Breakfast Fried Rice

Almost 7 years ago, my husband and I spent a week in Maui, Hawaii for our honeymoon. There was no other place we wanted to be than in one of the most beautiful places on earth with each other! We haven't had the chance to take another vacation since with just the two of us, thanks to pregnancies and now our 3 amazing kids, so we dream of that vacation and how special it was and the memories we have of that week. While we were there, we went to a Mexican restaurant for breakfast, Fred's. It was so tasty, but the most amazing thing we ate there was their breakfast fried rice. We have been trying to recreate it since, and FINALLY got it down this week!!!!

Let me tell you, there is nothing better than recreating tastes of the islands, and getting it right! Our family downed a wok-full of this stuff. IT WAS SO EASY AND TASTY, but truth be told, I didn't make it! My husband made it, I just chopped everything up for him.

Doesn't get much better than reliving great times, and sharing those times and memories with your kids!

But without further ado, here is the recipe!

Breakfast Fried Rice:
4 c. cooked white rice (2 c. dry rice with 4 cups water)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
5 eggs, scrambled with a dash of milk
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 medium onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
soy sauce, to taste
Cook rice in a rice cooker, or pot, until cooked through. While the rice is cooking, or if you have leftover rice, preheat a wok, or large skillet, over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil, and saute onion, and peppers for 2-3 minutes or until the onion becomes a little translucent in color. Add in scrambled eggs, and cook. Add in cooked bacon, along with a dash of salt and pepper. Add cooked rice in and soy sauce, start with just 1/4 cup, you can always add more. Continue to stir rice until the soy sauce is incorporated completely. Add more soy sauce as needed, but don't go overboard, it makes the rice super salty if you add too much. Let "fry" in the wok for 3-4 minutes stirring about once a minute so the rice doesn't burn. Serve while still hot, and ENJOY!!

Fruity Rainbow Marshmallows

A few weeks ago my daughter graduated from Preschool. She has been able to attend such an amazing preschool where the teachers really care about learning and teaching, whether the kids are understanding what they are being taught, movement and dance classes, cooking, science, math, the list goes on and on. I have loved having her at this preschool. SO...for graduation this year they had a rainbow theme, and talked about how the kids are all different, they're all a different color in the crayon box, but they all have something very important to offer the world.

I was asked to make rainbow marshmallows for the kids, as a treat for after graduation. Let's just say, they are adorable!! AND they are easier than you would think. I was supposed to watch a video about how to make them, but it would never pull up for me, something about technology and I don't get along at times. :) So I found a link that said something about dipping the marshmallow in water, and then dipping it in Jell-o powder. SUPER FUN and SUPER EASY! Can you say homemade peeps?

So here is what I did, and how they turned out. My kids loved them, and I was happy that I learned, essentially, how to make peeps.

Fruity Rainbow Marshmallows:
25 large marshmallows
1 small bow Jell-o powder, any flavor/color you like
1 small bowl of water
YOU WILL ALSO WANT TO HAVE:
1 cookie sheet for the marshmallows to dry out on
1 piece of parchment paper or cooling rack to put on the cookie sheet

Open the bag of marshmallows, you can dip up to three at a time in the water. Make sure they are completely wet. Remove one at a time with a pair of tongs shaking off the extra water, and then dip and completely cover with the Jell-o powder. Place on the cooling rack/parchment paper to dry. It takes approximately 2 hours for them to dry. Then do whatever you like put them on a stick and tie a bow around it, put on a platter to serve, be creative with presentation.
If you really want them to be like peeps, you can let them dry for a little a longer. They taste just like the flavor of Jell-o powder you use.
Enjoy, and have fun. The possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taco Salad

We LOVE Taco Salads at our house, especially on leftover night. We have tacos at least once a month at our house, and always have leftover meat. What better way to use it up than to make a whole second meal?

There is a secret to making the perfect ground beef taco meat, though. What is that, you ask?

THIS....

I use store-bought taco seasoning, but I never add the water until the spices have cooked with the meat for just 30 seconds or so. When you add the seasonings and just cook it with the meat, it wakes up all those herbs and spices, and makes it incorporate into the taco meat so much better.

So without further ado, here is today's recipe.

Taco Salad:
1 lb. taco meat, browned and crumbled
1 packet taco seasoning, I use McCormick
1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 can black beans, drained and seasoned to taste with chopped onion, garlic powder, cumin, salt    
             & pepper to taste. Cook on the stove until heated through.
shredded cheese
salsa
dressing of choice
Put all the ingredients out buffet style, and let each person construct their own. Sometimes we like to warm tortillas and build the salad on top of those.

Just as a side note, most of my taco salads have no dressing, we just use the salsa as the "dressing".

Banana Pudding Pie

This post is so LONG OVERDUE, but I'm so glad to be back and blogging about one of my favorite things, COOKING!!! I've been cooking up a storm since my last post, but haven't taken the time to put it up.

Look no further for the easiest and most delicious Banana Pie I have ever tasted. It's so much more cost-effective to make your own, then buying one from a bakery. On top of that, you know exactly what is in it, AND your kids can learn how to cook with a recipe as simple as this.

Let me just say, I was glad I took a picture of this pie as soon as I finished it, there were no pictures once it was sliced. :) Rave reviews and many recipes have been given about this guy, and the best part, NO OVEN or even microwave NEEDED!!! This time of year, the last thing you want to do is turn your oven on, when the temperature outside keeps climbing!

Trust me, this is one to serve for your next family gathering, it WILL NOT disappoint!

Banana Pudding Pie:
1 store bought, pre-made graham cracker crust
4 bananas
1-3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
1 3/4 c. half and half
1-8 oz. container Cool Whip
1/2 c. sour cream
pinch of salt
1 sleeve graham crackers
In a large bowl combine the pudding & the half and half. Beat together with a hand-held mixer until thick and smooth. Add 1 cup of the Cool Whip, salt and sour cream and beat together until combined. Set aside.
Slice the bananas into bite-size slices.
Remove all the packaging from your store-bought pie crust. Lay a thin layer of the bananas all around the crust. Cover the bananas with half the pudding mixture. Layer the graham crackers in a single layer over the pudding. Add another layer of bananas, and then cover with the rest of the pudding mixture. Top with the remaining Cool Whip, and a few extra banana slices for presentation-sake. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.