Veggie fried rice

Clear out the crisper with this easy veggie fried rice! It cooks up quick and gets on the table in minutes, perfect for a busy weeknight meal.

• 1 teaspoon oil
  
  
• 3 eggs
  
  
• Pinch salt and pepper
  
  
• 1 onion
  
  
• Around 3 cups mixed vegetables (fresh, frozen or canned)
  
  
• 2 cups cooked white or brown rice
  
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
  
• 2 garlic cloves, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Fried rice cooks quickly, so start by prepping all of the ingredients and set them up in arm's range of the stovetop. Dice onions and mixed veggies (if necessary), and mince garlic. Crack eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the salt and pepper. Get a clean plate to transfer cooked ingredients onto.
   
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Pour the beaten eggs in and scramble until just cooked. Transfer onto your clean plate and set aside.
   
   
3. Add onions to the skillet, along with minced garlic and carrots (if using). Stir-fry for about a minute, and then add the rest of the vegetables that you're using and stir-fry for a minute more.
   
   
4. Add the rice and soy sauce to the skillet, and stir-fry until rice is piping hot. Stir scrambled eggs back in, and cook for another few seconds to ensure that the eggs are heated through.

• This recipe is best made with day-old rice; it's the perfect use for leftovers!
  
  
• If you're using frozen vegetables, add them straight from the freezer into the pan without thawing them first so that they don't become mushy. They are pre-cooked, so just stir-fry them until they're hot.

• Try stir-frying in butter or sesame oil for some extra flavour
  
  
• Add any cooked protein you like; chicken, beef, pork or fried tofu
  
  

• Fried rice will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Recipe adapted from the Pittsburgh Food Bank

Food is Too Expensive! was funded by the City of Saskatoon through our Healthy Yards partnership, the Cyril Capling Trust Fund of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and the Department of Plant Sciences. Focus group research to inform this work was collected by CHEP. Thank you all for helping us make healthy food more accessible!