Fried Rice with Broccoli

Here's a great way to use leftover white rice from Chinese food take-out!

Ingredients:
leftover white rice from Chinese food takeout
1 small onion (chopped)
salt
black pepper
1 cup of frozen broccoli
soy sauce
1 egg (beaten)
vegetable oil
(feel free to add any other ingredients you would like, such as peas, chopped carrots, chicken, pork, tofu, etc.)


Directions:
Over medium heat, saute onions in a large nonstick pan in heated oil until the onions become a very light brown. In the meantime, heat broccoli in microwave until soft. Add rice evenly throughout pan, mixing it into the onions. Add soy sauce (to taste) and continue mixing around rice. Add broccoli. Cook as long as desired (longer cooking time will produce crispy effect). Before removing pan from heat, mix in beaten egg along with salt and pepper (to taste). Cook for approximately 1 minute, mixing egg around evenly.


Somehow, there always seems to be leftover rice from Chinese food take-out. This recipe is a fun alternative to eating it plain! I usually add whatever protein or vegetables are available to me in my house so use your imagination and enjoy!

Crispy Kale

Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh kale (ripped up into bite size pieces and without stems)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scatter ripped up kale in a baking dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder on top (to taste). Make sure kale is well coated with all ingredients by mixing it around in the baking dish. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until all leaves are crispy, but not burnt. Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!


Children enjoy helping to create this snack by ripping up the leaves of kale. It is a healthy snack, but also incredibly tasty! It could not be any easier to make, either, which helps out a lot!

Tomato Sauce with Rigatoni

Ingredients:

1 box of rigatoni (I use the brand Barilla)

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

½ of a yellow onion (chopped)

1 teaspoon of sugar

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 pinch of crushed red pepper

½ tablespoon of dried parsley flakes

Grated cheese (either Pecorino Romano or Parmesan)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Once oil is heated, add garlic and onions and cook until onions are translucent and garlic is lightly browned. Add the contents of the can of crushed tomatoes. Add sugar, salt (leave 1 teaspoon aside for the water), black pepper, and red pepper, turn heat to simmer, and stir occasionally. While the sauce is simmering, bring a pot of water and a teaspoon of salt to a boil and then add the rigatoni. Drain the rigatoni after it is finished cooking (cook time is on the box). Add sauce and serve topped with grated cheese.

Feel free to add or take away what you wish in order to make it your favorite dish!

I first remember using this recipe when I was only five years old. I would drag a kitchen chair over to the stove and beg my grandmother to let me help her add ingredients. Growing up, it seemed as if there was always a pot of tomato sauce (my mom calls it gravy) simmering on the stove. Because of this, the wonderful aroma that this sauce produces always reminds me of home.

I asked my mom to make this dish with me. While the sauce was simmering and we were waiting for the water to boil, we began to reminisce about my maternal grandmother and what a good cook she was (this year marked the tenth anniversary of her passing). Making this sauce was, in our opinion, a great way to honor her. Writing down this recipe was very difficult for me because, in my family, recipes are never written down! In fact, they are shown to others through actually making the dish together. So take this recipe with a grain of salt—literally!