And tonight's meal is...

Spanish Fried Rice.  This came from All Recipes dot com.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/spanish-rice-bake/Detail.aspx

As usual, I varied from the actual recipe.  Here goes:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (NO BLECH)
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned tomatoes
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup chile sauce (I just sprinkled a bunch of chile powder on top)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar (the stuff I had was hard as a brick - no go)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (out of date - tossed)
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I have gruyere...)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (didn't buy)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat and transfer beef to a large pot over medium low heat.. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, chile sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper.

Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transport this to a 2-quart casserole dish. Press down firmly and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

(NUMBER TWENTY-THREE in 2010)  Yes I realize I am behind.

Ghosts of rice past...

Do your pots have the ghosts of rice in them?  By this I mean the result of setting the rice on simmer and then forgetting to set the timer.  When you wander back just a leeeeeetle too late you find a sticky mess in the pan which is not only inedible (unless you like truly sticky rice) but it's also a scrub job.  I've done this a few times (by few I mean "more than five but less than ten, I think") and my Calphalon pans now have little outlines of rice grains on the bottom.  (NB:  this isn't crusted food, it's literally an outline of the grains...)

At any rate, the intrepid chef wannabee made another rice dish this evening.  Along with it I had SNOMG II, based on my hamburger creation mentioned below.  No snow in the forecast this time, and, the main changes I made to the hamburger were advanced spices and instead of one cup of water I used one cup of white wine (White Bordeaux as a matter of fact). 

Here is the rice dish I had alongside it.  It is called Orange Cilantro Rice.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter (I used EVOO)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I used the chopped garlic you find in little bottles)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (after all that onion, why more?)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, and cook until tender. Mix in rice, and season with cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cook and stir until rice is golden brown. Pour in orange juice and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove cooked rice from heat, and gently mix in cilantro to serve.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Cilantro-Rice/Detail.aspx

(NUMBER EIGHT in 2010)

SNOMG! Hamburger and rice? Nothing else in that pantry?

I did go grocery shopping before the Snow of the Decade, but I didn't do it with menu in mind nor grocery list in hand. 

However, what I did make actually tasted pretty good even if it's simple and boring. 

I made jasmine rice using chicken broth, for starters.

The two pounds of hamburger was unloaded into my large skillet which already had a good dose of EVOO heating up nicely inside.  After I put the chunk in the skillet, I coated it with cinnamon, a few dashes of allspice, and a couple of quick flicks of cayenne pepper.  Not too much.  I broke up the meat which was simmering away nicely and then poured a cup of water on top and put the lid on it.  Heat on medium and I let 'er rip for about 30 minutes. 

It was actually a delicious, flavorful meal.  I like it. 

Dessert:  I opened a bag of frozen peaches into a large bowl, earlier in the afternoon, and sprinkled cinnamon all over the peaches.  I later sprinkled sugar on top which gets a nice juice going.  They were still quite cold by the time I ate them but the juice was very cinnamon-ey.

Oh yeah, before the peaches were thawed I had some more Belgian Chocolates and Bordeaux wine (St. Emilion). 

Tomorrow I'm going to make a recipe that was quoted to me while standing in line at Wegmans.

(NUMBER FOUR in 2010)

Gullah home cooking

Beach Chairs Hilton Head Island
Originally uploaded by Skyhawk Flyer

What is that, you say?

The Gullahs were among the first foreign inhabitants of the islands off the Low Country. I say inhabitants, but, they weren't exactly brought here of their free will. Daufuskie Island is just off Hilton Head Island.

This recipe came from the book mentioned below, and I found it on Epicurious. The link is below. The beauty of this dish is that it is basically stir fried leftovers.

Gullah Home Cooking the Daufuskie Way by Sallie Ann Robinson

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ANYTHING-RICE-107792

Ingredients
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked rice
leftover chicken, pork chops, hamburger, fish, shrimp, bacon, or whatever

Preparation
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and bell pepper and stir-fry 3 minutes. Add the eggs and scramble. Put in the rice and your favorite meat, stir-fry, and the aroma will get your taste buds hungry. Serve immediately for breakfast, dinner, or supper.

What I did:

I bought already chopped onions and green peppers from Wegmans (lazy). Next time, I'd leave out the peppers. I browned about a pound of hamburger and the rest of the recipe I followed spot on.

Easy and filling (tasty too) and I'd consider tabasco sauce or ketchup on the side.