Easy Fried Rice Featuring Whole Grain Brown Rice by Minute® Rice

I have recently made the switch from white rice to brown rice.  From what I understand it packs more of a nutritional punch. Whole Grain Brown Rice by Minute Rice can be prepared in 10 minutes.  I can even whip up a quick batch in the microwave at work when in a pinch.  I generally eat it as prepared right out of the box as a side dish.  I also like to make extra so that I can use the rest for fried rice the next day.  There are so many variations to fried rice.  It is such a versatile dish made super easy because you can add whatever ingredients that you have on hand as an add it. It's a simple & kid friendly!  Our son gobbles it up!  I was debating between Crab Fried Rice and Kimchi Fried Rice.  Since my son & my mom aren't fans of Kimchi, I opted for the crab.  It was a hit - I'm bummed that there aren't any leftovers!

Crab Fried Rice

• 3 cups rice, cooked the day before and refrigerated.

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup carrots

• 1/4 cup peas

• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced

• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1-1/2 tablespoon lime juice

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 6 ounces crab meat (I used lump crab).

• salt/pepper to taste

Mix the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan. Add peas, carrots, garlic, green onions and ginger. Add rice, follow with liquid mixture and blend well. Fry for 5 minutes or so. Finish by adding eggs and stir fry until the eggs are cooked and are mixed well with the rice. Remove from heat and crab meat. 

Minute® Rice is so quick and easy to prepare and is great pantry staple. When meal time seems like a hassle, Minute® Rice is a go-to ingredient your whole family will love and allows you to have more quality time doing what your want with your loved ones.

Leftover rotisserie chicken or veggies from a meal earlier in the week? Minute® Rice can easily be paired with some of your leftover ingredients to make a quick, easy and wholesome meal your whole family will love in just a matter of minutes.

Visit http://minuterice.com to create a great main meal or side dish for your next family get-together or potluck.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Minute® Rice.

Macy's Culinary Council Chef Nancy Silverton in San Diego

Join Macy's Culinary Council Chef Nancy Silverton on January 12th at the Macy's Mission Valley Home Store!

As you all know - I LOVE attending events here in San Diego. I have many LOVES that I share on my blog. One of those loves is a love of FOOD! GOOD food. GREAT food!  This weekend two of my loves are coming together!  When experts share their craft I want to BE THERE to learn their trade secrets!  Sadly, I will not be able to attend this one.   BUT I am very excited to share the details just in case YOU are able to attend. This is sure to be a fun one!  If this is the type of event that catches your interest I would look them up in your area as well (since not all of you are here in San Diego)!  I just love cooking demonstrations! Don't you? I hope that you can make it.

Photo Credit: Macys.com

When: Saturday, January 12th at Noon

Where: Macy's Mission Valley Home Store School of Cooking, Main Level 1555 Camino De La Reina San Diego, CA 92108

Photo: Macy.com

Reservations are not required. Seating begins at 11:30am. First come, first served basis.

Bonus: With any $35 Home purchase (use your gift cards that you got for Christmas!) on the day of the event, you will receive a $10 Macy's gift card AND a signed copy of the Macy's Culinary Council Thanksgiving & Holiday Cookbook.

For more details about this event visit: http://bit.ly/NancySilvertonSD





Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post.  I have partnered with Everywhere & Macy's Culinary Council to share the details about the event and was compensated for doing so. All opinions contained in this post are my own.

Torani Syrup - Salted Caramel Banana Topped French Toast

I have been invited by She Speaks to participate in the Torani Holiday Cheers program.  Torani syrups are widely known as a delicious "add-in" to your favorite beverages.  You are bound to see bottles of various flavors in you favorite coffee houses!

Cooking and baking with Torani Syrup is a fun and simple way to add wonderful flavors to your favorite dishes as well!

Torani has such a vast selection of flavors to choose from.  You will have to visit their website to see for yourself!  They even came out with Chicken N Waffles!

I'm excited to try the Almond Roca and Macadamia Nut flavors!

If you still have a last minute gift to fill for the Holiday's or can't figure out what to give that hard to shop for person on your list - try the Holiday Variety pack of Torani Syrups! The holiday collection includes: Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice, Vanilla, Hazelnut, Italian Eggnog and Peppermint! It's also PERFECT for Holiday entertaining!

I was thrilled to receive the Sugar Free Salted Caramel and the Gingerbread syrups to try out!  I found a quick and easy way to enjoy the Salted Caramel Flavor: Simply drizzle it over slices of green apple!  It's like a fresh version of caramel apples! Try it for an instant fix!

I made Salted Caramel Banana Topped French Toast! French toast was one of my absolute favorite breakfast foods as a child.  We normally enjoy them with a dusting of powdered sugar or with maple syrup.  I decided that I would make them extra special by adding some Torani flair!  I caramelized bananas with the Salted Caramel Syrup to create a NEW breakfast favorite!

Next up: Creating Holiday treats using the Gingerbread Syrup!  Ideas anyone?

Torani's description of the Gingerbread Syrup: The flavor of ginger snaps reminds you of cheerful holiday times. The fresh-from-the-oven taste of this syrup gives off hints of cinnamon and molasses.

About Torani: Family-owned Torani has been crafting great tasting flavored syrups that coffeehouses use to make their flavored drinks taste so delicious. With over 120 flavors in Regular and Sugar Free varieties, Torani flavored syrups are perfect for flavored lattes, mochas, coffees, cocoas, Italian sodas, teas, lemonades, cocktails and smoothies. Coffeehouse professionals choose Torani flavors because they are expertly crafted and made with the highest quality ingredients, like natural flavors and pure cane sugar. The Sugar Free flavors have no calories and are sweetened with Splenda. Now, Torani flavored syrups are widely available at retail so you can easily create authentic coffeehouse quality drinks at home.

Save $1.00 On any flavor of Torani. Available in the coffee aisle. Coupon Expires 1/17/2013.


Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I have partnered with She Speaks & Torani to share my experiences with Torani Syrup. All opinions are my own and I did not receive compensation for my review. Samples were provided to facilitate my review.

Funds awarded to educate East End Lexingtonians about food, health

Getting community elders to talk to youth about gardening and cooking is one of the missions to be accomplished in Lexington's East End neighborhood from a $52,000 grant.

The funds will create a virtual center where community members can go to learn about food and health. "Our goal is to improve decision making about food through information," said Steve Austin, vice president of the Blue Grass Community Foundation, which was awarded the money by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

"Residents will have the opportunity to talk about what they need to make better food choices," the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. "A digital food information center will then be created so people can go online and learn about all things related to food." Printed information will also be available.

Adults and children living in the neighborhood will interview older members of the community about gardening, food preparation, cooking methods and entrepreneurship. "If we succeed here, we can do it across the city," Austin said. "We can transform Lexington, no matter where people live, to make better decisions about food." (Read more)