Okinawan Taco Rice

Taco Rice is an extremely popular dish here on Okinawa. It's said that this dish was created by a local chef who combined the Tex-mex flavor of a taco with rice, a staple in the Okinawan diet. It's a genius idea: the flavors of taco flavored meat on a bed of rice and garnished with traditional taco toppings: tomato, lettuce, salsa. It's on the menu at many local restaurants and we've sampled it several times already. We liked it so much I decided to try making it at home. I loved how this dish calls for melting the cheese on the rice before adding the meat. If you want a taste of Okinawa give this fun recipe a try!

Okinawan Taco Rice
From Cooking with Chopsticks
Printable Version
Makes 2 large servings
Ingredients
1 cup of rice, cooked
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound ground turkey or beef
6 tablespoons pureed tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Several drops of lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 cup cheese
1/2 cup lettuce, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped


Directions
Place the cooked rice in an oven proof baking dish. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the garlic and onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes or until the onions are soft. Mix the garlic and onions into the rice gently with slicing motions instead of mashing motions. 

Heat a little more olive oil in the pan and add the meat. Break the meat into small chunks and once cooked add the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer until the water reduces. 

Cover the rice with cheese and place into the oven for about five minutes or until the cheese is throughly melted. 

Top the cheese and rice with the meat mixture. Squeeze some lemon on the meat and dust with additional chili powder if desired. Garnish with tomato and lettuce and serve. 

Indian Chicken Curry

I was inspired to make a homemade Chicken Curry to use up some of the left over Cranberry Chutney from Thanksgiving. I found this dish on what looked to be a somewhat authentic Indian recipe site. I was really pleased with the flavor and the color, in addition to how easy it was to prepare. I'm a wimp when it comes to heat in my curries, so this was very mild and perfect for me. I think hubby would have preferred it a little more hot. Oh well, I'm the boss in the kitchen, right? :)


 The Cranberry Chutney was an awesome addition. I served it over plain rice, but if you go to the original site, there are directions for a rice ring that sounds absolutely delicious. 

Indian Curry Chicken
From Indian Food Forever
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 tablespoons butter (I am trying to cut down on my butter intake so used yogurt butter)
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 to 3 teaspoons curry powder
3/4 cup cold chicken stock
2 cups milk
2 cups cooked chicken, diced (I boiled 2 chicken breasts)
1 (3 ounce) can mushrooms, drained (didn't have these so omitted this)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups hot cooked rice


Directions
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add apple, celery, garlic, and onion. Cook until onion is tender. 

Combine cornstarch, curry powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and stock. 

Stir into onion mixture. Add milk. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. 
Add chicken and mushrooms, stir and heat through. Stir in almonds and raisins. 

Serve over rice.

Crab & Asparagus Supreme

My fabulous Aunt Chris shared this recipe with me once spring rolled around and fresh asparagus was abundant. This is a unique way to use lovely spring asparagus. We are spoiled living so close to the Atlantic because our fish counter sells fresh crab straight out of the ocean, but if you don't have access to fresh crab, you can use imitation crab. I really enjoyed this creamy, filling dish and modified it from the original recipe to use fresh tarragon instead of dried. Anytime I use fresh tarragon I am surprised at how much it changes the flavor of the dish, but always in a good way. I also added in half of a sauteed onion. I liked how it added a crispy, savory layer to this supreme dish.

Thanks Auntie Chris for another yummy recipe!!

Crab & Asparagus Supreme

Ingredients

6 ounces of crab meat

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 soup can of half and half

Half an onion, chopped

3 or so leaves of fresh tarragon, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

1 pound fresh asparagus

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cups of rice, cooked

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Place crab meat into skillet over low heat. Add undiluted soup, half and half, salt, and pepper. Stir, cover, and cook on low heat until heated through. In a separate pan saute onions until slightly browned.

While the mixture is cooking cut asparagus into diagonal slices and cook for 8 minutes in boiling water. Drain. Add to creamed crab mixture with lemon juice and tarragon. Stir in shredded cheese. Once cheese has melted, serve over hot rice. 

I had to show this picture of perfectly laid out rice - my cute husband's contribution to this dish. :)

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I found this recipe for turkey stuffed peppers on Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes and since I haven't had stuffed peppers since I was a little girl, I decided I  needed to try this recipe. Growing up, my Grandma (who is a phenomenal home cook) let us all pick out any meal we wanted and she would make it as a present for our birthday. I remember my mom requesting  stuffed peppers for her birthday meal one year. I think that is why I always think of stuffed peppers as being a special meal. They look impressive but are really easy to make. With the combination of the cooked rice and turkey, they are very filling and the peppers make this dish extremely flavorful. This recipe wasn't my husbands favorite dish, but I enjoyed them and kept enjoying them since they make 6 servings! Best off all is the nutritional value: each pepper is only 185 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbs, and 1.6 grams of fiber.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 lb lean turkey meat

1 garlic, minced

1/4 onion, minced

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro or parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

salt to taste

3 large bell peppers, washed 

1 cup fat free chicken broth

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Olive oil spray

1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese

Optional: Sliced avocado and sour cream for topping

Directions

Heat over to 400 degrees. Spray a little olive oil in a medium sized saute pan and heat on a medium flame. Add onion, garlic, and cilantro to the pan. Saute for about 2 minutes and add ground turkey. Season with salt, garlic powder, and cumin and brown the meat for several minutes until completely cooked through. Add tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add cooked rice and combine with meat.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove all the seeds. Place in a baking dish. Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half and fill it with as much as you can. 

Place all the stuffed pepper halves on the baking dish and pour the remainder of the chicken brown on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and avocado.

Black Beans and Rice

When I made Creamy Chicken Enchiladas this week, I cooked up Elizabeth's Black Beans & Rice to go with them as a side dish. This yummy side dish is so easy and quick! I will definitely be making it again to accompany Mexican dishes.

Black Beans & Rice

Modified from Dutch Oven

Ingredients

2 cups of rice, cooked to desired tenderness

1 can of black beans

1 clove of garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions

In a medium sauce pan heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the black beans with their juices. Heat through. Stir in rice. Serve.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of my favorite take out items and I especially love vegetable fried rice. Since the hubby is working nights right now and isn't around at dinner time demanding meat, it's the ideal time to try some new vegetarian recipes. I decided to adapt this Vegetable Lover's Fried Rice recipe I found at All Recipes.com because it didn't require a wok (which I do not have). I was super excited about the results. It tasted pretty authentic compared to our regular Chinese take out fried rice. Plus, it's another way to incorporate my all time favorite food, eggs. :)

Vegetable Lover's Fried Rice

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

3 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 of a chopped onion

1 garlic clove, peeled & minced

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

4 stalks of celery, thinly sliced

4 ounces of mushrooms

2 carrots, peeled and chopped very small

4 or so green onions, chopped with only the white & light green parts

1 cup baby sweet peas

2 tablespoons of butter

Directions:

Cook rice according to directions on box. Transfer to a medium container and place in the refrigerator 1 hour, or until chilled. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Meanwhile in a medium  bowl blend together eggs and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Pour into the skillet with the onion and garlic and cook until the eggs are no longer runny. Remove the mixture from the skillet and set aside. Chop any large egg chunks into small pieces.

Heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the celery, mushrooms, and carrots. Cook until tender but firm. Stir in the rice and sweet peas. Add in the butter and melt. Season with the remaining soy sauce. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until the rice is heated through. Mix in the egg/onion mixture, add in the chopped green onions and stir together until heated through.