Easy Rice Wraps

I had a craving earlier this week and it was satisfied with tonight's dinner. Easy Spring Wraps!! Last year, I bought some at the store and fell in love with the light cool taste of these healthy rolls. They cost about $3-$4 for 2 rolls, but I hate paying for something that I can make my own for much cheaper. Most everything I just got at the regular grocery store. I know some stores carry sheets of rice paper, but I couldn't find any at my regular store, so I just went and bought a 30 pack for about $3 at Whole Foods.

Ingredients to try out - I will put a star next to what I used and how much to make about 8-10 rolls
*cucumber - 1/3 large hothouse
*spinach/lettuce- about 1/3 bunch cut into strips
*bell pepper - 1/4 red in strips
*avocado - 1/2 medium hass
sprouts
*carrots- 2 cut into thin strips
*chicken - 1 cup cut into chunks or shredded
shrimp
cooked rice

Step 1: Take rice paper and dip into warm water for 10- 30 seconds or until flexible without cracking or breaking. (Some packages differ from others, so just keep an eye out for cracking)


Step 2: Fill with veggies and meat. Roll like a burrito or egg roll and press together to seal ingredients in.

Step 3: Let the rolls sit for a few minutes and cut diagonally down the center and put on a plate, careful not to let them touch (sometimes the wrappers stick to eachother)


Dipping Sauce for Rice Wraps

3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 finely sliced Green Onion
Splash of sesame oil

The hardest part of making this for me was keeping my wrappers from cracking. If there is a little crackage, its ok. These rolls don't look that great until you cut them down the middle anyway.
ENJOY!!!

Long days = quick and easy dinners = Chicken Rice Ole'

So I decided to make cookies with my 2 year old before dinnertime and forgot to take care of dinner until dessert was done! What was I to do. Luckily, I freeze rice when I cook too much of it. This is one of my easiest and fastest recipes for those nights when theres a lot going on and not a lot of time to make dinner.

Chicken Rice Ole'

3 cups cooked rice (i like brown rice)
1 cup sour cream
1 10 oz can of cooked chicken
1 cup Salsa
a sprinkle of grated cheese

So for this, I just put everything in a microwave safe dish and stir it together. I pop that in the microwave for 3-5 min or until everything is heated thoroughly. Thats it!!!! It takes me less than 10 minutes to prepare and serve this when the rice is already cooked. Definitely a time saver and oh so tasty. My kids like it too!

An easier night with a boost of veggies!

I have a 2 year old that DOES NOT eat rice. Last night, he willingly ate some and asked for more. I was shocked. He ate all of his dinner so that warranted a trip to Cold Stone after my healthy dinner so it was a good night.
I made a goal this week to try a new recipe every day. So on Sunday I made my breakfast skillet and last night I tried a rice pilaf recipe from Doubly Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I love the recipes in this cookbook because they are simple recipes that have added veggies hidden in them. If you are not familiar with Jessica Seinfeld's cooking approach, she sneaks veggies into her kids foods by cooking them up and pureeing them or by adding whole grains. I really am a "wannabeskinny mama" so this book really helps. I have noticed that as I eat more veggies every day, I lose weight easier. Here is the recipe for enriched rice Pilaf. As usual, I made a few modifications to fit me better.

RICE PILAF
prep: 5 minutes
Total time: 50 min
Serves 5

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup brown rice (I used 1 1/4 - 1 1/2)
1/2 c cauliflower puree ( I used about 3/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth (I just used a whole can)
1/4 tsp salt

In a saucepan, saute the garlic in the olive oil until is just starts to brown on the edges. Add the uncooked rice and toss to coat (abt 30 seconds)
Add the cauliflower puree, chicken broth, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to a simmer with the lid tightly in place. Simmer abt. 45 min. or until rice is tender.DO NOT STIR!!
Let rice stand for 5 min and fluff with a fork. Serve. Enjoy!

The nutrition breakdown is:
Calories = 154
Carbs = 30 g
Protein = 4 g
Total Fat = 2 g
Saturated Fat = 0.5 g
Sodium = 140 mg
Fiber = 2 g

Quick and Yummy

So the other day I was making some brown rice for my little boy. As it was cooking, I realized that I was feeling pretty hungry myself. So I tried thinking of the quickest, easiest meal that I could make with rice. I remembered an easy dish that didn't require a lot of work or ingredients. So here is the recipe for my haystacks.

1 can cooked chicken breast (or 1 breast boiled and shredded)
1 cup chicken gravy (or to make it a little easier, use cream of chicken soup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups peas (or other cut up veggies)
chow mein noodles (the crunchy ones)
3 cups rice, cooked

Make the gravy according to package directions. Assemble the haystacks with rice on the bottom, then chicken and gravy mixed together. Add cheese to top, followed by veggies and desired amount of pineapple. Sprinkle chow mein noodles over the top and enjoy. This should make about 4 servings.

I actually forgot about the cheese until I had finished the meal, but doing that kept the meal pretty healthy. I even fed it to my little 11 month old boy without the noodles and pineapple. He just loved it, and so did I... a nice balance of sweet, salty, and creamy...not to mention healthy!