Fan Qie Chao Dan

When I lived in China, I came to appreciate one of the best yet most simple to make Chinese dishes.  It is known as Chinese comfort food - kind of like how we eat Chicken Noodle Soup when we don't feel well here in the west.  It is called Fan Qie Chao Dan, or Stir Fried Tomato and Egg.  

A restaurant where I frequently bought this dish in Kunming also served it with a healthy mix of green onions and cilantro, however it is not always cooked by all Chinese with these ingredients.  I love both of those ingredients, so that is how I make it.  There may also be other methods to make this dish, but this the method that reminds me most of how it was at this particular restaurant where I used to eat it.

For your ingredients, you'll need about 4 roma tomatoes per person, 2 eggs per person, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, salt, and optionally green onions and cilantro to taste.  The nice thing about a lot of Chinese cooking is measurements are quite often not "exact" measurements, just proportions and estimates.  Of course some dishes do have measurements, but I've never watched too many Chinese who were cooking straight off a recipe.

I made this serving for two people, so I used 8 tomatoes (quartered), 4 eggs, about 2-3 tablespoons of sesame oil for frying, 2-3 stalks of green onions, and a heaping handful of cilantro (because I love cilantro, you may choose to use less).

First, heat a wok or a skillet with a tablespoon or so of sesame oil.  

 Add your eggs and scramble them.  I'm aware that some stir up the eggs prior to dropping them in the skillet - that's just too many unnecessary dirty dishes for me.  You can still do it that way if you'd like to wash the extra bowl.

Scramble the eggs...

 Put the scrambled eggs into a separate bowl while you cook the other ingredients.

Add another tablespoon of sesame oil into the skillet and let it get hot.

Add the green onions to distribute their flavor through the oil.

After about thirty seconds, add your quartered roma tomatoes.

I often add in between 2 - 4 tablespoons of water to help the tomatoes cook down without becoming too dry.  

I usually let them cook until the skins just start to turn away from the sides and the juices are starting to turn orange-red.  It is usually about this point that I give the stir fry a good salting.

Then add the scrambled eggs back to the skillet.

Stir the tomato egg mixture back together, and let cook just a little longer.  In the last minute or so add the cilantro and stir it into the mix.

You don't want to cook the cilantro too much, just enough to wilt it slightly and the flavor will distribute a little bit.

Add to a bowl by itself or over rice and enjoy!

While this may be one of the simplest Chinese dishes, it really takes me back to my good times there, and it definitely a wonderful specimen of comfort food.

Recycled Coffee in Recycled Jars

Todays post pretty much has a lot to do with not wasting things. I'm probably not the most avid recycler you've ever heard of, I'm certainly not the most avid recycler that I know.  However, when I can I try to buy things that can serve multiple purposes.   On a similar but separate subject, since Tyler works days and I work nights, we go through A LOT of coffee.  If he makes a pot in the morning and there's a little bit left over, but not enough for me to make it through a night at work, then I make another pot in the evening as well.  

In this post, I'm going to show you how we recycle both coffee and jelly jars with reusable lids, which make the perfect refrigerator storage for leftover coffee that can then be used as the perfect iced coffee glass.

I love buying Garden Club jelly.  I really enjoy the plum jelly, and I especially like that I can reuse every jar either as a drinking glass or a storage jar since the lid is reusable.  They are quaint with a sweet vintage design on the bottom.

This is where the leftover coffee comes in.

So maybe you don't want an iced coffee now, but you might this afternoon or when you come home from work.  Just pour the leftovers in the jar and store in the refrigerator.

If you plan to refrigerate and save for later, just remember to keep your lids and snap it on!

If you're reusing certain types of food containers, though, like salsa, spaghetti sauce, or kimchi (learned by experience), just remember that the smell really never comes out of the lid part.

Kimchi coffee really doesn't sound good.

When you're ready to make yourself a cold coffee drink, just get some cream and sugar, and ice cubes if you like!

Add a little sugar, or whatever sweetener you prefer!

Add a cute straw and you're ready for some sweet sips!

I love the plastic straws I bought last year from Oh Joy.  I had been looking for straws I could throw in the dishwasher for a long time, and these work out great!

I don't really like to use ice often, so just cold coffee is fine with me!  

How do you reuse everyday things in your home?

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

A couple weeks ago, I was trying to use some leftover peppers from a veggie tray I made and needed a quick meal that used those vegetables.  With the help of the hubby (who has great ideas on what I should cook us for dinner), we decided to make quesadillas.

This meal works out really well for us since we work opposite schedules, its quick, and at least has some vegetables in it!  I had a request to post the recipe from when I posted this on Instagram, so here you go if you wanted it!

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

Yeild:  2

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

1/4 Medium Sized Onion

2 Tbs Olive Oil

5 Tbs Butter

4 Tortillas

1 Cup Shredded Cheese (of your choice)

Thaw chicken breasts if needed.  Heat skillet once chicken is thawed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add one tablespoon of butter. 

When oil and butter are hot, place chicken in pan and cook until crisp and golden brown on medium-high heat.

(I realize those aren't 2 chicken breasts.  We've been buying this bag of organic frozen chicken that comes in strips.  I only had three strips left, otherwise I'd have probably cooked four.  Hooray for running out of food.)

 While chicken is cooking, begin chopping the vegetables.

Don't forget to flip the chicken!

Cut peppers into small thin slices, and dice onion.  

Once chicken has finished cooking, take out of pan and shred with two forks on a separate plate.

Add one more tablespoon of butter to the pan and insert a tortilla.  

Add your choice of cheese to the top of the tortilla.

Next, spread the peppers and onion and across the tortilla and cheese.

Remember to experiment with flavors you like - so if you don't like bell peppers, try jalapenos, just onion, or a different meat if you'd like.

Spread shredded chicken over top of the peppers.

 Add cheese to the top of the mound.

Place another tortilla on top.

Use a spatula to check the underneath side of the tortilla.  Flip when bottom tortilla is golden-brown.

Once tortilla is crisp and brown and cheese inside has melted, remove quesadilla from the skillet.

Use pizza cutter to cut quesadilla into fourths.

This one is perfect for a quick lunch..and we even use it for dinners when we don't have a lot of time!

This has been one of our "go-to" meals recently.

Are there any meals you fall back on frequently?