Ham (or Chicken) Fried Rice

Is it 5:00 p.m. and you haven't thought of dinner? Well this is the dish for you. This fried rice was soooo good. And as a meal, it can basically stand on its own. I had some leftover rice and so I made it with that and it was soooo easy!  As soon as I can find the recipe that I adapted this from, I will share the link!
 
Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons Butter, Divided
6 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Chopped
1 cup Frozen Peas And Carrots
½ cups Diced Ham Or Cooked Chicken
3 whole Eggs Beaten
3 cups Cooked Rice, Chilled
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce Or More To Taste

Salt And Pepper, to taste


Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small glass dish in the microwave. Add the minced garlic and lemon juice to the melted butter and stir to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors to mingle.

Chop the onions. Measure out the peas/carrots, ham, rice, and soy sauce. Finally, you should beat the eggs in a small bowl. Doing some of the measuring/prep work before you start cooking is crucial.

In a large, non-stick skillet, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the peas and carrots and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the diced ham or chicken. Cook for 1 minute. Push all of the contents of the skillet to one side to keep them from cooking too much. On the empty side of the skillet, add the beaten eggs. Season with a little salt and pepper and scramble until just set. Integrate the eggs with the veggies and move everything back to the edge of the skillet.

Quickly add the garlic mixture to the pan and use a spatula to break it up. Cook it for about 1 minute or so (longer if you do not want an intense garlic taste). If you are worried about the strong flavor of garlic, you can add the same amount of garlic but add it with the peas and carrots. This will give the garlic ample time to mellow and sweeten by the name everything is cooked.

Add the cold, cooked rice and mix it in with the other ingredients. I made this with leftover rice!!! Add the soy sauce and stir to combine. Stir it every 30 seconds for about 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and/or additional soy sauce, if desired. Stir one last time and transfer everything to a serving bowl.

Fried Rice

I found this recipe years ago and enjoy making it every once in a while. It came from the back of a dry Lipton Onion Soup Mix box. It can be served as a side dish or I add chicken or ham to it and it is a complete meal for our family.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. olive oil
4 c. cooked rice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 envelope onion mushroom soup mix (or just onion soup mix)
1/2 c. water
1 T. soy sauce
1 c. frozen peas and carrots, partially thawed
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Directions:

Heat olive oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over med-high heat and cook rice, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until rice is heated through. Stir in garlic.
Blend soup mix with water and soy sauce. Stir into rice and cook 1 minute. Stir in peas and carrots and cook 2 minutes or until heated through.
Make a well in center of rice and quickly stir in eggs until cooked.
Add cooked chicken or ham or shrimp if desired.
Enjoy.