“This shop is part of a social shopper campaign with the Hillshire Brands and Safeway Blog Tour Campaign through Mom It Forward Blogger Network, but all my opinions are my own. #BringHillshireHome #sponsored"
This year, we’ve made a huge change! I’m now making home lunches daily for all four of our kids. Why did we make the change? The main reason was the cost. For 4 kids, we were paying $200 a month for school provided lunches, which they didn’t always love eating.
Now that we’ve gone to daily homemade lunches, we can avoid the “bad lunch” days because I can cater their lunches to what they like to eat. Plus, I can make delicious meals for all of them at a lower cost than school lunches. One of the ways I help to reduce what we spend on meals is to use Safeway’s Just for U program. I recently used Just for U to save on a package of Hillshire Brand’s Smoked Sausage to make one of my kids favorite lunches – fried rice.
I often make fried rice with leftover meats from previous meals, but if I don’t have any leftovers, I’ll use a package of smoked sausage or Spam. It has great flavor, the kids LOVE it, and it’s a great way for me to add protein into the dish.
If you’d like to save while shopping at Safeway, download the app – Safeway‘s Just for U program. If you’re a Von’s shopper, this works there too!
Fried Rice Recipe
Fried rice is one of the quickest and easiest meals to make. It’s almost full proof and you can change up the ingredients/seasonings to suite your personal taste. For example, I like to add gochujang paste to my serving of fried rice because I love the sweet and spicy flavor that it give the rice. My kids prefer it with more oyster sauce and no fish sauce, while my husband likes it anyway it’s made.
The recipe below is a basic recipe that you can add to or change seasonings depending on your protein of choice. For the tastiest fried rice, cook two to three slices of bacon and use the bacon grease to “fry” the rice. Chop the bacon and add it into the rice after you cook the eggs and add the sauce.
Fried Rice
Print recipe
| Serves | 4-5 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 15 minutes |
| Total time | 30 minutes |
| Meal type | Breakfast, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Snack |
Ingredients
- 3 eggs (scrambled)
- 4 cups cold Rice (if rice is clumped together, break-up before adding to the pan)
- 3/4 cups diced carrots
- 1/2 cup diced onions
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/2 cup peas
- 9oz Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage or can of Spam
- 4 stalks green onions
- 2 tablespoons butter (oil can be substituted)
- salt
- pepper
- gochujang (optional for heat)
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster Sauce (If omitting the fish sauce, add another Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
Note
For the tastiest fried rice, cook two to three slices of bacon and use the bacon grease to “fry” the rice. Chop the bacon and add it into the rice after you cook the eggs and add the sauce.
Feel free to substitute ingredients with what you have leftover in the fridge and to suit your taste. This dish is a great way to use up ingredients in your fridge/pantry.
Directions
| Sauce | |
| Step 1 | |
| Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. | |
| Step 2 | |
| In another bowl, scramble eggs and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Heat a large pan on medium-high heat and add one tablespoon of butter with carrots, onions, and garlic. Saute until the onions and carrots are softened. Approximately 3-5 minutes *You can also cook 2-3 thick sliced bacon and use the grease to fry the rice. This is will add more flavor and you can add the bacon to the rice.* | |
| Step 4 | |
| Add frozen peas and Hillshire Farms smoked sausage and cooked until the peas begin to defrost. Move the entire mix to one side of the pan. Pour scrambled eggs into the cleared side of the pan. When the eggs start to set, stir them around until you get bits of scrambled eggs. Begin to mix together the ingredients in the pan. | |
| Step 5 | |
| Add 1 tablespoon of butter to vegetable mixture and add in the cold rice. Mix well. Fry rice and vegetable mixture in the pan for about 3-5 minutes, stirring until the rice is warmed. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Add in the sauce and mix well to evenly distribute the sauce. Cook for a minute or two more. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Sprinkle chopped green onions onto the mix and serve. Add gochujang paste if you like added heat. | |
Need more quick and easy recipe ideas? Find other great recipes using Hillshire Brand Products on these blogs too:
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Yum! I love fried rice, that might be for lunch today. Thanks for linking up with the Retro Repin party. I hope your having a great Wednesday!
LOVE fried rice and this is a fun twist on a classic! Thanks!
Yum! This looks great, with lots of flavor 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your recipe at Together on Tuesday!!!
Hi Erlene! This dish look great! I am featuring it tomorrow on my P3 features. Also I wanted to let you know your twitter social media link goes to an error page. I don’t want you to miss out on followers.
Kim
Kim~madeinaday recently posted…Winter Holiday Fonts Dingbats
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll make sure to fix it.
Hello sweet lady! This looks incredible. Pinned. We appreciate you taking the time to party with us. We hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm. We love partying with you!
Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
Lou Lou Girls recently posted…Fairy Dust Bars
Thanks for always stopping and hosting a great link party. I’ve linked up 🙂
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #29
Yummmy!! My kids so enjoy fried rice…I could see this being a staple recipe 🙂
Thanks for joining us on this past week of “Inspired By Me Mondays!!”
