Fried Rice

Fried rice is a comfort food to me. It's also a favorite go to meal when the cupboards are bare and I'm resisting the urge to go out to eat. Of course, it can be tailored to suite your taste and what you have on hand. It makes a quick lunch, or paired with egg drop soup and be served as a dinner meal.

Prep Time: 15 minutes (to cook rice)
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 8
Cost: Approx. $3.00 (or free if your using left overs)

Ingredients:
3 cups dry rice
6 cups water
Soy sauce
2 Tbsp butter
Left over meat (pork, chicken, beef, fish)
3-4 eggs
2 carrots chopped
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1 small onion finely chopped
salt
pepper

1. Gather your ingredients. Cook rice.

2. Cut meat into bite sized pieces and until no longer pink and set aside. I often just set aside a piece of meat from a previous meal for this very purpose.

3. Melt butter. Place onion and carrots on griddle and cover with a layer of rice. Generously cover in soy sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn and add more soy sauce.

4. After turning rice make a hole in the middle in which to crack the eggs. Scramble slightly and let eggs cook until they begin to harden. Incorporate into rice buy tossing like your a chef at a Japanese restaurant. (That's my favorite part.)

5. Mix in meat and peas. Serve hot.

Now wasn't that easy?

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake

This is one of Sean's favorite deserts. I love it because it is easy to prepare, serves a lot of people and keeps in the freezer for up to three months!!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 16-24 (depending on your generosity)
Cost: approx $6.00

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers ($.50)
1/2 stick of butter melted ($.25)
4 bananas sliced thinly-fresh or frozen ($.50)
1 quart strawberry ice cream softened($2.00)
1/2 jar of hot fudge topping ($.75)
1 small tub whipped cream topping ($1.00)
pecans ($.50)

Crush graham crackers until equal to 4 cups. Mix with melted butter and press into bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes or until crust is set. Let cool.

Place layer of bananas over crust. Pour on warmed hot fudge topping. Spread an ice cream layer evenly over the hot fudge. Top with a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle with pecans.

Cover and freeze for 3 hours before serving. Refreeze any unused portion and store for up to 3 months.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I had a lot of leftover spaghetti noodles and not much else for lunch. I searched some recipes and modified to up with this my own version with the ingredients we had on hand. I'm sure it would be much more delicious with the cream and white whine. It was a little drier than the kid's preferred so I think next time I'll add a little chicken broth to the noodles.

Prep Time: less than 5 minutes
Cook time: less than 10 minutes
Serves: 8
Costs: approx. $2.00

1 pound of cooked spaghetti ($.75)
4-6 slices of turkey bacon ($.50)
1/4 cup of onion diced
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil
3 eggs ($.25)
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese ($.50)

Reheat spaghetti in the microwave. Mix eggs and cheese together and set aside. In olive oil saute garlic and onions until translucent. Add bacon that has been cut into pieces and cook. Add warm noodles and toss well. Slowly add cheese mixture and continue tossing until eggs are cooked.

You can find this along with lots of other budget friendly recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge's Friday Recipe Swap.