Onigiri おにぎり

This is a traditional Japanese dish. Its called Japanese rice ball or Onigiri (おにぎり).
I made these a lot in my Japanese class and with my dad. They are so fun to make and you can stuff them with anything. For this recipe I stuffed it with teriyaki chicken and kewpie　きゆぴ.
If you want something different you can add tuna, imitation, crab, avocado, ect...  

This is some mixed with furikake.

Also to add more flavor you can add Furikake　ふりかけ (rice seasoning) in with the rice. They have all different flavors and its so delicious.

In Japan they do little cute drawings
with onigiri.

Also for the chicken I just cook chicken and add
 tonkatsuとんかつ sauce.
The pictures are made from experts. My version might be different than how other people do it.

What you'll need:

• water ( to moist your hands so the rice wont stick to you)
• sticky rice
• seaweed (optional)
• Filling (chicken, beef...)
• Kewpie (Optional)

What to do:
First off cook your rice. Than put all of it in a seperate bowl and add furikake if desired. Use a rice spoon or a regular spoon and stir to cool it off and mix the furikake ふりかけ. When the rice has cooled soak your hands in water. Grab a handful of rice, form a ball and poke a hole in it forming a crater. Add the filling of your choice. Add a little more rice on top of that and work it in. You can form a ball or triangle as pictured. 






Now you can enjoy your homemade Japanese rice balls.
Mine don't look very good cause I didn't use sticky rice. They did taste really good though.

this is my version of a onigiri cartoon I drew

 いただきます
(lets eat)

DIY: Summer wreath

Pinterest does it again. Its still a work in progress, I'm gonna update it slowly if I find that right thing to go with it. I got all the stuff at the dollar store.

What you'll need:

• Paper umbrellas( the ones they put it drinks for decoration)
• Styrofoam wreath ( wire wreath didn't work well)
• Glue fun

What to do:

Start by opening the umbrellas; carefully. Than just stick them where you want on the wreath. Make sure you spread out the colors. 

Once you got that done cut the extra stick off if the umbrellas poked all the way through. 

Glue some of the top of the cut sticks. 

Update hopefully soon. 

Ill be makin a spring wreath here soon I just gotta get the stuff. 

The spring one will be a little late.

Olive garden Gnocchi Soup (copycat)

I found this recipe on Pintrest and I got the motivation to cook it from my Mother in law. It took me about 2 hours to cook cause I boiled the chicken and I doubled the recipe. Also you might want to do exactly what it says and what it calls for.

What you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3/4 C onion, diced
  
• 1/2 C carrots, diced
• 1/2 C celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/3 C flour
• 4 C chicken broth
• 1 1/2 C fat-free half and half
• 2 C cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1 (8oz) package potato gnocchi
• 3 C fresh baby spinach, stems removed
• 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade into thin ribbons
• Fresh grated parmesan for serving

What to do:

1. In a large pot fill it with water and boil chicken till done, or you can just cut it up and cook it. I like boiling it cause it makes it tender and juicy.
2. In another large pot (I used my magnalite pan) add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook until tender firm, stirring. (approx 10 minutes)
3. Sprinkle flour over vegetables, cook 3 minutes, stirring often.
4. Slowly stir in chicken broth 1 C at a time, stirring constantly.
5. Add the half and half, chicken, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
6. In an additional sauce pan cook gnocchi according to package directions.
7. Add gnocchi to soup with spinach, stir in.
8. Cook spinach until slightly wilted, add basil, stir.
9. Serve garnished with shredded parmesan.

Sweet and sour chicken

Who needs to go to a Chinese restaurant to get fresh sweet and sour chicken, when you can make it homemade.
This recipe is so easy and yummy.

What you'll need:

Chicken breading:

•  1 pound of chicken- cut into bite sized pieces
• 3/4 c cornstarch (I ran out of cornstarch so I mixed in some flour)
• salt 
• pepper
• garlic salt
• Oil
• 2 eggs

Sweet and sour sauce:

• 1 c sugar (not pictured)
• 1/3 c ketchup
• garlic salt
• 1/2 c + 1 tbl rice vinegar (regular vinegar works well too)
• 1 Tbl soy sauce

What to do:

1. Place the chicken, corn starch, salt, pepper and garlic salt in a large ziplock bag and shake until the chicken is evenly coated.
2. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and place in the frying pan with a fork. I did half the batch first. Fry both sides of the chicken for about 2 minutes a piece. Line a baking sheet with foil and place chicken on the pan. Dispose of the burnt oil and then heat up the rest of the oil and finish the chicken.
3. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
4. In a medium size bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the sauce.
5. Next you'll pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 20 minutes. Pull the chicken out and flip the chicken to evenly coat it with sauce. Then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
6. Put on top of rice and enjoy

Ending result... So yummy!!!!