Foodprint: Quickies

I'm patting myself on the back for this one. Last, last, last week's breakfast was rice & beans with eggs. I took a pre-seasoned, reduced sodium of course, rice & beans mix, baked it up, and stashed it in the fridge. For breakfast, I scooped out 2/3 cup of beans, and then about 3-4 egg whites (pourable equivalent is 1/2 cup) and microwaved it.

For my hard work, because it does require some stirring and very, very, very complex...um....button pushing...I was rewarded with a hearty, cheap, tasty breakfast.

I had enough rice to take this breakfast as a lunch the following week! This time, I used whole eggs, and same method. (Note: you can microwave whole eggs, out of the shell, but poke the yolk before doing so, or otherwise, the egg's on you in so many ways.)

Sometimes you really can marry convenience to a healthy lifestyle if you don't mind making an adjustment (cooking ahead of time, using pre-packaged items). And if you don't like eggs, you could probably do a Hoppin John (rice, beans and bacon) or a nice soup with the mix.

Ubiquitous Must Have #9 is...

Stock in a box!

Totally stolen from Rachael Ray. Stock in a box is AWESOME! Firstly, it's shelf stable like canned goods, until opening.

Stock in a box is my go to for adding flavor in recipes where water is used. So, for rice, grains, some sauces, soups, even boiled meatballs, I use stock. I love that Kitchen Basics makes an unsalted variety now. The amount of stock you use in a recipe is equal to the amount of water, but I find that I can stretch (in other words: be uber cheap) by using a mix of water and stock actually. The flavor is usually concentrated enough that it survives being watered down.

Another great thing about stock in a box is that it tends to be actual stock. Someone else has done all the work for you -- making actual stock is a patient, time consuming process, one that I hope to never perform.

Now,if I could get Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake to make a digital short about it...