Hawaiian Mac Salad

There is something about Hawaiian Mac Salad that beats all other macaroni salads. There are many different versions. As, me, I have tried most of them. I like the creaminess of the Hawaiian Style mac salad. No plate lunch would be complete with mac salad. I have adapted from all the salads what I like best about mac salad and combined it into my own. We make it in large quantity when I do make it, which isn't nearly enough.

I hope you try this and enjoy. I don't have the exact measurements as I play with it to have it just come out so. You do the same... but these are approximate measurements. Enjoy... and mahalo for coming back to my page.

Wendy's Hawaiian Mac Salad

1 pkg macaroni noodles cooked and drained. (I never use salad macaroni size, full size so it holds
the dressing better.

Place noodles in a large bowl and cool completely.

4 red potatoes cubed and cooked. Don't cook them to be mushy... No bueno... tender but not mushy....

1 handful of matchstick carrots. You will find them in the produce aisle already cut for you, they are very small... like what you would find in an iceburg lettuce salad mix.

Six hard boiled eggs cooled, cracked, peeled and sliced.

2 cans of tuna fish drained and shredded well with a fork, no big chunks....

1 can olives sliced

1 cup cubed cheddar cheese

Just throw all of this in the big bowl with the noodles.

For the dressing, I toss the mixture in the bowl with about 6 Tbls milk. This gives it that extra creamy I spoke about.

I then mix 1 and a half cups of mayo to start into the salad, and if needed, I will add more. I put in a couple of Tablespoons of mustard. It will not be enough to turn the noodles or mixture a yellow color... it is just for a little zip. Fold all ingredients well, add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. With left overs, you may want to add more mayo if it has been soaked up by the noodles.

Bacon Fried Rice

I have two daughters that love rice. Their dad actually makes the best fried rice out of anyone I know. Mine is never as good as his, although I don't get it quite there. I was amazed at the ease of making fried rice, as, well... I hadn't cooked it before I met him. He likes to cook it on a Friday or Saturday morning, and then he will get up and cook some over easy eggs on the following morning and place it upon the rice he made the previous night. This is what his mom did for him as he grew up and now he likes to do it for his kids. Our son loves this as well... but my girls... if it has rice in it, they love it.....

You can use any kind of meat you want with fried rice really... ham, chicken, spam... well to you spam is not a meat but to many people I know from Hawaii... it is. GRIN... ono grinds. It is a diverse dish where some put in peas... cubed carrots, etc. I put in shoestring carrots from time to time but not a lot of time. Peas... we don't... but not that I am against it. I use pretty much what I have on hand.

So... for us... bacon is the way we like it.

Bacon fried rice

Prepare enough rice that you would like to use. I am told it is very important that you rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Put it in a bowl... cover with water, and then swish it around... empty water... add fresh water... swish it around... empty. Do this as many times as needed to have the water run clean. It rinses the starch off... and I have been told by my Japanese mother in law... and many, many Hawaiian friends that this is very important. Cover the rice with water to about an inch over the rice. I use a rice cooker. I had never heard of a rice cooker before I met their dad. I swear by them. I am not sure what I did before I had one... so good.... It is best to cook the rice in the morning or the night before and let cool and keep cold until time to use. I am not sure why... but again... that is what they have told me and it has turned out great every time.

When ready to prepare the rice.... in a large skillet place...

1 pkg hickory smoked or plain bacon. (You wouldn't want maple... )
1 large sliced onion
1 zucchini sliced
1 handful of shoestring carrots

Saute until you are satisfied with the readiness of the bacon.
Add:
Sliced mushrooms (we love mushrooms so we use a whole package of them (fresh, not canned)

stir until everything looks done to your liking. Turn burner onto a medium or low setting so this won't burn at this point.

Add rice by the cupful... one cup at a time and cook after each addition to make sure it doesn't clump...

add soy sauce...

This is totally by taste... don't start out with a lot. Start out very sparingly as soy sauce is very salty as well as the bacon. Add some, stir, add some stir... until your liking.

Move all the rice towards the middle from one side to give you some room for scrambling your eggs. I use about 6 eggs. I just crack them into the pan and just stir them until they are scrambled and fluffy or in chunks. I then fold them into the rest of the rice. Add pepper to taste.

Garnish with sliced green onions.

This is a fun and easy dish. If you make this... be sure to make enough for left overs the following morning. Cook an egg over easy and eat on top of a bed of heated up friend rice.... pure heaven.

Soyu Chicken Hawaiian Style Plate Lunch

I miss so much about Hawaii. When I was 23 and left Hawaii as home, I didn't think I would miss it. I lived in a rough area. I lived in a beautiful environment that cost me an arm and a leg to live it. I went through a very sad divorce at a very young age to someone that I thought hung the moon and the stars. (Ended up being the best thing for me, but who would have known back then). So, I returned to Spokane... aka Spokavegas.

