Kung Pao Chicken Fried Rice

I'm in the process of catching up on blogging. I think my main issue is that I cook the food, take some half-decent photos, and then I forget to upload them, get lazy, say I'll do it later, decide to watch television instead. It really is a vicious cycle. So, here begins part one of several parts I shall publish today of meals I have had in the last week or so.

I have a tendency to collect leftovers. When I decide to eat out, it avalanches to a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth meal out in a row. And then I'm left with bits and pieces of several dishes trying to figure out what to do with all of it before it all goes bad. So in a pinch, a quick fried rice is always a useful solution. Honestly, I think everyone should know how to make fried rice. I'm serious, it's the best way I've found to use leftovers but still make a meal that doesn't taste that leftovers. This one is super simple and though you never HAVE to use leftovers in fried rice, I tossed some in.

 Serves two moderately hungry persons, or one very hungry person

Ingredients:
Half a bag of Trader Joe's Kung Pao Chicken
1.5 cups of UNCOOKED rice
vegetables of choice (about 1 cup, coarsely chopped)
any other leftovers you may find lying around (I used some leftover lamb gyro)

Cook rice in rice cooker. If you do not have a rice cooker, here is a nifty way of making rice on the stove top that my mom taught me! Put rice in pot. Rinse rice a few times (2-3). Add water so that the level of water doubles the level of the rice. A good way to figure this out is to measure the level from the bottom of the pan to the top of the rice with your finger and then make sure the height from the top of the rice to the surface of water is the same. Put on medium heat until it is fully cooked.

- Once rice is just about completed, begin preparing the Kung Pao Chicken as package details. Once the Chicken is about done and you are preparing to add the vegetables, feel free to toss in any other vegetables you may want to add (I added some asparagus because I wanted more veggies) as well as any leftovers.
- When chicken and vegetables are cooked through, and BEFORE adding sauce, add the cooked rice to the skillet
- Pour sauce included in Trader Joe's Packet evenly over the contents and stir so the sauce is mixed throughout the skillet, giving the rice an even color.
- Cover the pan for 1-2 minutes to allow the sauce to heat through and flavors to meld
- Serve and enjoy!