Tag: #FriedRice

Posted in Rice Bowls

Harvest Vegetable Fried Rice

Posted on by simplegoodfood

Saturday is a good day to look around the refrigerator and ask one very important question:

What needs to be used?

Maybe there’s a little roasted squash left from Thursday’s Autumn Harvest Rice Bowl. Maybe you’ve got some carrots, zucchini, corn, peppers, or onions hanging around from earlier in the week.

And maybe there’s some cooked rice waiting in the refrigerator.

That’s dinner.

This Harvest Vegetable Fried Rice is designed for exactly those moments. It doesn’t require a specific collection of vegetables. It simply gives all those little leftovers somewhere to go.

The result is a quick, colorful skillet meal that’s inexpensive, filling, and a whole lot better than throwing good food away.

It’s Waste Not, Want Not in a bowl—or, in this case, a skillet. 🍚🌾

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Harvest Vegetable Fried Rice

Give leftover vegetables and cooked rice a delicious second life with this easy one-skillet fried rice.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Calories: 315
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cold cooked rice
  • 2 cups mixed leftover vegetables chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 small onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
Good vegetables to use:
  • Roasted carrots
  • Corn
  • Zucchini
  • Peppers
  • Green beans
  • Peas
  • Mushrooms
  • Roasted squash or sweet potatoes
  • Cooked broccoli

Method
 

Prepare the rice.
  1. Break up any clumps in the cold cooked rice with your fingers or a fork. Cold rice works particularly well because it is less likely to become mushy in the skillet.
Cook the eggs.
  1. Heat a large skillet or electric skillet over medium heat. Add about half of the olive oil. Beat the eggs lightly, add them to the skillet, and gently scramble until just cooked. Transfer them to a plate.
Sauté the onion.
  1. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. Add the diced onion and cook for 2–3 minutes, until softened.
Add the vegetables.
  1. Stir in the leftover vegetables and cook for 2–4 minutes, depending on how firm they are. Since most of the vegetables are already cooked, you’re simply heating and lightly browning them.
Add the rice.
  1. Add the cold rice to the skillet. Stir and toss everything together. Cook for about 4–5 minutes, allowing the rice to heat through and pick up a little color.
Season.
  1. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Return the eggs.
  1. Add the cooked eggs back to the skillet and gently stir them into the rice and vegetables.
Finish.
  1. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and fresh parsley, if using. Taste and add a little more soy sauce if needed.

Notes

🌾 The Beauty of Leftovers
This recipe doesn’t have a “correct” vegetable list.
That’s intentional.
If you have a cup of leftover roasted vegetables and half a cup of something else, use them.
If your vegetables are already seasoned, that’s fine.
If they’re a little soft, that’s okay, too. Fried rice is an excellent place for vegetables that aren’t quite at their fresh-from-the-garden best anymore.
The goal is to use them while they’re still good, not wait until they’re perfect.

🥢 Make It Your Own

Want more protein?

Add:

  • Leftover cooked chicken
  • Cooked ground beef
  • Cooked pork
  • Shrimp

Want more vegetables?

Add frozen peas, corn, or carrots straight from the freezer.

Want to keep it meatless?

The eggs provide protein and make this a satisfying meatless meal.

For a little extra flavor, add fresh ginger or a small amount of minced garlic if you have it.

🏕️ Campground Kitchen Tip

This is an especially good recipe for an electric skillet because you have plenty of surface area for the rice to brown without having to juggle several pans.

It’s also a great campground meal because it turns leftovers into something that feels completely different.

Nobody needs to know that Thursday’s roasted vegetables are making a return appearance. 😉

🧊 Meal Prep Tip

If you’re intentionally making fried rice for leftovers, cool the finished rice promptly and refrigerate it in a shallow container.

When reheating, heat the portion thoroughly until steaming hot.

And remember that cooked rice should be handled just like other perishable cooked foods—don’t leave it sitting at room temperature for hours.

Posted in Skillet Meals

Beef Fried Rice

Posted on by simplegoodfood

Introduction

Fried rice is one of those meals that can make you feel like you planned ahead even when you really didn’t.

