Turkey Salad and Seafood Fried Rice

A couple of dishes I made recently turned out pretty good, so I thought I'd share them here.  I didn't use measurements for either, but I estimated them for documentation purposes.

If you have any questions, shoot me a message or comment and I'll try to explain.

Turkey Salad:
I was looking for something to make to use up the leftover Thanksgiving turkey, and came up with this cold salad.  It ended up similar to a tuna helper, but more of a clean taste, without the fish flavor.

Ingredients: Leftover turkey pieces, mayo, green onions, 3-minute mini rotini noodles.
Seasonings: Salt, sage, parsley.

Boil water for noodles and put them in to cook (keep an eye on them and stir occasionally while doing the rest).
Shred the turkey (I used my Magic Bullet for this), then put it in a good size container.  Add mayo.  Wash and finely chop green onions.  Add the green onions.  When the pasta is done, rinse it in cold water until it is cold.  Combine with the other ingredients until it's the consistency of a pasta salad.  Add seasonings to taste.


Seafood Fried Rice:
Ingredients: White rice (3 cups dried), eggs (2), artificial crab meat (1/2 package), frozen shrimp (1/3 small package), fresh green onions (5), canned baby corn (1/2 can), canned sliced water chestnuts (1/2 can), canned diced carrots and peas (1/4 can).
Other: Vegetable oil (4 tbsp), soy sauce (5 tbsp).

Feel free to change this one up however you like... adding and subtracting extras is most of the fun!  Many people use whatever leftover veggies they have from other recipes for fried rice.  This one does take some advance preparation.

In advance, cook the white rice (in general, put it in a pot, fill it with water to about 1" over the level of the rice, bring it to a boil, cover, turn down to simmer (medium / medium low), simmer for about 15 minutes, take off heat but keep covered for additional 5 minutes).  Put the rice into a container and put it in the refrigerator.  Rice must be fully cooled to use for fried rice.

First, scramble the eggs and cook them.  As they're cooking, break them into small pieces.  Put them aside.
Wash the green onions and chop them thin, put aside.

Using a large wok or frying pan, add vegetable oil and heat to medium / medium high.  Add cold rice.  Constantly stir as it cooks, breaking apart the clumps of rice so it separates.  Add soy sauce.  Add the frozen shrimp, heating and letting it thaw.  When the shrimp is thawed, add the artificial crab meat and all the vegetables except the green onions.  Add more soy sauce if desired.  Remember to keep stirring.  When everything is almost completely hot, add the scrambled eggs and green onions and continue stirring.  Make sure everything is nice and hot before you serve it.

Have fun cooking!

Initial Thoughts - Google Adsense

As you may have noticed, there are contextual links located on the right side of my blog.  I am experimenting with a program that Google operates called Google Adsense.  Essentially, it monitors how much traffic this site generates (by how many times the ad is displayed), and gives me some minor credit each time the ads are displayed, and monitors how many times somebody clicks one of those links, and gives me a larger credit for that.  Eventually, if there's enough traffic, I am paid for those credits.

So if you're not terribly busy, take a look at some of those ads.  You might just find something awesome, and you'll be helping me out.  If not, no big deal, and I hope they don't bother you.  They're off to the side for just that reason.  Thanks!

Product Review - The Magic Bullet

Last weekend, I picked up The Magic Bullet - the "As Seen on TV" countertop food processor.  I have to admit, I was far too excited to see how well it really works.  I should mention I bought it in a retail store, and paid about $60.  The box came with the base, two food processing cups - a small one and a large one, one angled blade, one flat blade, four beverage cups with different color lip covers, and an instruction manual with suggested recipes.

I noticed several advantages over traditional food processors right off the bat.  First of all, it's practically idiot proof.  The components are all plastic, the blades screw onto the  food processing and beverage cups before you press it onto the base to use it.  It's very easy to shake or tap it to adjust the contents as well.  Also, it's absurdly easy to clean up.  I spray it down with hot water and toss it on the top dishwasher rack, but it'd be just as quick to hand wash.  Of course, none of this matters if it doesn't do what it's supposed to - make good food and drinks.

I more or less ignored the suggested recipes in the manual, although the ideas sounded decent.  We made a variety of blended shots, all of which turned out well.  The Magic Bullet blended ice to a slush with no problems whatsoever.  My favorite of our experiments was ice, equal parts: UV Blue vodka, Patron Citronage tequila, and Sierra Mist Cranberry Soda, and a spoonful of sugar.  I don't have the most normal palate when it comes to drinks, your mileage may vary.

On a different occasion, I made omelettes - eggs, ham, cheese, regular and green onions, as well as a sandwich spread - mayo, pickles, ham, and pickle juice.  Both turned out phenomenal, and took only a few moments to make.

Although it was a little expensive for a food processor, I was very impressed with the Magic Bullet, and it's definitely earned a permanent place on the counter.

http://www.buythebullet.com/

Welcome to My New Blog

Hi everybody, and welcome to my new blog. Thanks for taking the time to read.

I would like to keep this entertaining as well as useful, so watch for posts regarding all sorts of topics, from product reviews to cooking tips to how-to's to technology.