I found the recipe via a Pinterest post about all these different fun ice cream recipes.   http://www.somethingswanky.com/cinnamon-graham-cracker-ice-cream/ The recipe can be found at this blog, which probably has the prettiest background and font ever.   http://shewearsmanyhats.com/2011/06/blueberry-pie-ice-cream-recipe/ I used canned blueberry pie filling, but if you have the time, you can use homemade too.  I thought about it for a while and had a pint of blueberries to make some, but then got l...