What do you make when you didn't plan dinner?

[Lugaru]

I buy rice by the sack so when worse comes to worse I can always make fried rice.

I would love this receipe.......mine NEVER comes out right :?

Breakfast is ALWAYS good for Dinner!
and I make an a darn good Tuna Casserole with Bow-Tie Pasta on the stove! (I like it cold even!)

Sure thing, let me just fire up my spellchecker so it can be understandable. I use two cups of uncooked rice (which I don’t bother washing… I’m weird like that) and put it into the rice cooker with enough water to barely cover my knuckles if I put my hand in there flat. Then I get the rice cooker going and the second I hear it click I yank the chord so it just shuts off and I take the cover off. If you let it steam (keep warm mode) it gets soggy and you lose the texture you are after. I don’t know if you have a rice cooker but I eat rice almost every day and for it’s price I doubt there’s a better investment I’ve made.

Any way’s I let it cool for a while so it can get it’s steam out, and twirl a pair of chopsticks in there for a while to break up the rice and get it all fluffed up. Avoid using a spoon or something like that since it will mash the rice together… if worse comes to worse use the thinnest handle you have of a spoon (holding it by the spoon end). Chopsticks don’t even have to be fancy… I use recycled ones from takeout that I re-wash as kitchen utensils.

By now you should have a wok with about a 1/3 of a cup of oil that’s REALLY hot (drop a grain of rice in and see if it starts to pop). If the oil is not really hot the rice will just suck it up and it will get soggy and greasy. I’ve learned that more heat = less oil when cooking. Take the rice and dump it all in at once and give it a few tosses and then swirl your chopsticks in so that none of it clumps... Then break two eggs into it and mix it in as fast as you can to avoid the chance of having any “omelet” like pieces… you should end up with hundreds of slightly yellow individual grains of rice instead of clumps.

At this point you can add a light amount of soy sauce (I use about 2 tsps of pearl river dark mushroom soy sauce) so that some grains are colored but not all of them, giving an even and mild taste. Unlike pasta it’s not best for you to mix your sauces into it, as it will ruin the texture so keep separate until it’s time to serve.

Man… that’s gotta be the most long winded fried rice recipe ever but it’s all about technique.

Mmm... tuna casserole. I recently told my roomies that I need to stop making the foreing stuff and learn how to do a decent casserole, since in the end it's the best food out there.

 

[TexasTamale]

Man… that’s gotta be the most long winded fried rice recipe ever but it’s all about technique.

I thank you for it!!!!!
Thats what the secret is! ....Technique
I will let you know how I fair in that category! LOL
I love fried rice and will make this recipe this week...I will do some Pork Egg Rolls to go with!

Lugaru...Thank You for your time and recipe!

 

[Claire]

Hmmm. I know I've told my fried rice story somewhere here already, so won't bore you. Most Hawaii homes have rice leftover. As already mentioned, you really kinda need that sort of starchiness of leftover rice. But the entire point of fried rice is to use up those leftovers. Go through the fridge and fine bits of sandwich meat, bacon, almost any veggie, and chop pretty fine. My Hawaiian friend insists that you need to toss a little oil in the leftover rice before throwing it into the wok/skillet, and that you should use oyster sauce rather than soy (I use what I have on hand). I like to stir fry the raw onions/garlic for a couple of minutes before I toss in the rice. I also like the rice to be crisp on one side, which is strictly an option. At any rate, just about anything can go into your fried rice. Bologna, carrots (shred, julienne, or thinly slice), celery, bacon, sausage, cabbage (finely shredded, add in at the last minute so you get some crispness). Ming recently taught me to scramble the eggs before frying the rice, then toss in at the last minute (my mom's Japanese freinds always added the egg right at the end, but this is better I think). I particularly want to stick to an Asian flavor, so do not add anything overtly European (say, salami or pepperoni) in flavor. And we are spicy hot lovers, and I wouldn't skip some hot red pepper flakes or vietnamese hot garlic pepper sauce!!!!

 

[TexasTamale]

Thank You for the Tips Claire! :P

Fried Rice is one of those things I have yet to master.....(I can do Spanish Rice)
I remember it took me forever it seemed to get Pinto beans right! :? LOL
I also had a hard lesson with cooking Brisket too....
you know how it goes? some dishes just take practice

Sanks again U2 8) (I love this place)

 

[Erik]

Usually a call to Mario's Pizza does the trick...they have an amazing Philly Cheesesteak, that I could eat evryday!!!

