Lazy Nights

Sometimes I have those lazy nights where I just don't feel like running out to the grocery store. And ordering for delivery can be expensive for only one person. Which leaves the only option of using what is in my cabinets and fridge to put together a meal. Luckily, I have a semi large collection of pantry staples.

In the past week I had two of these nights. And I think I did pretty good at putting together some meals using what I had available.

Night # 1- Chicken and fried rice

I took a chicken breast and cut it into chunks. I dipped them into an egg (that had been stirred), and dropped them into a disposable freezer bag that had about 1/3 cup of cornstarch in it. I shook the bag until the chicken was coated.

I heated about a tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep skillet and browned the chicken pieces until nearly cooked. (About 2 minutes)

I removed the chicken and added another tbsp or so of oil. Then I added just over half a cup of cooked, cold rice. It's important that the rice is cold, or it won't fry. After the rice had been in there for about a minute I added a half cup of thawed peas, and a carrot that I cut into large matchsticks. After another minute I added 3 tbsp of sauce, recipe to follow.

I took the rice out of the skillet, and added the chicken back. I poured over the rest of my sauce and stirred the chicken to coat. I kept the mix in there for about 2-3 minutes so that the sauce would thicken.

I made the sauce by combining 3 tbsp each of mirin, soy sauce, honey, Chinese cooking wine, as well as 2 tbsp of rice vinegar.

Overall a really good meal that didn't cost a lot, and I have been craving it since I made it that night.

Night # 2 - Pasta Carbonara

The next night, I realized I had all the ingredients for Nigella's spaghetti carbonara, except spaghetti noodles. I substituted the spaghetti noodles for small shells. The first time I ever made this (using spaghetti), I was blown away by how good this was. This time it was good, but not amazing. I blame the shells.