Fried Rice & Potstickers
My first recipe post (with pictures!)
This is one of my favorite dinners, it can be time consuming, but the good thing is, it keeps well so it can be dinner for 2 nights!
Fried rice is pretty simple actually. You can put whatever you want into it.
First you make white rice as directed, I make mine in a rice cooker. I made 3 cups of rice.
Next you prep the ingredients. This is what I used:
Diced pork – buy the already smoked pork loin
Carrots – shredded
Onions
Snow peas
You can add anything in there.
The first thing I do is cook the eggs. I used 6 eggs for this amount of rice. If you have a wok it works great for this kind of thing, but any deep skillet will do. Put some oil in the bottom of the pan. Crack the eggs into a bowl and lightly scramble – don’t add anything to them. Drop them into the hot oil and stir them and break them up with a spoon or spatula. They will cook quickly. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Next cook all the ingredients. Cooke them together, but add them one at a time so they will be finished at the same time. Add some more oil to the pan, first I add the onions and let them sweat for a few minutes. Next I add the pork. I let these two cook for about 5-7 minutes, moving them around the pan so they don’t burn. Next I add some ginger to the pan – you can buy ginger paste at the grocery store where the herbs are, it comes in a tube. I put about 2 generous squeezes into the pan with the onion and pork and mix it in. Next I add the carrots and snow peas and let them get soft. If you are using mushrooms or broccoli this would be a good time to add them is as well. Once the mixture is cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
Now add a little more oil and put the cooked rice in. Stir the rice around to break it up and then add in all your ingredients – eggs and the pork / veggie mixture. Now add soy sauce to taste and color. It will be a good amount of soy to get that nice dark color. Taste it and add a little salt if necessary. Let it cook, while stirring around and incorporating for another 5 minutes and Voila.
Pot Stickers
Ingredients:
Pork Loin – same one used for the fried rice. One package.
3 cloves garlic
White mushrooms – about half a package
3 squeezes ginger paste
1 egg
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp vegetable or sesame oil
(you can add cabbage, or anything else you want to these)
Put everything in a food processor and combine.
Use wonton wrappers to make the pot stickers. You can find these in the produce section at most grocery stores.
Place a teaspoon size amount of the filling into the wrapper.
Wet the edges of the wrapper and fold the top corner to meet the bottom corner so it forms a triangle. Next bring the 2 corners together and squeeze so they stick to form the pot sticker.
There are 2 ways to make these. They can be like traditional pot stickers which are fried first so they stick to the pan then steamed, or just steamed, so they’re more like dumplings. I’ve made them both ways, but these photos will be the traditional way.
Add some oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the pot stickers, flat side down and let them cook med-high heat for about 5-7 minutes until you can almost see the bottom getting crispy. Then add 1 cup of water and have the lid ready b/c it will splash hot oil when you add the water. If you have kids, move them away when you do this. Let them steam for about 10 minutes at medium heat. If you have a clear glass lid, you will be able to see when the water has evaporated from the pan, that’s when they’re done. Remove from pan.
If you want to just steam them, add a little oil to the bottom of the pan, add the pot stickers, then add a little more than 1 cup of water immediately. Cover and let steam at least 10 minutes until the water has evaporated and the dough is soft. Both ways are delicious!
Serve with ponzu sauce – you can buy it already made.
Yummy dinner 🙂
Two years old!!!!!
Time flies. I really can’t believe it’s been 2 years that I’ve been a mom. 2 years since those first early sleepless nights and days spent in a fog. Now I have a running, jumping (little) PERSON!!!!! It’s so much fun.
At today’s Dr visit, she measured 29lbs and 35 inches, both of which are in the 75% for her age. This is pretty consistent for where she’s been, she has always been around the 75%. She is right on track developmentally, nothing to worry about. She got one shot and they took blood. She barely cried and did really well playing with her stickers most of the time.
Onto the fun part – the PARTY!! Only a few small glitches but overall the party was fabulous. And i have a lot of returning to do. We arrived at the park to decorate. We had rented a pavilion next to a playground. It was a very windy day and we were right next to a lake which made it even windier. The table were those iron ones with the holes. So immediately i decided to ditch the tablecloths. Even if I had used clips, the wind would have come from underneath and made the them billow which would have sent all the food and drinks flying. I also decided to forget the Happy Birthday banner and centerpieces I had. Now balloons were a different story since they were all blown up. We tied them really low but still had some casualties. I started out with 24 latex balloons and 6 mylar, ended up with all 6 mylars and about 7 latex by the end of the party. So, even though it didn’t look as nice as I had hoped and planned, no one cares about that (except me). And now I can return all the unused party supplies.