A little cooked beef left from another meal. Some rice in the refrigerator. A few vegetables that need to be used.

Suddenly, dinner is handled.

This Beef Fried Rice is intentionally flexible. It’s a great way to use leftover cooked beef and rice, along with whatever vegetables are hanging around the refrigerator.

And that’s exactly what makes it such a good fit for Cooking Today, Planning for Tomorrow.

The beef doesn’t have to come from one particular recipe. Leftover beef from a skillet, rice bowl, roast, or meal-prep session can all find a second life here.

It’s not really leftovers anymore.

It’s dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It’s ready in about 25 minutes.
  • Leftover cooked beef does the heavy lifting.
  • Day-old rice works beautifully.
  • It’s an excellent refrigerator clean-out meal.
  • The seasoning is savory without being overly spicy.
  • You can easily make two servings instead of four.
  • It’s perfect for an electric skillet or regular skillet at the campground.
simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Beef Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of those meals that can make you feel like you planned ahead even when you really didn't.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 500
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups cooked lean beef chopped into small pieces
  • 3 cups cold cooked rice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 medium carrot finely diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
  • ½ cup chopped green beans optional
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon sesame oil
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 green onions sliced
Optional Additions
  • mushrooms
  • zucchini
  • corn
  • leftover cooked broccoli
  • spinach
  • a small amount of shredded cabbage

Method
 

Get Everything Ready First
  1. Fried rice moves quickly once you start cooking. Have your beef chopped, rice separated, vegetables prepared, eggs beaten, and seasonings measured before you heat the skillet.
  2. If your rice is stuck together in the refrigerator, break it apart with your fingers or a fork before adding it to the skillet.
Cook the Vegetables
  1. Heat a large skillet or electric skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 2–3 minutes.
  2. Add the frozen peas and carrots and optional green beans. Cook for another 2–3 minutes, until the vegetables are hot and beginning to soften.
Add the Garlic and Beef
  1. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the chopped cooked beef.
  2. Stir everything together and cook for 2–3 minutes, allowing the beef to warm through and pick up some of the flavor from the skillet.
Add the Rice
  1. Add the cold cooked rice. Spread it across the skillet and let it cook undisturbed for about 1 minute. Then stir and continue cooking for another 3–4 minutes. This little bit of contact with the hot skillet helps the rice develop the texture we’re looking for.
Make Room for the Eggs
  1. Push the beef, rice, and vegetables toward one side of the skillet. Pour the beaten eggs into the empty space. Cook, stirring gently, until the eggs are mostly set. Then stir them into the rice mixture.
Season the Fried Rice
  1. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper. Stir thoroughly so the seasonings are distributed throughout the rice. Cook for another 1–2 minutes.
  2. Taste and add a little more soy sauce if needed.
Finish and Serve
  1. Remove from the heat.
  2. Stir in the sliced green onions.
  3. Serve immediately.

Cook Today, Make Tomorrow Easier

This recipe is practically the definition of the week’s theme.

When you’re making rice for another meal, cook extra.

When you’re cooking beef, save a portion.

When you have vegetables that need to be used, put them aside.

Then later:

Rice + beef + vegetables = fried rice.

You don’t need to plan a special meal-prep session.

You simply made a few ingredients available for the next meal.

Make It Your Own

Change the Protein

Although we’re using beef here, the same method works with:

  • cooked chicken
  • pork
  • turkey
  • cooked sausage

Change the Vegetables

This is where fried rice really earns its refrigerator-cleanout reputation.

Use what you have.

Try:

  • cabbage
  • mushrooms
  • zucchini
  • corn
  • broccoli
  • spinach
  • green beans

Just remember that vegetables with a lot of moisture may need a little extra cooking time before the rice goes in.

Keep the Seasoning Mild

If you’re not a fan of spicy foods, there’s no reason to add hot sauce or chili peppers.

The combination of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and a tiny amount of sesame oil gives the dish plenty of flavor without heat.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a shallow, covered container.

