I like cooking.  I actually like cooking a lot.  I think I actually like cooking for other people more than I like cooking for myself.  I used to cook a lot but not so much in the past few years.

Cindy’s baby shower is coming up in a few weeks and I was going to make this dish for it.  I already told her so it isn’t a secret.  I wanted to do a trial run before trying to cook something for the first time in mass quantities.  I had originally wanted to do the Hong Kong Baked Pork Chop Rice dish but decided to change it to a cream base as I thought it would be easier.  Typically, this dish is made with seafood.  I wanted to make it with chicken but that would take more time.  I scoured my cupboard for ingredients and found a can of salmon from a party not too long ago.  Hey, don’t hate on the canned salmon, it’s actually good – especially the one from Costco.  I decided to make it with salmon.

I wanted to make this for dinner for me and Monica before Women’s group (that’s our Women’s Bible study group) so I asked Monica to cook the rice the night before because the base of this dish is fried rice.  Now, this is kind of the few times I’ve actually taken pictures of the process of making something.  It’s typically a finished photo.  I also realized while reviewing my pictures that nearly all of them are blurry, haha, oh well.  This is probably the first time I’ve instructed with pictures how to do something.

I’m also a fan of looking up recipes, taking a few notes, tweaking it to my liking and then winging it.  In this case, I looked up the baked rice recipe from Happy Home Baking.

I’ll give a brief overview of what this dish is first.  This dish is salmon fried rice topped with a mushroom corn cream sauce topped with cheese and then baked!

The cream sauce takes a long time to thicken so it is important to make that first and let it simmer while you make the fried rice.  I did not do this so I had to cheat my way through since we were limited on time.  To make the cream sauce, you need the following (I’m just winging some of these measurements for you):

• 1 package of sliced mushrooms
• 1 Cup Cream (I got just normal cream this time but I might try heavy cream next time)
• 1.5 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1 Can of Corn
• 2 or so Tablespoons of Butter
• 1 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

I prepped the mushrooms and green onions by washing and slicing them.

Instructions for the Cream Sauce

Mushrooms with garlic, cream, and chicken stock

1. Warm up a pan or pot at medium heat
2. Throw in the butter and let it melt but don’t let it burn
3. Add the minced garlic for some flavor
4. Toss in the mushrooms
5. Salt and pepper to taste
6. Let it sit around for a bit as you’ll want the mushrooms to get tender – stir occasionally
7. Once you see juices from the mushrooms, add in the cream and stir
8. Let it get hot for a few minutes and then add the chicken stock and stir (Make sure you add the cream FIRST, otherwise the cream and chicken stock will not mix well together.)
9. Leave this for about 4-5 minutes on the stove
10. Add in the corn and continue to let the cream simmer until it thickens – this can take 10-15 minutes.

While the cream sauce is simmering, you’ll want to make the fried rice.  Before you make the fried rice, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Butter plus Rice Makes Good Fried Rice

• 2 Cups of Cooked Day Old Rice – This makes better fried rice
• 2 Eggs
• Some Green Onions
• One 14oz Can of Salmon
• 1 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
• Coarse Black Pepper (to taste)
• Soy Sauce (to taste)
• 1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter
• 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Instructions for Salmon Fried Rice

1. Warm up the pan to Med-High
2. Add the oil
3. Once it warms, add the minced garlic
4. Next toss in the rice and stir for a few minutes to get the rice hot
5. Clear a little spot in the middle and add the butter
6. Beat your eggs and as you stir up the rice and butter, add the beat eggs
7. As the eggs settle, toss in your can of salmon and green onions
8. Stir well
9. Add soy sauce, black pepper, and sesame oil to taste and stir well
10. Layer the bottom of a standard rectangular Pyrex with the fried rice
    

    Salmon Fried Rice in Pyrex

11. Your cream sauce should have thickened by now.  Pour this all the fried rice and completely cover it.
    

    Cover up your salmon fried rice with all the cream sauce!

12. Next, cover it with cheese.  I used a Pizza Blend since I wanted to get a mix of Cheddar and Mozzarella.  Pop it in the oven for 10-15 minutes until you get a nice browning on the cheese and you’re ready to serve this awesome dish!

Cover in CHEESE!

Could have used a little more oven time but you get the idea.

There you have it!  Serves 4-6 people.  Enjoy!

On a side note…this type of blogging takes A LOT of time.