Category: Economical

Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Lop Cheung Chow Fan)

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Lop Cheung Chow Fan)

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Chinese food, especially fried rice, is often considered a comfort food. I have personally made fried rice in many variations, and yet could never quite get the flavour when you go to chinatown and get it there. This recipe came close. With a few modifications, this is what we came up with.

Ingredients


– 3 Chinese sausage (cook as recommended on package)
– 1 large white onion (chopped)
– 5 cups of cooked white rice (preferable cooled to room temperature)
– 3/4 tsp of salt
– 1/4 tsp of sugar
– 2 tbsp of hot water
– 1/2 tsp of sesame oil (essential)
– 2 tbsp of soy sauce
– 1/2 tsp of white pepper
– 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
– 3 eggs (beaten)
– 1 cup of frozen green peas (thawed to room temperature)
– 1 cup of bean sprouts
– 2 scallions (chopped)
– 1 tbsp of soy sauce

Directions

  1. Prepare your Chinese sausage, onion and rice.
  2. In a small bowl, add salt, sugar, water, sesame oil, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, white pepper, mix well and set aside.
  3. Heat your wok over medium heat and spread 1 tbsp of oil around the perimeter of your wok.
  4. Add the beaten eggs and scramble them in the wok, breaking them into small pieces with your spatula. Once cooked, transfer them to a bowl and set aside.
  5. Add Chinese sausage and fry for 20 seconds.
  6. Add chopped onion and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes until translucent.
  7. Add the remaining oil and add rice. Use your metal or wooden spatula to flatten out and break up any clumps. (I tend to do that before hand with wet hands). Keep moving it around to heat thoroughly and prevent sticking.
  8. Once the rice is warm, pour sauce mixture evenly over the rice. Mix rice in a scooping motion for 1-2 minutes.
  9. Add the cooked egg, frozen peas, bean sprouts and stir fry for 2 minutes.
  10. Add the scallions and another tbsp of soy sauce and mix well. Stir fry for another minute or so.
  11. Serve hot.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 455
  • Fat 24 g
  • Sugar 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 43 g
  • Protein 16 g
  • Fibre 2 g

As you see the recipe is quite simple. The fat content is a little high and a lot of it has to do with the Chinese sausage. If that is a concern, you can change it to cooked chicken or even pork. The sodium content is also high. As is, using regular soy sauce and Chinese sausage you are looking at 759 mg per serving. That’s up there. I used sodium reduced soy sauce. I personally found this recipe to lack soy sauce but I’m not a good judge. I even add some at the Chinese restaurant, so you be the expert with your plate. It’s easier to add some than take it away.

We serve it with a bowl of won ton soup and steamed veggies on the side. Makes for a complete balanced meal. You can serve it as a side dish with whatever other main course you are in the mood for. So, I hope you have fun and make this your own.

Economical Comparison of Velvetta, Cheez Whiz and Kraft Dinner

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Economical Comparison of Velvetta, Cheez Whiz and Kraft Dinner

  • Servings: N/A
  • Difficulty: N/A
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I was making a recipe called Velvetta Tomato Mac and Cheese and thought I would compare the values of Kraft Velvetta Vs Kraft Cheez Whiz vs Kraft Mac and Cheese (KD). I have done my recipe with both Kraft Velvetta and with Kraft Cheez Whiz. Of course, like every else, I’ve also had Kraft Mac and Cheese.

The purpose of this exercise was to compare value to the nutrients. I wanted to compare price to the fats, protein, vitamins and of course convenience.

Convenience Kraft Dinner Mac and Cheese wins hands down. It is the easiest, quickest and needs a total of three items, the Kraft Dinner, milk and margarine. My recipe needs tomato soup, pasta, Velvetta or Cheez Whiz, milk, margarine, onions. Then I wanted to compare pricing. Of course this varies where you are and if you are using generic or brand names. For the purpose of this exercise I used brand names and all from one store, Walmart.

