2 Bento #193 - Egg Fried Rice & Corn off the Cob

This is the second-to-last school bento of the year!  I can't believe school is out on Wednesday.  Wow!  And a big congrats to my baby sis who graduated yesterday from UMD with her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism! 

We got two nice ears of organic yellow corn in our CSA basket this week.  Delicious!  It's kind of a rarity in our house because corn is really starchy, but it was nice for a change, very sweet.  The rice is leftover restaurant fare, not my usual, but E liked it. It's just got egg in it, which makes this bento vegetarian.

So, when is your last day of school?  Any vacation plans?

Bento #193 - Egg fried rice, organic corn, organic cantaloupe, pistachios and a cheese stick.

3 Bento #135 - Chicken & Onigiri

 For dinner last night I made fried rice with sticky sushi rice, and reserved some to make these onigiri with cute little accents of shaped sprinkles.  The rice is seasoned with rice wine vinegar, which gives it a nice sweet tang.  Oh, and those grapes!  Aren't they HUGE??

Bento #135 - Onigiri, Italian chicken meatballs, grapes and baby carrots.

9 Bento #96 - Fried Rice & Grapes

I really think fried rice was invented by a mom with a lot of leftovers.  Today I made fried rice out of a bunch of leftovers - cold steamed Jasmine rice, cauliflower and romanesco, and a lone Kosher hot dog, minced, along with the obligatory egg.  It was a big hit, and E wanted two helpings!

Bento #96 - Fried rice, sugar snap peas and carrots, organic green grapes and Caesar dipping sauce.

4 Andouille & Cilantro Paella

I tried my hand at the new paella pan earlier this week.  It turned out amazing, I was so pleased with it.  I'm posting from my family's house in Maryland right now, and I made this dish again tonight for everyone!  Delish!

What you'll need:

1/2 pound tomatoes

5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups short or medium-grain or Arborio rice
10 threads saffron
2 tsp rosemary
1.5 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 package andouille sausage, about 6 links (I like Amylu brand chicken sausage) cut on the extreme bias
1 cup chopped mixed bell pepper
1 medium diced yellow onion
2 large bunches of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
13 inch paella pan or large walled skillet

Traditionally this dish is done outdoors on a grill, but I'm going to show you how to do it indoors using your stovetop and oven.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and also set the broth to simmer in a pot, keeping it hot until you need to use it.

Begin by halving the tomatoes, and squeezing the seeds out over a sieve on a bowl to catch the juice.

Next, grate the tomato halves on the large grater side of a box grater.  The skins are actually quite tough and will protect your fingers. 

You should have quite a nice amount of juice and pulp when you're finished.

In a bowl combine the rice, rosemary, salt, paprika and saffron threads.  They are so small and delicate, but the saffron is absolutely essential to this dish! (Like my waterlogged fingers from grating those tomatoes?)

Chop up the veg - peppers, onions and garlic. Heat up the paella pan with the oil and start browning the sausage.  After about 2-3 minutes, move the sausage around to the sides of the pan.

Add the peppers, onion and garlic to the center of the pan and sautee until things start softening and the onions start looking translucent.

Roughly chop the cilantro (it smells so good!)

Add the rice mixture and sautee with the veg for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add the tomato pulp and juice and cook down for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the cilantro and mix through the rice and veggies.

Now, add two cups of the hot chicken broth, and make sure all of the rice is submerged, so add extra broth if needed.  From this point on, do not stir the rice.  Control the heat so that the broth is bubbling at all times, for 9 minutes.

After the first 9 minutes it should look a little drier,

so add another 2 cups of broth.

Now put the whole pan in the 450 degree oven for another 9 minutes.  When you take it out, taste-test the rice.  It will probably still be a little too crunchy.  In the areas that look dry, add more broth a little at a time.  you want all areas to still be bubbling lightly.  Put the pan back in the oven for about another 9 minutes (this varies depending on how done the rice tastes.)

When the rice tastes tender, and most of the broth has been absorbed, it's done!  Traditionally the dish has an almost burned crust on the bottom that a lot of people like, so if you like that, finish it on the stove top for a few minutes.  Finish with the rest of the fresh chopped cilantro and enjoy!!

3 Bento #83 - Turkey Meatballs & Veggie Fried Rice

You have until midnight EST tonight to enter the giveaway contest!

First of all, I'm so excited about choosing winners for the giveaway contest tomorrow!  There have been some wonderful ideas and recipes posted, such an imaginative group (and what good eaters!)  I have plans for more contests in near future, since this one has gone so well.  Thanks to everyone who participated!  I will post winners around noon tomorrow.

Using the tray again today, we have some cute tree animals in our broccoli forest and hanging out on our meatball boulders.  The meatballs are turkey, and they are from Trader Joe's.  E really loves them, she squealed "HMMM, these are soooo yummy!"  She thinks they are chicken, though, which is fine by me.  She is still quite wary of most meats, except chicken.

Bento #83 - Veggie fried rice, flame broiled turkey meatballs, steamed broccoli, marinara dipping sauce and craisins.

2 Bento #66 - Fried Rice & Bunny Snacks

I love fried rice, I'll admit.  I had left over chicken from last night's dinner, so I diced it up and threw it in my hot pan and fried up some left over rice (the best kind to use.)  The bunny snack mix is cute, no?  I found that at Trader Joe's, so I had to pick it up.  It's even got bunny-shaped pretzels!

Bento #66 - Chicken and veg fried rice, sugar snap peas, grapes and bunny snack mix.

0 Fried Rice

Whenever I make rice I usually make more than I need so that I can make fried rice with any leftovers (it's also best in fried rice when it's cold, and not too sticky.)  I specifically used sushi rice today because I wanted it to be sticky enough for the onigiri, but you can use almost any kind of rice.

This is just a really basic recipe, you can add whatever veg you like - corn, mushrooms, etc.  I have also done this quickly with frozen veggies (like for veggie soup.)

2 cups cold cooked rice
3 cloves minced garlic
half a small onion, minced
1 minced carrot
handful of frozen peas
a pre-cooked protein minced finely like chicken, pork beef, bacon or even shrimp (optional)
1-2 eggs, scrambled and chopped up
soy sauce
black pepper
1 tbs butter, bacon fat or other cooking oil
sliced green onion (for garnish - optional)

Heat a large saucepan over high heat and add your cooking fat.  I especially like butter or bacon fat for extra flavor.  Throw in the onion, garlic and carrot and cook for about 2-3 minutes until it gets soft.

I think I need a new cutting board!  Those cubes are the nifty frozen garlic I get at Trader Joe's, love 'em.

Add the peas, cook a minute and then add your protein.  Then add the rice, still cooking over high heat and cook until heated through.

Start by adding about 1 tbs of soy sauce, and increase according to your personal taste and lots of black pepper.  Finally, add the chopped egg, stir through, and garnish with green onions, if using.

0 Egg & Onigiri Experiment

I was totally excited to get my rice molds the other day, and got to try them out while E was at school.  I made sushi rice, cooled it, and then made fried rice with it with fresh veggies, chicken and egg.

First, however, I tried using the rice mold to shape a hard boiled egg, since two of them seemed to be able to do double-duty.  I think it would have worked had my egg been a little smaller than extra-large.

Smooshing it in.  As you can see, it got a little messy.  The top is turned upside down to help accommodate the egg, but alas, it didn't help, and the rubber bands are to hold it down (obviously.):

The bottom turned out pretty well, but the top sheered off ;).  I'll try this again with a smaller egg.

Next, the very successful onigiri experiment!

E loved these as her after-school snack today.  Next time I might try to use the veggies to make more of an animal face.