I cooked something

Trying to eat healthy is helping me to learn to enjoy cooking.

(Insert laugh here)

"Enjoy" might be a strong word.   I'm learning to hate it less and see the value in it when I get to enjoy the outcome.

That's more believable.

Last night I made this.

Sesame fried rice

I cannot tell a lie.  I'm more than a little afraid of brown rice.  I always see these great brown rice recipes with the cooks commenting on how "delicious" their dish was.  So I tell myself that THIS time, I'll make it and like it.

Not so much.  It's the only food I can think of that manages to be chewy and crunchy and bland all at once.

Why does it have to do that?

I had a much better experience last night, however.

Incidentally, I borrowed this from Andie over at canyoustayfordinner.com.  She's a wonderful writer and glowing weight loss success story.

In other words, my hero.

But please don't go look at her pictures of food.  They're much, MUCH better than mine.  I think she uses an actual camera to take hers.  Maybe I should look into that.

(Oh, all right, I'll save you the trouble.  Here's what hers looks like.  Kinda makes mine look like a plate of fish bait, right?):

Happy now?

I used some different veggies (Andie said it was OK) than she used and tweaked it here and there, but it still turned out great.

Sesame Fried Rice

-2 C. cooked brown rice, set aside.  I used the pre-cooked pouch of brown/long grain rice instead.
-2-3 eggs (I used three to add more protein)
-1 T. sesame oil
-1/2 tsp. ground ginger  (this is what I used, but you can use 2 TB minced fresh)
-A few shakes of garlic powder (or 2 cloves, minced)
-1/2 C. chopped green onion
-Broccoli slaw made up of shredded broccoli/carrots/red cabbage. You can find bags of this mixture in the produce section.  Andie used different veggies, but these actually worked really well.  You can substitute other veggies of your choosing.
-4 T. soy sauce
-1-1/2 T. brown sugar (I tweaked this with 1 TB brown sugar and 1/2 TB. Stevia, but  1.5 TBs of brown sugar spread out over an entire recipe doesn't amount to much anyway.  Do it your way)

1.  Scramble the eggs over medium heat in a skillet with some non-stick spray.  Cook until fluffy.  Set aside the cooked eggs in a separate container.  Wipe out the skillet.
2.  Turn the heat up to medium high and add sesame oil.
3.  Add in the veggies, green onion, garlic, and ginger.  Sautee for about 5 minutes.
4.  Add the rice and sautee for about 2 minutes.  You want the rice to get a little crispy.
5.  Whisk together the brown sugar and soy sauce in bowl until sugar is dissolved.  Add to the skillet and stir well to coat evenly.
6.  Add the eggs into the mixture and stir well.

Done.

This is so very delicious, unless you don't have much love for Asian food, in which case ...

What is WRONG with you?

I served it up (to myself) as a side with a baked chicken breast that I seasoned with some McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning.  And before you ask ... NO, it's not just for steaks and NO, it's not just for Canadians.

Like I said, I did a few things differently, but this still turned out really tasty and will DEFINITELY be a weapon in my healthy dishes arsenal.  I may try it without the rice and add more vegetables.

Try it.  Best fish bait EVER.  You can't hardly taste them worms at all.