White Rice: What a versatile carb

I'm to rice, as Bubba Gump is to shrimp.  Or so C tells me.  But that's because rice is just so easy to make into a meal.  You can cook it with just about anything and it is usually good, if not delicious.  Just today we made fried rice with baby spinach (which we had originally bought for salad) and with chicken sausage and eggs and tomatoes.  Two separate dishes.

Fried rice, however, can honestly be made with almost any vegetables you have lying around and just about any type of meat in the fridge.  You just need salt and oil to make it taste good, though some other form of "asian" sauce doesn't hurt.

• The process is simple, cook your rice first, separately.
• While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables you want to use and one meat.  Make sure everything has been diced (not minced) into generally small cube shape.  The meat can be a little bigger if that's how you like it.  
• Cook the meat until brown (if ground meat) or until slightly cooked and set aside
• Side note: I usually fry my rice with one or two eggs, beaten.  This helps the rice and ingredients blend together better and keeps the dish from getting too dry.
• In a big enough wok or saute pan, add in a tbsp of oil
• Once oil is heated, add in egg and rice.  I generally put in the rice first and then pour the egg over it.  Stir while doing it to separate the rice blocks.
• Add in the meat and salt accordingly
• Add in vegetables that take longer to cook (mushroom, bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots)
• Stir for about 5 minutes and then add in vegetables that cannot handle as much heat (spinach, bell peppers, corn, peas)
• Add in soy sauce (if you want, I actually use chili paste or just salt to season

Always taste as you cook to see if you like the flavor and experiment!  Fried rice is so much fun because it really is just an experiment and see how things taste.  That's why I always make a lot of rice and then split it to see how it goes.