I miss the laid back lifestyle that they have there. I miss the music. I miss the early morning rain and the rainbows it left behind. I miss the smells of the plumeria flowers. I miss the shaka sign, wearing slippas all day outside and always being bare foot inside. I miss shave ice from Wiola shave ice and I miss L and L bbq and Zippys Chili over rice.

I went back a few years ago... well six and a half now... and I realized how much I missed it. I went with G and the kids and I was pregnant with Carlie. Dinner Cruise, hiking even when my ankles were the size of stumps... We ate fresh pineapple with sliced pepper jack cheese every morning for breakfast, (might sound gross... but the combo is fantastic... don't stand in the way of a pregnant woman and her yummies) We would have Leonard's Bakery Malasadas each day... my favorite were the coconut cream filled ones, and the guava filled ones... NOW MY MOUTH IS WATERING. Again, did I tell you I had shave ice daily... it was planned into our budget... ha... I would have ice cream in the bottom of it and and condenced milk drizzled over the top.

I try to bring Hawaii into my kitchen often. There is such an Asian influence there... so I get to cook Asian food, and Hawaiian food... and life is good. I will make a point of making spam musubi in the next couple of weeks. And Beef Tomato, and Short Ribs, and Beef Brocolli, and Loco Moco, and chili over rice... and... and... and... and....

One of my family favorites is Soyu Chicken. If you say SOY... you have it wrong... trust me here. It is pronounced Show You. Say it together... there ya got it. OH MY... I need to cook some Lomi Lomi Salmon as well.... so good... back on track Wendy, Back on Track...

So again... No perfect measurements... bodda you? I hope not...this is my kitchen we are talking about... just a very simple walk through. Oh, and a fantastic memory. I cooked over 300 pieces of Soyu chicken one year as a fundraiser for my job at Wachovia. I had four big kettles boiling on my stove all day... finish one batch and start another.... there was so much moisture in my kitchen it actually blew up my microwave that night when we used it that night... well at least I am pretty sure now that is what it was caused by...

So... here is how I make Shoyu Chicken... oh... man... now I thought of Chicken Long Rice... I will try to make chicken long rice as well...


Soy Chicken...

Chicken Thighs work best with this recipe. I buy the big pack of thighs
4 cups of soy sauce
2 cups of water If you don't do this step it is going to be very salty
3 cups brown sugar
1 Tbls chopped garlic
3 inch piece of fresh ginger grated on a ginger grater... it turns it into a paste, this is what you want.

Add all of the above to a pot on the stove. Bring to boil. (You can actually marinade your chicken in this over night as well if you would like... Add chicken. Place lid on chicken. After it boils I put it on medium and cook for about an 45 minutes or until chicken is done. The trick at this point is to take the chicken out of the marinade and place on a cookie rack and broin under broiler to get a crispier skin, and not soggy. We always have ours with fried rice and mac salad. Ono!

This is a great recipe fo shua... ono ono, Hawaiian Style...

Polynesian Breakfast

I am adding this onto a great blog called Don't Waste Your Homemaking (party 21). Check it out and stop by to see a lot of people sharing blogs there. Also check out her button on my side.

This is a dish that my whole family loves. It could be made in a more inexpensive way, but, they love the meat in it, so that is what they get. It is a good and hearty dinner that is filling. I hope you try it, as everyone that I have fed it to love it. Enjoy... This makes enough for about 8 people. We like left overs...

2 boneless pork chops
2 chicken breasts
olive oil
1 top sirloin steak
3 Tbls chopped garlic
2 medium sized onions sliced
3 red potatoes cubed
1 zucchini cut into ring sized pieces
6 large mushrooms sliced, stems included
6 eggs scrambled set aside
4 pkg top ramen noodles crushed in the package
1/2 c soy sauce
3 Tbls worcestershire sauce
5 green onions chopped

Scramble your eggs and set aside.

In large skillet, cook your pork chops and chicken, which should all be cubed, along with the onions, and red potatoes. I fry in olive oil, just a couple of Tbls. worth. These are the items that take the longest to cook. When they start to get closer to being cooked, add in the zucchini, and cubed up pieces of steak. Cook for about 3 minutes... not long at all. Now add the crushed up ramen noodles and their spice packets, along with the mushrooms. Don't add water. You want these like stir fry and not like soup or soggy noodles. Keep stiring for a few minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of water, the worsestershire and soy sauce. Put a lid on the pan and let cook for 5 minutes. keep stirring until the noodles are done. Add in the eggs at this point. When ready to serve add the green onions for garnish. This dish is similar to a lo mein.