I calculated to make the same quantity which would serve six. However, I didn’t count the salad or veggie you should be having with this to make a balanced meal. Nor did I add any extra protein. Conclusion of the pricing was pretty simple. Cheapest was with Cheez Whiz, at 1.05 a plate, Velvetta at 1.10 and Kraft Dinner which I found expensive at 1.27 a plate. Kraft Dinner has more calories, more fat, more sugar, and less calcium and Vitamin A per serving.  Mind you, it is much quicker and works well in a pinch. I have used it as side dish many times and will continue to do so.

Now for the comparison of the Cheez Whiz light and Velvetta light which one or the other was required for my recipe, here is what I came up with:

Cheez Whiz LightVelvetta Light (2% fat)
30 g or 1 ounce30 g or 1 ounce
60 calories62 calories
3 g of fat3 g of fat
2 g of carbohydrates3.3 g of carbohydrates
2 g of sugar2.4 g of sugar
3 g of protein5.5 g of protein
0 g of fiber0 g of fiber
8% of daily calcium10% of daily calcium
2% of daily Vitamin A5.5% of daily Vitamin A
4.88 for 15 ounce jar5.48 for 16 ounce package
7.98 for 32 ounce package
comes to $0.325 per ouncecomes to $0.342 per ounce
comes to $0.25 per ounce

To me, this was an easy choice. The 2 calories, 0.4 g of sugar more vs the 2.5 g of protein extra made all the difference. Now mind you, if budget is the issue buying the large container of velvetta was also very appealing. I’ve seen both these items go on sale for lower than that. 

Results, I vote for Velvetta. The main reason for this exercise was to see which was worth more for the buck. We should think of doing this for all foods we buy. We need to make sure we are eating the right foods, and are getting the most we can for the price and convenience. A non processed food would have been a better alternative, but pricing is not always the option. 

This was a fun exercise on something we use often and never took the time to compare. 

Eat right, eat healthy, eat economically and always have fun and make your recipes your own.

Velvetta Tomato Mac and Cheese

The Sunshine Inn Blog2 Comments

Velvetta Tomato Mac and Cheese

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Mac and Cheese is very popular right now. You go to almost any restaurant and it’s on the menu. This recipe is actually quite old. I’ve used variations of this recipe for at least 40 years. It is economical, relatively healthy and can be modified in so many ways, we could probably fill up a whole recipe book with all it’s versions. You can use this as a base or as is.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of elbow macaroni
  • 300 g of velvetta light cheese chopped into small pieces (11 ounces)
  • 1 cup of low fat milk (I used almond milk)
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 can of tomato condensed soup (I used Alymer low sodium)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp of butter or margarine
  • 1 tbsp of cajun spices

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Cook pasta until al dente and drain (reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Set aside.
  3. In the same pot, melt butter and add onion. Stir until translucent and tender.
  4. Reduce heat to medium low, and add milk, water, tomato soup, and cheese.
  5. Stir until cheese is melted and this is a nice smooth sauce. If too thick, add a little milk. It might seem a little runny but don’t worry it will get absorbed into the pasta,
  6. Add spices, salt and pepper.
  7. Add pasta and stir to cover all of the pasta and make sure that the pasta is warm.
  8. Serve. That easy.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 437
  • Fat 8 g
  • Sugar 12 g
  • Carbohydrates 67 g
  • Protein 19.5 g
  • Fibre 5.1 g

So as you see this was easy peasy. This is a very economical meal. I looked at the prices for the cheese and the pasta vs Kraft Dinner. Mind you there is nothing wrong with Kraft dinner but there is more sugar, less calcium and vitamins and if you are not using generic mac and cheese, can actually be more expensive with Kraft Dinner. I’ve written a comparison between Kraft Cheez whiz, Kraft Velvetta light and Kraft dinner, see Economical Comparison of Velvetta, Cheez Whiz and Kraft Dinner. On the average you can make this for approximately 1.10 a plate. Now is the fun part, I was asked what about veggies. This is not a balanced meal and they were right. I suggested a nice green salad with this, or you can add spinach, steamed broccoli or streamed cauliflower. You can also add drained canned veggies or thawed and drained frozen veggies. All depends on your budget and/or tastes. If you want to add protein feel free to do so, including a very economical black bean or white kidney bean drained. This is where I tell you have fun and make it your own.