Homemade Fried Rice with Mixed Vegetables

I made orange chicken in my slow cooker tonight. I wanted it to feel like real chinese food... so I made some fried rice. I had never made it before, so like always I searched the web for basic recipes. I found several and read comments on changes other's had made, and then felt confident enough to to make my own. I think this is pretty much my favorite fried rice. It is so tasty, and low sodium as I didn't add any salt to this recipe except for when making the scrambled eggs. I think it also helped that I had plenty of sauce for my orange chicken if I needed any extra flavor. My kids don't usually eat fried rice from the chinese places, even though they order it. Tonight they ate it all up and went back for seconds. They said that it was better because it had corn and green beans in it. I think they are pulling my legs. It's just so good... I hope you like it just as much as I do.

Ingredients

1 bag thawed, mixed vegetables (the one with corn, peas, carrots, and green beans)
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 cup white onion (I had some frozen diced) green onions would be fine too
2 tsp or so of oyster sauce (drizzled on top then tossed for a light coating)
3 Tbsp sesame oil
3-4 cups of cooked rice

Directions:

Scramble in a bowl the eggs, with the salt and pepper. In a Wok or large skillet, heat on high and add the olive oil or vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, scrabble the eggs in the oil, remove and set aside. Wipe out the wok and add in the sesame oil let it get hot. Toss in the rice and stir to evenly spread the oil over the rice. Once the rice has been coated and "fried" with the oil, add in the egg, mixed vegetables and onion. Stirring to incorporate all ingredients. Still over high heat. Then drizzle in the oyster sauce once the vegetables are cook/heated. Evenly distribute by stirring in the oyster sauce to coat the ingredients. Drizzle again with sesame oil for added flavor, toss again. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Verdict...

We all loved it! This is so tasty and looks just like restaurant fried rice. This is an easy dish to prepare. I used my rice cooker to prepare the rice for this dish. It was perfectly cooked. So delicious. If you like take-out chinese. then this is for you. You can add just about anything you like to this dish, shrimp, ham, leftover chicken or beef. Just more vegetables, such as sprouts and cabbage.

Orange Chicken Slow Cooker

Orange Chicken Slow Cooker with Homemade Fried Rice

I don't know if you remember but I love to use my slow cooker. Especially when it's hot outside, or I've got a busy day, or even when it's cold outside. So pretty much anytime. Today is no exception. I have finals this week and so I'm trying to make my life pretty simple. That includes making things in the slow cooker for dinner. I have a hankerin'  (yes - I am Texan) for some orange chicken. Since we are saving every last penny for our trip to the beach next week, I can't very well go out and get some chinese take-out. So, my lucky stand by... check my favorite slow cooker websites such as crockpot365 to see if they've made any chinese food in their crock pots that will help me with my craving... She didn't let me down... She had made orange chicken in the slow cooker... Her's is gluten-free... mine can be made gluten-free. I followed her recipe pretty much to the "T" but I was making for three growing boys who are constantly hungry, so I doubled her recipe, then accidentally added some extra stuff... partly by accident. I was reading the wrong line, but I like it so it works. :) Here's my mishap delicious orange chicken. :)

Ingredients:
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into pieces/chunks (bite size)
1 cup Bisquick mix (can use gluten-free Bisquick mix)
2 Tbsp olive oil (for browning chicken)
1 tsp kosher salt (course ground)
16 oz orange juice concentrate, thawed (I prefer no pulp, but I didn't have any)
6 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp chili sauce

Directions:
Use 4 qt slow cooker for best results -

Dredge chicken pieces in baking mix - shake off excess. Throw away remaining flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on stove & brown chicken on all sides (you may need to do this in batches to evenly brown).  No need to fully cook, just enough to sear the flour and make it stick to the chicken for a nice coating.

Plop chicken pieces into slow cooker.

In a small mixing bowl, combine orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt,  chili sauce and ketchup. mix well, taste, if you need it a little sweeter add an extra Tbsp of brown sugar. For added heat add some extra chili sauce to taste.

Pour sauce over chicken and generously toss coat chicken with the orange mixture. Cook on high 3-4 hours 6-8 hours on low.

Serve with homemade fried rice, white rice, or brown rice.

Verdict:
I had Bryen (my eldest) try the sauce and he says it's better than take-out! Not a bad compliment if I do say so my self. It tastes pretty good. Waiting will be the hard part. But I'm excited about the prospects of chinese at home.