Cooking With Kathryn

Recipes and Tips for Everyday Food Lovers

Chicken Fried Rice

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One of my favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang’s.  My husband and I have been going there together since before we were dating, and it’s still a staple date location for us.  But going there too often can get expensive, and their frozen meals just aren’t close to the same.  So I finally decided to create my own version of their fried rice and, honestly, it’s good competition!

And that’s saying a lot.  When I said that we love P.F. Chang’s, I’m not kidding.  We went to Las Vegas years ago and where did we eat there?  Not local restaurants.  P.F. Chang’s.  I have great memories of eating to-go food in the hotel room during a dinner break of the conference we were there attending.  That was during the in-between time in our relationship, when we weren’t quite dating yet, but couldn’t honestly say we were just friends.

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We were such babies then, I know.  Anyway, this recipe uses two of my favorite “time-savers”.  One is Success Rice, which is the easiest way to cook rice.  You can either boil it on the stove, already packaged based on serving sizes, or just cook it in a bowl of water in the microwave.  It only takes 10 minutes!  To me, this is a cooking miracle.  The other ingredient is Kraft’s Asian Toasted Sesame dressing.  It packs a ton of flavor and is completely dairy-free!

Ingredients

The great thing about this recipe is how incredibly simple it is.  To speed it up, I use frozen vegetables, cook them in a pan and then scramble one egg.

Veggies and Egg

It comes together beautifully, tastes delicious and is great for you.

Stir Fry With Chicken

And it’s great with your favorite egg rolls!

Stir Fry on Plate

Here’s the recipe!  Hope you all enjoy it 🙂

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Chicken Fried Rice

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cook rice, according to package directions
  2. Cook frozen vegetables in a pan, according to package directions
  3. Meanwhile, beat an egg until smooth; add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. After the vegetables are cooked, push them into one half of the pan and add egg onto the empty half. Scramble and mix with veggies.
  5. Add chicken and cook until heated through and seared on the outside.
  6. Add cooked rice.
  7. Stir in dressing to taste, until ingredients are completely covered.
  8. Cook until slightly bubbling and heated through. Serve.
http://cookingwithkathryn.net/chicken-fried-rice/

Cheeseburger Pasta

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Fall is here.  Which means that football season is here.  Which, to someone from the South, is much more important than Fall. And football means cheeseburgers, right?  Well, it’s starting to get cooler here in Nashville, so for the most recent football game, I decided to replace the typical cheeseburger with delicious cheeseburger pasta.

To me, the only football is Gamecock football.  I grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, in a family full of USC fans.  I also attended USC for three years before moving to Nashville to run my business and be with my then-boyfriend, now-husband. I was a music major and was in the marching band.  The experience of going to every football game, performing in front of 85,000 people every week, spending a ton of time with the greatest “family” in the world, and getting to go and perform at the SEC championship is something that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.  Here’s a picture of some of my best friends and me my freshman year at USC.  Yes, I was tiny.

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And even after that, I went to as many games as I could.  But the last game I got to attend was a year ago, with my now in-laws.

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Even though there are a lot of things I DON’T miss about South Carolina (the humidity, the drivers etc.), I definitely miss Carolina football.  So, that being said, the start of football season was a big deal for me.  And the cheeseburger pasta was the perfect addition to the game.

Cheeseburger Skillet 2

It’s great because it takes up a grand total of a pot and a pan, which makes clean-up extremely easy.  There’s not much chopping; it doesn’t take much time to prepare; but it will feed an army.  Trust me.  I found the original recipe on Damn Delicious and, ever since, it’s become a meal staple in my family.

Cheeseburger Skillet 1

I’m sure your family will love it, too!

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Cheeseburger Pasta

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
  • 2 cups chicken broth (I personally recommend all natural)
  • 1/4 cup kethcup
  • 1 pound rotini pasta
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Kraft, or other lactose-free brand)
  • 1 Roma tomato, diced (optional)
  • Green onions (optional)
  • Sour cream (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a skillet, add onions and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until beef is browned. Drain if needed
  2. In a large pot on the same burner that you cooked the beef, add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, ketchup, 2 cups of water, and pasta. Stir well.
  3. Bring to a boil; cover; reduce heat and simmer for 16 minutes or until pasta is cooked through.
  4. Remove from heat and top with cheese. Cover and let sit 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.
  5. Serve with diced tomatoes, green onions and sour cream, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from Damn Delicious.

http://cookingwithkathryn.net/cheeseburger-pasta/

Chicken Enchiladas

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My husband, Luke, and I had one of our good friends over for dinner last night.  I’ve known Will for years and he’s a personal mentor of mine and is one of the most motivated, driven people I’ve ever met.  He loves getting me out of my comfort zone and is personally responsible for some of the most embarrassing moments of my life that also caused the most growth.

This is him and I on my 21st birthday, where he got me a balloon hat and had the entire restaurant sing to me, even when I asked him not to.  Growth.

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From him I learned:

  1. Leadership is all about meeting people where they are.
  2. Believing in someone can make all the difference in their lives.
  3. Constantly grow and dedicate yourself to personal development reading and conferences.
  4. Do what you love to do and do it unapologetically.
  5. Never forget to spend time with friends, no matter how busy you are.
  6. Be yourself in every situation, even if people think you’re crazy.

He’s also responsible for the only speeding ticket I’ve ever gotten, one that cost me a whopping $250.  The lesson that can be learned from this?  If someone tells you that they’ll pay for a speeding ticket if you drive their BMW 100 mph won’t do so if you only get up to 98.  I’m usually the one who doesn’t go a MILE over the speed limit.  The power of persuasion, I tell you.

Anyway, I asked him what he wanted to eat and he said, “chicken enchiladas!”  Enchiladas are one of my favorite meals, so of course I obliged!

Now, traditionally, enchiladas are full of cheese, sour cream and other things that make them nearly impossible for those of us who are lactose-intolerant to eat.  Not this version!  I took a traditional chicken enchilada recipe, made a few tweaks and came up with a delicious, hearty meal that you and your family will love.  Though this version has no lactose, you can feel free to substitute with regular ingredients as well.

Lactose-Free Chicken Enchiladas

Print
Chicken Enchiladas

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 8 enchiladas

Ingredients

  • 1 medium white onion, diced
  • 2-4 cups of your favorite shredded chicken (my favorite is Curley's sauceless pulled chicken)
  • 2 cups of homemade or canned enchilada sauce
  • 8-count package of 8-inch tortillas
  • 1 package of Kraft cheddar cheese (this is lactose-free!)
  • 1 package of Kraft mozzarella cheese (also lactose-free)
  • 1 container of sour cream
  • Parsley (optional)
  • Green onions (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Saute the onion in a skillet until it begins to become translucent. Then, add the chicken and cook according to package directions or until heated through. Add half of the enchilada sauce and half the bag of cheddar cheese.
  3. Grease a baking dish (you may need 2). Fill each tortilla with 2 spoonfuls of the chicken mixture. Roll and place crease-side down in the baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and both types of cheese.
  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the edges are crispy.
  5. Serve with parsley, sour cream and green onions.

Notes

* Adapted from Cooking with Libby *

http://cookingwithkathryn.net/chicken-enchiladas/