Goodbye 2017 and The Best Fried Rice Ever!

by Kimberly Hickok

Time marches on and on. I am truly glad to watch 2017 recede from view. I never in a million years thought that a presidential election would affect my psyche so very deeply . . . but it did. I honestly couldn’t put my finger on why I was so down last year and finally figured it out. So goodbye 2017! It wasn’t all bad though. I actually ended the year making one of the best things I’ve made in a long time –  fried rice!

But first a few highlights of GOOD THINGS from this past year.

I made a LOT of meatballs last year.

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And I did a lot of knitting . . . keeping my hands busy and in the kitchen really helps me get through when I’m feeling down or stressed.

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I had a lot of fun going ‘natural’ with my hair. And it grew out a lot!

This girl and her hair in #2017 #naturalhair #yearinreview #happynewyear

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Justin graduated from college. So happy and proud of him and happy for me too (no more tuition payments – yay!!!!).

Yay!!!! No more tuition!!! #classof2017 #fredonia #collegegrad

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We ended the year with our annual tradition of spending time with the kids and grandkids on Christmas Eve enjoying each other’s company and eating takeout Chinese. And that leads me to the best fried rice ever!

First off, this is not a real recipe. So many of the best things I’ve ever made have come about by accident. So here’s what happened. On Christmas Eve we all ordered a bunch of stuff – Boneless Spare Ribs, Sesame Chicken, Spicy Beef, Seafood Delight . . . you get the picture.

So much leftover Chinese food that I normally throw out. Not proud of that but I’m just keeping it real.

After Christmas I peek into the fridge and it’s full of small containers of white rice and little bits of this and that. So I decided to discard the fried rice but took any leftover meat and vegetables and chopped them up into small pieces. I threw them into a large, super hot cast iron skillet and stir fried them. Then I added any sauces they were cooked in.

THEN I added the white rice and stirred it all together. I tasted it and all it needed was a little bit of soy sauce to bring it all together. So so good! [Fried rice tip 101 – leftover white rice makes the best fried rice.]

I think that the variety of sauces that each dish was made with made all the difference.

This fried rice can do double duty. Not only is it fantastic for dinner on its own or as a side dish, it’s fantastic for breakfast too. I enjoyed a bowl of it with an egg over easy with a little sriracha. Give it a try!

So the next time you have Chinese takeout don’t toss any leftovers. Try whipping up a batch of your own fried rice. You won’t be sorry.

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