 

[Paint]

Well, this happens to me about 4 times a week. I'm not very good at planning meals, and sometimes I'm just too tired to bother cooking!! Anyway, I often cook double the amount of sauces/casseroles that I need and freeze half, so there is often something in the freezer that I can heat up and serve with pasta/rice/couscous. In addition, I always have jars of pasta and pesto sauce in the larder, so I can cook up some pasta to go with that. Chinese take-out is popular in our house, or I'll call up hubby and get him to bring something back on his way home (Boston Market, Noodles, Curry). We live 12 miles out of town, but there is one bar, one golf-course restaurant and several fast-food outlets within 5 minutes of us, so that is always an option too. If hubby is away on business then I live off frozen lean-cuisine or Ramen noodles LOL!

Paint.

 

[Claire]

I don't have children, but have never learned to cook besides the way I learned to begin with ... that is to say, for six. Therefore, there is always something in the freezer or fridge. I make a lot of soups, stews, and chilies, and there is usually a good selection in the freezer. There is always pesto in the freezer (have a great herb garden). If it wasn't for reasons of religion, I could be a Mormon, because I have enough food in the house to feel us for a year. There is no such thing as a meal without leftovers, or a "need" to go to the grocery store in actuality. Part of this is how I was raised .... I'm not kidding about coming from a family of six and that's how much I cook, period. But my mother only shopped on "pay day", every two weeks. I simply cannot imagine a house without a full pantry. I go to the store every week because I'm a fruit and veggie lover. But there is always something to eat.

 

[crewsk]

I open up a couple of cans of beef stew & put them in a casserole dish & top it with shredded cheddar cheese & mashed potatoes, slide it in the oven till it's bubbly & the potatoes are kinda brown on top. Sometimes we order pizza or hubby picks something up on his way home from work.

 

[Claire]

Oh, by the way, angel hair pasta and ramen noodles are very quick answers. In our house, Campbells Italian Wedding soup is a favorite.

 

[ronjohn55]

Um, reservations??

John

 

[JohnL]

Usually steak,
I always keep a couple of small Delmonico's in the freezer.
They thaw out fast and cook quickly on the grill.
Toss a couple potato's in the nuker, steam a frozen veggie and I,m eatin!!
John.

 

[mudbug]

Bowl of cereal, PBJ, or something frozen that can be nuked.

 

[Claire]

Don't get me wrong ... at least a few times a month I just say "Enough!!" and we call for Chinese or pizza or take a walk to one of our favorite thirst/hunger parlors!

 

[norgeskog]

ronjohn55 I do not take meat from the freezer until around 4 or so in the afternoon when I decide what I want for dinner. Then I will either plan my meal around the meat I choose, or defrost the meat for the recipe I decide I want. Never plan very far ahead unless I am having company. Drives me nuts to take out a chicken breast in the morning and then decide I want a steak or something else.

 

[LeeAnn]

My girls are always up for some kind of pasta with red sauce from the jar, sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. I usually add freezer garlic bread and they are good to go. We have even had french toast or pancakes when there's not much time in the evening. Depends on their moods.

 

[masteraznchefjr]

When there is no time i cook Quick cooked pasta noodles. douse with olive oil, red raspberry vinegar, onions, galric, parasen cheese, fresh basil, and tomatoes. this takes about 8 minutes. And i eat this with a bagel with butter.

 

[Hungry]

Grilled cheese
or
scrambled eggs.

This is my fall back too, quick, easy and GOOD!

If I really get engertic I'll whip up a batch of "Goodweeds" pancakes!.

Charlie

 

[SizzlininIN]

I hope you don't mind me getting off the subject some but I'm curious about how you all freeze your leftovers? Whats your technique?

As far as the topic.......sometimes we'll order a pizza but I generally have something around I can whip up pretty quick and if all else fails the old standby of canned soup and grilled cheese saves us from starvation

 

[luvs]

I hope you don't mind me getting off the subject some but I'm curious about how you all freeze your leftovers? Whats your technique?

As far as the topic.......sometimes we'll order a pizza but I generally have something around I can whip up pretty quick and if all else fails the old standby of canned soup and grilled cheese saves us from starvation

for freezing stuff, try freezer bags for things like sauces and soups.

 

[SizzlininIN]

thats what I normally use Luvs........just didn't know what others were using. I've tried those plastic freezer containers (older style ones) but the food seems to get those crystals built up on it.