Vacation Fridge Clean Out

This was where I spent my last vacation. Believe me, it was just as nice as it looked! I am trying to clean out my fridge in anticipation of my trip to the Big Apple. It's never nice to come home to spoiled food. I am also trying to go A WHOLE WEEK without eating at a restaurant. For those of you who follow my blog, you will understand what a sacrifice that is...but money must be saved. I want to arrive in New York as a sort of FOOD VIRGIN. Cleansed of Canadian restaurant food, and ready to experience American restaurant food! Whenever you are on vacation...the idea of eating at restaurants, three meals a day for however many days is initially exciting, but towards the end of the trip becomes a bit of a drag. Sometimes you want to eat something that you always have at home. Maybe I am weird, but I kind of miss my own cooking. So, today was a clean out the crisper drawer, search the freezer for ingredients, and plan out the rest of the food week. The ultimate goal is to leave on Sunday AM with nothing in the fridge except the odd condiment. To that end, I walked uptown and bought some greens and fruit to supplement the meat and grains I found. This recipe is one of my favorites...

Brown Rice With Vegetables ... by Cathy Burrell
A couple of years ago I lost 40 pounds and have been successfully keeping it off. I have done it by re-tooling some of my favorite recipes to include more fibre and vegetables, while cutting down the fat. I grew up eating white rice with butter and soy sauce, and still crave those flavours. This recipe is a crunchy, filling, flavourful, one-pan dish that is great for lunch or dinner.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:
1 tbsp canola oil
half medium onion, sliced fine
1 inch piece of ginger, cut into matchsticks
1 orange pepper, seeded and chopped
12 medium mushrooms, sliced
2 medium cloves of garlic ,sliced
2 cups cooked cold brown rice-any kind
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha chili sauce
1 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
( garnish with chopped green onions and flat leaf Italian parsley- optional)

Preparation:
Preheat a large non stick skillet on medium high heat for 1 minute. Add canola oil, onion, ginger and garlic, and stir until you can smell it. Add all other vegetables and fresh pepper, and stir for 1 minute. Add the rice, soy, BBQ sauce, chili sauce, and sesame oil and stir for 1 minute. Add frozen peas and stir for 1 minute. Check seasoning...add garnish and serve HOT! When you add the veggies...feel free to add some cooked meat or shrimp if you want a more substantial meal.