Use within 3–4 days.

Reheat thoroughly in a skillet or microwave.

Because this recipe contains cooked rice, it’s especially important to cool and refrigerate leftovers promptly rather than leaving the finished fried rice sitting at room temperature.

Posted in Rice Bowls

Refrigerator Fried Rice

Posted on by simplegoodfood

Introduction

This is the kind of recipe that doesn’t really need a recipe.

Have some cooked rice? A little pulled pork? A few vegetables that need to be used? Maybe an egg or two? You’re already halfway there.

Refrigerator Fried Rice is all about taking the odds and ends in your refrigerator and turning them into a completely new meal. The ingredients don’t have to match perfectly, and you certainly don’t need to make a special trip to the grocery store. In fact, the whole point is to use what you already have.

It’s one of those meals every cook should have in their back pocket—and it’s a perfect example of Waste Not, Want Not cooking.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • A great way to use planned-over ingredients
  • Ready in about 20 minutes
  • Budget-friendly
  • Flexible and easy to customize
  • Perfect for small households
  • Works with pork, chicken, turkey, shrimp, or no meat at all
  • An excellent campground or RV meal

🥣 Build Your Bowl

This isn’t technically a Build-A-Bowl recipe, but it follows the same basic idea: start with a foundation and build from what you have.

  • 🍚 Base: Cooked, chilled rice
  • 🥩 Protein: Precooked pulled pork
  • 🥕 Vegetables: Whatever cooked or raw vegetables need to be used
  • 🥣 Sauce: Low-sodium soy sauce
  • 🥬 Fresh Finish: Sliced green onions
  • ✨ Optional Toppings: Fried egg, sesame seeds, cilantro, sriracha, or a drizzle of sesame oil

💡 Make It Your Own: Don’t have pulled pork? Use cooked chicken, turkey, shrimp, ham, or leave the meat out completely. Carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, cabbage, peppers, mushrooms, and green beans are all fair game.

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Refrigerator Fried Rice

RefrigeratorFried Rice is all about taking the odds and ends in your refrigerator andturning them into a completely new meal.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Calories: 400
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked chilled rice
  • 1½ cups precooked pulled pork chopped into small pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup mixed vegetables chopped small
  • ½ cup corn or peas
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil divided
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger optional
  • Black pepper to taste
Optional:
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • Sriracha or other hot sauce
  • Sesame seeds
  • Additional green onions

Method
 

  1. Prepare your ingredients first. Fried rice cooks quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before you turn on the skillet.
  2. Heat a large skillet or electric skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cooking oil.
  3. Add the eggs and scramble gently until just cooked. Transfer them to a plate.
  4. Add the remaining ½ tablespoon sesame oil to the skillet.
  5. Add the garlic, ginger, and vegetables. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, until the vegetables are heated through and beginning to soften.
  6. Add the chopped pulled pork and cook for another 2 minutes.
  7. Add the cold cooked rice. Stir and toss everything together, breaking up any clumps of rice.
  8. Pour the soy sauce around the edge of the hot skillet and stir it into the rice mixture.
  9. Return the cooked eggs to the skillet and stir everything together.
  10. Add the green onions and a splash of rice vinegar, if desired.
  11. Taste and adjust the soy sauce or seasonings as needed.
  12. Serve hot.

Notes

🧺 Kitchen Confidence
This Week’s Skill: Learning to Cook Without a Recipe
This might be the most important kitchen skill of the entire week.
A recipe is a guide, not a set of handcuffs.
Once you understand the basic technique, you can look into your refrigerator and make substitutions based on what you actually have. The vegetables don’t have to be the same ones listed here. The protein doesn’t have to be pork. You don’t even need meat.
The trick is to cut everything into similar-sized pieces and add ingredients according to how long they need to cook.
That’s cooking.

💰 Stretch Every Grocery Dollar

Fried rice is one of the best ways to make inexpensive rice stretch into a complete meal.

It’s also a great reason to cook extra rice when you’re already making it. One batch can become a side dish one night and the foundation for fried rice a few days later.