Next was Minnie Mouse. Oh Minnie. We had scheduled a Minnie Mouse character to arrive at noon and entertain for an hour. Well noon came and went. Soon it was 12:30, I left messages for the company but got no phone call back. Finally at 12:45 they showed up. Well, it was too late. The party was only until 2, by the time Minnie got ready and started it would have been 1 and if she performed for an hour that left mo time for cake, etc. So we asked them to perform for an hour at half price, they said they couldn’t do that. Further, they said they got lost. No phone call. They had both my and Marc’s cell phone number written down though. No apology. Couldn’t have cared less. Not to mention when we called to book Minnie, they told us that they perform at this park all the time. i don’t think they got lost. But whatever, I wasn’t going to argue, so they left. No Minnie. It would have been nice, but we definitely didn’t need it. I think the kids had a great time playing in the playground.
Overall the party was a success. Alexis had fun and got a lot of cute clothes and great gifts. Although I’m going to start assigning someone to be party photographer. I hardly have any pictures from the day b/c I was so busy doing other things, I didn’t really walk around enough taking pictures.
Daycares, nannies, SAHMs, Oh MY!!
I had a hard time coming up with a title for this post. I’m a little irked and needed to get this off my chest.
I feel, and have felt for a while now, judged. Why? Because of my decision to stay home with my daughter. I know a lot of people think it’s great that I get to stay home and raise my daughter on a daily basis. Well, that’s how I feel about it. But, there are some mommies who feel as though unless your child is in daycare they are missing out. Like my child is not learning as much or socializing as much because she is home with me. I haven’t said anything because I didn’t want to bring it up, but it bothers me.
My feeling is that everyone does what is best for them. I think daycare is a great option for families where both parents either have to or choose to work. I think its great. I also think that if parents choose to have a nanny watch their child, that too is wonderful if everyone is happy. But I also think that my decision to stay home is great. It works for us. I love doing it. I know it’s not for everyone. I know its hard and exhausting, but I love it. I have LOVED being home with my daughter every day of her 2 years. I have loved seeing all her milestones, knowing her better than anyone else does. I love being the one to set her schedule, know what she eats and when, and teaching her things. At 2, she is right on track. She counts to 10, knows colors, shapes, letters, plays pretend, she can do any puzzle you put in front of her (age appropriate, of course), etc. Oh, and yes, she plays independently very well. I loved when she was a brand new baby, giving her the one on one attention that i thought she needed. I make sure to take her out every day. We go to classes twice a week and to playdates or the park more often that that. Even a trip to Target can be educational. We do crafts, play with play-doh, color, paint, and play a lot!
So, I do resent the implication that because my daughter has not been in daycare she has not “learned” as much. That is simply not true. This is my choice and it has worked for us. If I was in a position where I had to work outside the home then of course I would have to find alternate arrangements. I am now ready for her to be in school. I have a found a wonderful place to put her that is a school environment. She will start this summer 2 half days a week. I know it will be good for her, and I know that she will not be behind other kids who have been taken care of outside the home.
Beautiful Blogger Award!!
Mommyof1 has been nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award 🙂
A huge thanks to Jenn at And Baby Makes 6 for the nomination!!
The rules for the award are as follows:
1. Thank the person(s) who nominated you and link to their blog(s). Done.
2. Copy the award and paste it to your blog. Look up. There it is.
3. Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself. Poo. I was never good at sharing.
4. Nominate 7 bloggers that you love and link to their blogs. Yes, yes. After #3.
Here we go:
1. I collect snails – not real ones, stuffed, glass, etc
2. I’m afraid of ballons. Not the mylar ones, those don’t bother me. The latex kind. I hate them.
3. I can’t eat a sandwich without chips in it. If I have to I will, but I really prefer my sandwiches to have chips.
4. I can ski and ice skate (interesting b/c I was born and raised in S. FL)
5. I have a thing about holidays. I celebrate them all, I like to decorate for all of them and I like cards.
6. I’m a huge Stephen King fan and have first edition hard cover copies of all his books.
7. :::gasp::: I’m not a dog person. I know I know it’s not cool to admit that, but I’m not. i like other people’s dogs, I just don’t want one of my own, they are too much work for me. I prefer cats.
Not sure if those are all interesting, but they are me:)
Now, let me nominate seven phenomenal blogs.
1. From Mrs To Momma
2. My World, My Words
3. Jenuinely Inspired
4. Thyme For Food
5. Vega Family
6. Samantha’s Blog
7. siren.org
Again, don’t forget to visit And Baby Makes 6!!
