The Aussie Who Ate The Big Apple

HomeCookin: Clean the fridge *sweet chili fried rice* w/ sesame shrimp, egg, peppers and boy choy.

So here we are again with a “let’s see what we can scavenge from the fridge” to create dinner…

What I had:
Large Brown Rice from chinese take-out
1/2 green pepper
3 scallions
1/2 large carrot
1 can baby corn
1 bok choy bunch
fresh garlic
1 lime
asian sauces

What I bought:
Fresh Shrimp ($3 for a small pack)
6 eggs ($3.49 and only used 2)

COOK:
Peel and chop shrimp into bite size pieces and then marinate in a bowl with you favorite asian sauces. I used fish sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, sweet chili & oil - but you can use whatever you have.
Heat some oil in a wok or large fry pan. I should use something like peanut or canola oil but I use olive oil. Bad aussie.
Saute 2 cloves of diced garlic with some red pepper flakes. I added about 1 teaspoon.
Add the diced carrot and diced green pepper and saute until they soften.
Add the chopped baby corn and sliced bok choy and saute.
I then added a dash of sriacha, salt & pepper.
Put veggies in a bowl on side.
Add a little more oil, saute shrimp for a min until pink.
Add to veggies on side.
Add brown rice and quickly move around the hot wok and be sure it doesn’t start to burn and stick on the bottom.
Add the rice to the veggies & shrimp and stir through.

*In the wok pour in 2 lightly scrambled eggs and swirl around the wok until almost cooked through. Sprinkle with salt & a little Sriracha and then quickly add the fried rice mixture and toss through so the egg breaks up and covers the rice.

* season with lime juice & sauces to taste.

Serve immediately.

HomeCookin: $10 - 2 bean vegetarian chili with oven roasted tortillas
In order to save some money for my birthday vacation I have decided to be more conscious about making inexpensive meals at home.
Last night, I knew we had some sour cream, a can of kidney beans and a few yellow corn tortillas in the fridge.
So I set out to buy the remaining ingredients and keep it as budget friendly as possible.

I went to the store and picked up:
A bunch of scallions
1 green pepper
1 jalapeno
1 garlic bulb
1 can black beans
1 large can of Italian tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 carrot

The total was $5.81. Yup. Pretty good right. I figured tallying in the leftover ingredients at home it would be safe to say this meal cost $10.
There were a few pantry ingredients and spices I used from home - you can add what you have.

Saute 2 garlic cloves and the diced carrot in a pot until soft. Add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes and a pinch of thyme. Ad half a chopped jalapeno.
Add the diced green pepper, 2 chopped scallions and diced zucchini. Saute until soft.
Add salt and pepper.
Drain and strain the black & kidney beans. Add to pot and stir through.
Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (if you don’t have, leave out) then the can of tomatoes. Stir through.
Add 1 table spoon of hot sauce and a sprinkle of a mixed herb/spice rub. (this is where you use what you have in the kitchen)
I added a bullion cube and a little stock to thin out the chunky tomatoes.
I also added a small squeeze of Vegemite!
Simmer for 20 mins. Season with salt and pepper/hot sauce to taste.

I brushed a couple of the corn tortillas with olive oil and baked under the broiler, turning every minute or so.

Serve with sour cream, chopped scallions and the crispy tortillas.

Delicious and cheap!