A few weeks ago I invited readers to join me in a challenge to eat from the freezer and pantry for a week. During that challenge I found that I had chicken, rice, hoisin sauce and water chestnuts on hand. They seemed like the perfect combination, but I didn’t have a recipe that involved all of them. This week I decided to make up my own. I added two ingredients to the four I already had. It resulted in a flavorful wrap that is perfect for hot summer weather.
rice
Easy Jambalaya
I clipped this recipe out of Southern Living magazine ages ago. The original recipe calls both for chicken and smoked sausage, but I leave the chicken out. If you like it very meaty, you might want to double the smoked sausage.
Chicken and Cheesy Rice Casserole
You know those nights where you stand gazing into the pantry or fridge wondering what to throw together for dinner? This casserole is often my answer. It’s not for a last minute meal, because it does have to bake, but the prep time is minimal.
Vietnam Fried Rice
More-with-Less is one of my favorite cookbooks. This recipe for Vietnam Fried Rice was a huge hit with my family.
Gather up your ingredients:
Vietnam Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cup rice
- 4 Tbs. cooking oil
- 1 lb. any cooked or raw meat I used 2 large boneless chicken breasts that I sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp.. sugar
- 1 Tbs. soy sauce
- 1 cup leftover or frozen vegetables I used frozen peas and carrots
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Cook the rice.
- In a hot skillet add the oil and stir fry the meat if it’s not cooked. I sprinkled some soy sauce on the chicken before I stir fried it.
- Remove the meat from the skillet and add the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, sugar and soy sauce. I didn’t measure any of this, just eye-balled it.
- Stir fry until the onion is cooked through.
- Stir in the beaten eggs, stir frying until the eggs are done. They will not and should not look like scrambled eggs you eat for breakfast.
- Add the vegetables and stir fry until they are hot through.
- Add the chicken back in to the skillet, along with the rice.
- Throw in some more soy sauce until it looks good to you.
Pull out the chop sticks and enjoy!
Fried Rice – Oven Style
This is not your regular Asian style fried rice, but it is good.
The ingredients are simple: 1 cup of white, long grain rice (I used the cheap Walmart brand and saved my good Jasmine rice for something else), a bit of oil and a can of beef broth.
Brown the rice in a bit of oil on top of the stove until it gets toasty looking. I used a corning ware casserole dish. Anything that is both stove-top safe and oven proof would work.
Don’t worry about the two grains that jumped out of the dish while I was cooking them. I must have gotten carried away with stirring – it could happen to you too.
After the rice is brown, pour the can of beef broth over it but Do Not Stir! I don’t know why. My mom told me not to stir it, so I never do and it turns out every time. Put it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. If it starts to look too dry you can add a little water. I don’t usually have to do that.
My kids love this, consequently we never have any left overs.
Fried Rice – Oven Style
1 cup white rice
a bit of oil
1 can beef broth
Brown the rice in the oil on top of the stove. Add the beef broth after the rice is toasty. Remember not to stir the rice after adding the broth. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.