I believe the producers are telling me to wrap it up now, so I must get off stage before the music starts…
I admit it, I’m over protective
But I would rather be over protective than under protective and regretful. I just finished watching an episode of Oprah about child sex offenders. These men all knew the children they molested. Family members or close friends. I don’t remember the exact statistic they said but I believe it was 90% of victims know their abuser. People are sick and twisted, there is no question about that.
Being mom to a young daughter, unfortunately i think about these things. She is innocent and does not know about evil people and cannot fathom that there are people who would want to hurt her. Its my job to keep it that way. No, I would not leave her with a babysitter who I did not know. She was 18 months before I left her with anyone who was not family. And even then it was because I had surgery and needed the help, but I was there with her most of the time. And she was someone who came highly recommended from family.
I am mainly skeeved about diaper changes. There are only a very very limited number of people who I feel need to be seeing her privates. So even if it’s me changing her, I’m cautious about who is around, I don’t do it if there are people around who can look. Because, again, people are SICK. I don’t like lap-sitting for the most part either, depends on the person, but again the number of people is very small. It makes me uncomfortable.
I want to raise her to be strong and have a voice and a mouth and be very familiar with the word NO (though she seems to have that one down pat). Yes, I will teach her all about staying away from strangers, but there are a lot of non-strangers that can be worse. I will have to find the balance between making her aware and cautious without making her fearful and nervous.
One of the most important things that I heard in the Oprah show was from one of the sex offenders he said (I’m paraphrasing) ‘if a child says they were molested, believe them, kids don’t lie about this’. That really struck a nerve with me. I can’t imagine ever not believing Alexis if she told me anything happened to her, but I know it happens. People don’t want to cause trouble in families or think the kids are looking for attention. I know that if she ever told me anything like that, I would not be responsible for my actions towards the person.
I would rather question people and their intentions than be too trusting because you just never know.
Is your kid perfect?
Because I know that mine is not. Of course she is perfect in my eyes 🙂
I know she has her moments. All kids do. All adults do too! She is a toddler after all. She has tantrums and meltdowns, issues sleeping, etc. It’s normal. When she was little, there were issues with feeding and crying and just general baby stuff.
I think its so important to have a good support system when these things arise. People to talk to. To vent your frustrations to. That’s why I love being part of a message board filled with other mommies like me. We can vent and share our frustrations and get help, or at least get sympathy. It’s a place where I don’t feel like I should be judged because I know that I wouldn’t.
Why do I bring this up? Because lately I’ve noticed something. The “perfect kid” syndrome. There are those moms (this also applies to facebook and real life) who like to pretend that everything is puppies and rainbows. All we ever hear from them is bragging. Bragging about how wonderful their kid is, or how he or she did such a cute thing the other day. They will be the first ones to jump on and offer advice from their vast experience of raising a perfect child(ren). Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing wrong with bragging about your kids or sharing cute stories, but I really think that needs to be tempered with the reality that is parenthood. Life, actually. Kids are not always perfect, life is not always perfect. It’s messy and full of potholes and surprises that come out of nowhere. That’s why I love having people I know I can talk to and be open with and be frustrated. The same people I can share good news with and cute pictures and funny stories. It’s real.
So, for those who think that you will be judged or who feel like you can only share the good stuff, i encourage you to open up. It’s cathartic to talk to others. Who knows, someone may be able to have just the rights words of wisdom. Or someone may have been exactly where you are and they can say, “i understand”. Believe me, by not venting, you’re not fooling anyone. Because no one has that perfect of a life, so everyone knows that you’re just trying to be someone you’re not.
The diplomacy of kiddie parties
Alexis’ 2nd birthday is coming up, along with that comes the Birthday Party. Last year was easy b/c I wanted to make it low key, no need to have a huge party for me, b/c she would not enjoy it. This year is a different story. I’m doing a bigger party, more friends, more theme-y, etc. I’m pretty excited about everything.
Except the guest list.
The first wave was easy, my friends. The ones I really like, whose company I enjoy. Most have kids, but some don’t. Those were a no-brainer. Then there are the others. The ones I feel I have to invite for a variety of reasons. 1. I was invited to their kids party so I feel it’s only right to return the invitation. 2. They are friends of friends I am inviting and it would be odd to invite a group of friends minus one. It would be awkward and I don’t like to make people feel left out. 3. The ones I’m friends with out of obligation, you know the ones. I’ve been friends with them for a long time, or the person I see often enough at social occasions but don’t really like and yet need to invite anyway.
I’m fortunate in that 95% of the people I’m inviting and genuinely people I want to invite, but then there are those few who I know I have to, so I will suck it up and do it.
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