Impromptu Fried Rice

Well, we are having a lazy Saturday Night. People always say that everyone has a twin. Last night Jr. met his. This spunky lady named Lisa, another coincidence, came up to us and told us that we had to meet her boss because he looked soooo much like Jr. Well, we frolicked over to The Saloon to meet him. Oh my goodness. They looked incredibly similar. As service industry people typically are, they proceeded to over serve us, or more specifically...him. Tonight somebody is still under the weather, per say.

An afternoon of laying on the couch gave us a case of the munchies. What could I make? I threw out an arsenal of options and settled on veggie fried rice. It is a simple dish, that basically takes raiding your pantry and fridge. Mushrooms, check. Onion, check. Rice, check. Peas...you get the idea. It is quite yummy and don't cost a dime. No additional dimes at least.

Impromptu Fried Rice

1 4oz. box rice
1 cup of mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 small package frozen peas (I like their crunch better than canned)
3 eggs
any other additions you choose: diced peppers, water chestnuts, peanut butter, carrots, etc.
Soy sauce, and any other spices you prefer

Prepare rice as to the directions on the box. In a saute pan, add the mushrooms and onions to hot olive oil. In a small bowl, scramble the eggs. Push the veggies to the side if there is room, add eggs to pan. Scramble them together. I added a little garlic powder, pepper and soy. Remove from heat. Defrost peas in microwave. Add peas to veggies. When the rice in cooked, put the veggie pan back onto the heat. Stir ingredients together. Doctor up with a little more olive oil, and spices to taste. Tonight we had one loan orange. I halved it and added its juice. It needed a little kick, so I then added a tablespoon Dijon mustard and a little more soy. The dish is complete!

A fantastic side dish is Green Giant's Valley Fresh Asian Vegetable Medley with a nice orange sesame sauce, and only 50 calories per serving. Quick and easy.

mmm...mmm...good.

According to my boyfriend, we will call him Jr. As in Dale, not the redneck-y version, ie naming your son after his father and then calling him Junior. Well, maybe Dale Jr. is a bit of a redneck. It is a NASCAR reference, and I saw on Cribs that he does have a stripper pole in his house. And, yes. I do realize that Dale Jr. is called Jr. because his father was named Dale. But for my purpose. He sort-of looks like Dale Jr., and he would be embarrassed if I talked about him on here. But if you are reading this, most likely you have a personal relationship with me and know who he is. Oh well. (On a second note...I know I have not even gotten started..but I quite dislike the word boyfriend. We have been together past the word friend, which his parent's used to awkwardly refer to me as, "this is his friend." And I feel too old to say boyfriend. He has his own house, and I have mine. So we don't technically live together. And we obviously aren't married. So, I am stuck giving him the title of boyfriend. Maybe we should start passing notes.)

So, Jr. thinks that I have a habit of making noises when I am enjoying a tasty snack. Mmmmmm. He picks on me about it, and I can't figure out if he thinks it is cute or annoying. Maybe a little of both. I can't help it. I do it without thought. Like after biting into a delicious homemade dish like brown rice. Which is by far, the simplest side dish. It is inexpensive, guys love it, and bottom line, it is yummy. When I suggested it for dinner the other night when we were cooking out. Jr. claimed that his old roommate swore that he invented Brown Rice. Well, I surely didn't, and neither did he.

Baked Brown Rice

Ingredients:
1 can (10 1/2oz) beef consommé
1 can (10 1/2oz) condensed French onion soup
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients; stir well. Pour into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until done. Serves 6 to 8. If you want to be a little fancy, you can add canned or fresh, sliced mushrooms to the mix before baking. Mmmmmm.

You know, come to think about it. It doesn't even have to be anything homemade to make me gleefully grunt. The other night while watching a movie. Hot Tamales. Mmmmm. As I stabbed at the plump, round peas on my plate tonight at dinner and pop a few into my mouth. Mmmmmmm. A cold spoonful of Snickerdoodle ice cream. MMMMMMMM!!!!!!! You get the point.

So, I decided to include a new section into this here blog. Entitled, "mmm...mmm...good." A collection of all the recipes posted in this blog. I love to eat. But I also love to cook. And from what I hear. I am not half bad. So, try 'em out.

Click on the following link. And yes, he also calls me Bob Wiley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OjJE60RI-g