So glad you were able to link up; please be sure to come back again next week 🙂
Thanks for stopping and hosting a great link party. I’m behind on commenting and linking up, but I’m slowly catching up.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #29
G’day! Looks great Erlene and I can almost smell it from here! Pinned!
Cheers! Joanne
#ibabloggers
Thanks for pinning Joanne, you are so awesome!
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #29
Hi Erlene, your fried rice looks delicious! That’s what I love about fried rice is using leftover meat and rice to put in it. That’s a great idea to make the kids lunches instead of paying for ones they won’t even eat. My son’s school has breakfast and lunch provided for free for all students but last year, he didn’t eat their food at all so we did have to make his lunch. Pinning and sharing this. 🙂
Bernadyn @ B is 4 recently posted…#AskAwayFriday with Ana at Our Blended Marriage
I would love to use more leftovers, but since the boys are older (teens), there isn’t much leftover anymore…lol. Thanks for pinning and sharing.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #29
I’m so glad you shared this with us at Home Matters so I could put it on our Pin Board! I have told my husband about your Fried Rice. I think he is going to make it 🙂
Did he make it? I have a tip, cook 2 -3 pieces of bacon and “fry” the rice in it. Then follow the recipe and add in the cooked bacon too.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #29
This looks and sounds delicious! I always made my kids lunches for school… cheaper and healthier. PINNED. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai recently posted…Recycle Broken Malibu Lights for the Holidays -DIY
Lunches weren’t too bad in price before, but once they hit middle school/high school the lunch prices jumped and it just isn’t cost effective anymore. We started the year with half school bought and homelunch, but it’s just too expensive.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
Looking yummy! Homemade is so much better and less expensive, you go girl!
Yes. Soooo much less expensive 🙂
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
My husband and I love Fried Rice. He is the Fried Rice specialist at our house. The only meat we have ever put in it is shrimp but we may have to try the sausages! We don’t have the Safeway stores here but I think they may be part of the Kroger chain which we do have! Pinning this recipe to my Good Eats board.
Shirley Wood recently posted…The Rock Ranch for Family Fun In Georgia
Fried rice specialist…love it! I’ve used all kinds of stuff in fried rice and shrimp is actually one of my favorites. Each protein adds a slightly different flavor and the sauce/seasoing will need adjusting, but that’s why I love fried rice. You can make it anyway you like.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
Heck yeah! Husbands ought to be special cooks too 🙂 He is also big about baking and I like that!
Great idea Erlene! It’s been a while since I’ve made fried rice, but I sure do love it. You are right that cold rice works best, but that means I have to remember to cook it the night before. I should just make up rice to always have on hand each week.
Christina @ Juggling Real Food and Real Life recently posted…Cooking With Kids: Cooking Play Date
We eat rice almost daily, so we usually have some leftovers 🙂 My kids love fried rice and it’s so easy to make.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
I have never made fried rice because I thought it was complicated. You made it look easy! I will have to try it now. And the coupon is great! Thanks.
Amanda Smith recently posted…October is Talk About Your Medicines Month
It’s super easy and really you can make it to suite your own taste. It’s a great way to use up leftovers.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
Okay, it’s almost lunch time and that looks SO good! Now, is the gochujang what looks like the dried cranberries in there? I was like, dried cranberries in fried rice, WOW!
Hi Kristen. Yes…lol. I love gochujang paste…it’s like a sweet and spicy paste and is perfect for someone who doesn’t like things burning spicy hot, but likes a little bit of kick.
Sounds yummy!
So glad you decided to make the change to cut on cost! And I am sure a home cooked meal is so much better for them. A lot more work for you but it is worth it!!! I have to agree with the kids, fried rices is one of my favorite meals of all time!
Zan recently posted…Fall Mantle and Other Fall Decor Around Our Home
Yes, school lunches are getting ridiculously expensive and I do like knowing exactly what they are eating.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
We love fried rice at our house, and I love the ease of preparation when I remember to make the rice ahead of time. It seems to do best when its cold anyway.
I’ve never tried making it with smoked sausage or gochujang. If its spicy, my husband will love it! Thanks for sharing your recipe. Pinning, tweeting and stumbling.
Karen recently posted…Chai Tea
Thanks so much for all the shares Karen. Yes, cold rice is a must to me. I’ve tried with fresh cooked and it gets too mushy. I used to make it “Hawaii” style with a Hawaiian island canned meat or shrimp, but the kids like the sausage. I like to add a bit of gochujang paste to mine because I like the sweet/spicy added flavor.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
Looks amazing! I would have to make it veggie but I’m definitely pinning this one as a keeper!
Jen recently posted…Tuesday 10 – Favorite Fall Comfort Foods
You could definitely make it all veggie 🙂 Thanks for pinning.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Merry Monday Link Party #25
Since all of my children are grown, I didn’t realize that school lunches were so expensive these days! I’m sure your children love that you are making them homemade lunches that actually taste good! And that fried rice looks so delicious. May I eat it for breakfast? Pinning!
I know…isn’t it getting so expensive?! I’m dating myself, but school lunches used to be 25 cents…lol. Thanks for pinning and yes, have some for breakfast 🙂