Clean out the Veggie Drawer Rice

You know who you are. You are cleaning out the fridge and see a drawer full of veggies that you intended on cooking throughout last week. But, things got crazy and the kids had things. Before you throw them out, WAIT! Keep reading!

I was looking for a way to add a little zing to boring, old rice. The original recipe comes from Betty Crocker, my never ending cooking go-to guide. I found it in the poultry section as a stuffing, and thought it would be great as a chicken side. Well, it turned out better than just a side and became the main whoo-hoo of the dinner!

This one is dedicated to all of you out there who end up with a drawer full of veggies a week later after your grocery shopping. It's a great recipe on a Monday, or any day where you've cooked bacon the day before and have a couple of leftover pieces. HOLD UP....leftover bacon??? You can leave this part out, but as they say, bacon makes it better.

All veggies listed are optional and can be subbed for what you have.
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Clean out the Veggie Drawer Rice
2 TBsp butter or margarine
stalk of celery
1/4 cup chopped onion (any color will work here)
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
2 cups of cooked rice (leftover rice also works well here!)
Handful of chopped walnuts (pecans or almonds can be subbed, but please leave them out if you don't like 'em or if they'll send you to the emergency room)
Handful of raisins (not gross, trust me!!)
1/4 tsp paprika
4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

My FAVORITE added veggies include: carrots, peppers, mushrooms or basically, any veggie that tastes good cooked. I think peas, eggplant or corn would be great as well. Throw in what you have!!

Melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in onions, veggies, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until veggies are tender. Remove from heat.

Stir in veggie mixture with the remainder of the ingredients. Serve warm or cold.

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Easy. Rice will never be the same for you and your family after you try this.

Nana's Mini Mac n Cheese Bites

Have I told you about my friend Nana? Well, she loves anything that can be made into mini muffins. When she brought these Mac n Cheese Bites to a tea that we had, they were a major hit. She has since made them for other occasions and they always go fast. Many of us Lunching Ladies make things for various occasions, and usually on a weekly basis. Put this one in your queue, people. Trust me, everyone will be asking for the recipe.

As far as ingredients, the one thing that you may have trouble getting is the cheddar cheese. It was a glorious day last week when our commissary was stocked back up with it after being out for many, many months. Let's just say that as hard as the Land D'Or 'cheddar' from Carrefour tried, it just didn't cut the mustard.

The recipe is adapted from a recipe from Food and Wine Mag, November 2007.

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Mini Mac and Cheese Bites

Makes about 50

3TBsp butter

4 Tbsp flour

1.5 cups of milk

3 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese (can substitute other meltable cheese, such as American or Colby)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus some for sprinklin'

2 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes until thickened. Add cheddar and Parm cheeses and stir to melt. Remove from heat and stir in egg yolks, salt and nutmeg. Stir in macaroni.

Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of macaroni and cheese into mini muffin pan. Each cup should be filled to the top. Pack each one down gently. Sprinkle with remaining Parm cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes until golden and sizzling. Take out and let cool for 5 minutes. Use a teaspoon and carefully loosen bites and transfer to platter.

To make ahead, bake and cool mac n cheese bites. Package and refrigerate. Place bites on baking sheet and heat at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

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These make an excellent appetizer for the holidays and will impress your guests. And you may fall in love with your mini muffin tins all over again!

Chicken in a whole new light

Here in Tunisia, chicken is king. I think I've eaten more chicken here to last a lifetime. Partly because it's inexpensive and easy. Also, the beef here just isn't what it's like back in the states. Coming up with a new way to fix chicken is almost as good as getting a package from the pouch or DPO. Sorry, bad mail joke.....

This is an easy recipe for a sauce/glaze and you should be able to get everything locally. One thing I'll mention is that you could use chicken breasts, strips or even wings and drummies. I made this with normal drumsticks and it turned out great.

Tangy Chicken Glaze
1 package of chicken drumsticks (or any other chicken parts)
Equal parts of honey and soy sauce (for 1 small package, 3 TBsp of each works well)
1 TBsp of chili sauce or marmalade (you could also use apricot preserves)
Pinch of ginger
1 minced clove or sprinklin' of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and pat chicken dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake chicken in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

While baking, mix remaining ingredients.

Remove chicken and brush with glaze. Put back in oven and repeat glazing every 10 minutes until chicken is done.
- Drumsticks - 20-25 more minutes

The sauce will thicken upon baking. Use this to pour over the chicken when out of the oven.

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For those looking for a great wing sauce, try this! You will need to make some modifications with baking times, but I think it would be fantastic.

I'd like to apologize to all of the LLOR readers as I've been slackin' recently. I guess that's what happens during the holidays! More recipes to come :)!!