Monday, March 7, 2011

Rice and Eggs - The Classic Brinner

When I was growing up, one of my mother's classic breakfast, and sometimes dinner, dishes was rice and eggs. Using the left over rice from Chinese take-out, my mom could whip up a delicious meal. (I realize as I am writing this that I don't know what the origin of this meal was - Mom, if you are reading, fill us in.)

Now that I am a mom,  I come back to this "recipe" time and again. Not only does it taste great, it reminds me of my mom and how much I loved when she made this for me as a little girl. Beyond nostalgic reasons to love rice and eggs, I also love that it is easy, healthy and my kids will eat it. In fact, when Jamie was about a year old, he would eat rice and eggs, with some vegetable thrown in, just about every day for lunch.

Last night Dave was out for dinner, so of course Kara requested brinner for dinner. I was happy to oblige. The kids had waffles and eggs and I had a delicious plate of rice and eggs. In this iteration of the meal, I added some red peppers, chopped spinach and green onions. And though left-over Chinese restaurant rice works best, I had to settle for the brown rice hiding in the back of our refrigerator.

Here is the "recipe" - a term I apply loosely. I generally use 2 eggs per adult and 1 per child. You do the math.
  • Beat eggs with a little milk/water. Set aside.
  • If you are going to add veggies or meat, get them ready. I recommend finely chopping any additions.
  • Get the rice out. If it is really dry, like the kind in a take-out container, microwave it for a minute to soften it up.
  • In a frying pan melt enough butter to thoroughly coat the pan. Don't be shy. If using veggies, saute for a few minutes. Add the rice. I use about 1/4 cup per egg. Saute for a few minutes until rice is warmed through.
  • Add eggs and scramble. 
  • You can throw in some cheese at the end if you are in to that kind of thing. 
  • Serve alone or with anything that you might put with eggs: ketchup, salsa, hot sauce, bbq sauce. Personally, I love it with mango chutney. But I am a freak.

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