Olivia's Fried Rice

I made fried rice for Logan's class for their Chinese New Year celebration, and even though it bears only a slight resemblance to anything I might call "Chinese" (ok I'm so putting my Chinese ancestors to shame), I thought I would share this meal idea.  In fact, most people I know only make fried rice when they have some leftover rice in their rice cookers, and a few small portions of meat, fish, tofu, or seafood and veggies in their fridge. 

One of Logan's classmates, Olivia, requested this dish after trying it at school, so I'm going to post what I did for the class that day, and hopefully you'll get inspired and make your very own (WAY better) version. 

The key to a good fried rice is using leftover rice from the night before.  If you don't have that, make your rice, and then uncover it so it can dry out a little before frying it.  Basically add oil to a heated pan, add the meat, fish, or other protein, veggies, and rice, and cook together, stirring occasionally.  Try the following recipe for a super easy and allergy-friendly meal.

(I added carrots in this batch but not in the one for Logan's class, so I omitted them from the recipe)

Olivia's Fried Rice  (WARNING: contains SOY)

Ingredients:

Cooked rice (a little goes a long way, depending on how many "fillers" you have to throw in. For our family of five, I would probably start with 2 cups or so of uncooked rice)

2 Aidells chicken sausages (my kids love the mango and the chicken apple), diced

Frozen peas and corn (1-2 cups total)

Oil (we use olive oil for all of our cooking)

any Asian style sauce that your family enjoys, like teriyaki, soy, oyster, vegetarian oyster, etc., to taste (Alternately, you can marinate your meat or fish before cooking.  I often make the rice without any sauce when using the Aidell's sausages--they've got lots of flavor on their own.)

Directions:

1.Cook sausage over medium heat in a pan with oil until heated through. 
2. Add cooked rice and spread evenly around the pan.  My kids like a few crispier parts, so I usually just let it cook for several minutes (5-10 min.), while stirring ocassionally.  The rice will absorb the flavor from the meat.
3. While the rice is cooking in the pan, microwave the peas and corn in a bowl until they're warm (probably about 2 minutes or so).
4. Add the cooked peas and corn and the sauce if you're using it, and let the rice mixture cook for a few more minutes. 

Experiment with this dish.  You'll find it's a fast go-to recipe for lunch or dinner.