♻️ Waste Not, Want Not

This is where the refrigerator really gets to shine.

That last handful of peas? Toss them in.

Two lonely carrots? Absolutely.

A little corn from Tuesday’s rice bowl? Into the skillet it goes.

Some cabbage left from your Rainbow Coleslaw? Chop it up and use it.

And that little container of pulled pork that isn’t quite enough for another full meal? Perfect.

This is exactly what Waste Not, Want Not is supposed to look like.

🍽️ Cooking for One or Two

You can easily make a smaller batch by cutting the ingredients in half.

Or make the full recipe and portion it into individual containers for quick lunches. Fried rice reheats well, making it an especially useful meal for small households.

🥣 Meal Prep Note

If you’re cooking rice for another meal this week, make extra.

Cool the extra rice promptly and refrigerate it so it’s ready for fried rice later. Having cooked rice waiting in the refrigerator turns this from a recipe into a 20-minute clean-out-the-fridge meal.

Storage & Freezing

Refrigerator: Store cooked fried rice in an airtight container and use within 3–4 days.

Freezer: Portion cooled fried rice into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Reheating: Reheat thoroughly in a skillet or microwave. Add a splash of water if the rice seems dry.

Food safety: Cool and refrigerate cooked rice and other leftovers promptly rather than leaving them at room temperature for an extended period.

🌾 A Little Kitchen Wisdom

Don’t wait until your refrigerator is completely empty to make fried rice.

The sweet spot is when you have a little bit of several things.That’s when the magic happens.

Posted in Rice Bowls

Campground Fried Rice

Posted on by simplegoodfood

Sometimes the best meals are the ones you never planned.

Campground Fried Rice is the perfect example of turning leftovers into something completely new. A little cooked chicken, yesterday’s rice, a handful of vegetables, and a few pantry staples come together in one skillet for a quick, satisfying meal that’s ready in less than 20 minutes.

This is one of those recipes that’s meant to be flexible. Use the vegetables you have, swap in whatever protein is left from the week, and don’t worry about making it exactly the same every time. It’s a delicious way to clean out the refrigerator before your next grocery trip.

simplegoodfood's avatarsimplegoodfood

Campground Fried Rice

Sometimes the best meals are the ones you never planned.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 390
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked rice day-old rice works best
  • 1½ cups cooked Simple Campground Herb Chicken diced
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 cup mixed vegetables peas, carrots, corn, green beans, or whatever you have on hand
  • 2 green onions sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil optional, but adds great flavor
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger optional
  • Black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or electric skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Scramble the eggs until just set. Remove them to a plate.
  3. Add the garlic and mixed vegetables. Cook for 3–4 minutes until tender.
  4. Stir in the cooked chicken and rice, breaking up any clumps.
  5. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and ground ginger, stirring until everything is evenly coated and heated through.
  6. Return the scrambled eggs to the skillet and gently fold them into the rice.
  7. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and serve immediately.

Notes

Notes
  • Day-old rice makes the best fried rice because it stays fluffy instead of becoming sticky.
  • This recipe is perfect for using up small amounts of leftover vegetables.
  • No chicken left? Try turkey, pork, beef, ham, shrimp, or make it completely vegetarian.
    Do not be afraid to try a new addition to your rice. I’ve even added a handful of grapes one time, which my husband declared “Delicious!”

Leftover & Meal Prep Tips

This recipe is less about following exact measurements and more about using what you already have.

Some great additions include:

  • Leftover broccoli
  • Mushrooms
  • Bell peppers
  • Spinach
  • Cabbage
  • Zucchini
  • Water chestnuts
  • Bean sprouts

If it’s sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be used, chances are it’ll be delicious in fried rice.

Food Storage & Preservation

Cool cooked rice quickly and refrigerate it promptly. Fried rice should always be reheated until steaming hot before serving. If you’re freezing cooked rice or preserving ingredients for future meals, be sure to follow the latest USDA recommendations for safe food storage and preservation practices.