Welcome to day two of my challenge to cook meals for myself only using what I already have in the house. I have challenged myself this week to only cook from my refrigerator, freezer, larder, without having to go to the chops for any ingredients at all.
Maybe you are like me. You buy things and put them into your freezer and cupboards, and then forget to thaw them out and so pick up fresh at the shops, or you just never get around to using what you already have.
I have thrown out too many pieces of freezer-burnt meat to want to continue practicing this bad habit, and so I have challenged myself to use what I already have before buying anything else. My sister is a great example of thrift in this way.
She uses everything. Absolutely everything. Not much goes to waste in her house. I am striving to be more like her in this respect. Only buying what I need, and using what I have.
As you know I cooked a pork roast at the weekend. I found myself with a quantity of leftover cooked roast pork that I wanted to use up. I could have made pork fried rice, but I found myself lacking in some of the ingredients needed.
I found a recipe for what looked to be a tasty rice side dish in a cookbook I have entitled Our Best Quick & Easy Casseroles by Gooseberry Patch.
I decided to adapt it to what I already had in my house, and to turn it into a main dish rather than a side dish by using up some of my cooked roast pork.
The original recipe used instant rice and I didn't want to use that. I used packaged already cooked Uncle Ben's brown rice in its place.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHEESY CHILI PORK & RICE
Just a few very simple ingredients plus some seasoning.
- 1 pouch of Uncle Ben's Express already cooked brown rice (2 cups)
- 8 ounces (226g) sour cream
- 4 ounce can (127g) chopped green chilies, undrained
- 1 1/2 cups (181g) grated strong cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cubed cooked roast pork or chicken
As you can see I took advantage of this recipe to use up some small packages of cheese that I had in my refrigerator. I will sometimes buy those little net bags which included a variety of cheeses, or even one variety of cheese in a single sized serving.
I rarely, if ever, enjoy cheese just on its own like that. I don't know why I buy them. Anyways, I grated the equivalent in them for my cheese.
If you are unable to get green chilies, then you can use fresh jalapeno chilies. You may want to cook them first. Just trim, deseed, chop and sauté them in a skillet over medium heat until softened.
When I lived in the UK it was impossible to procure canned green chilies. I used to buy a whack of fresh jalapeno chilies and roast them in the oven. Deseed, remove the skins and then freeze them in ice cube trays to use for my Tex Mex cooking.
I just rolled them up and froze them whole, one per ice cube space. Then once frozen I would pop them out and into an air tight zip lock baggie where I could remove as many or as few as I needed to use at any one time.
If you don't have cooked pork to use, you can also use roasted chicken or even beef. All would work very well.
The original recipe used minute rice, for this recipe you would need 1 cup of minute rice and 1 cup of boiling water. Put the rice in a bowl, add the boiling water, cover and leave to sit for five minutes.
HOW TO MAKE CHEESY CHILI PORK & RICE
Nothing could really be any easier to make than this simple casserole. This goes together in a flash and cooks in half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 1 quart/liter casserole dish. Set aside.
Crumble the rice into a bowl. Stir in the sour cream, green chilies, diced pork and 1 cup (120g) of the cheese. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Spoon into the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted on top and begun to turn a light golden. Serve hot.
This was really quite delicious. I don't think any leftovers would freeze very well however, due to the use of sour cream. If you wanted to you could add other bits to it which would also be delicious, such as chopped olives, or onions.
I served this with some steamed frozen string beans and a sliced tomato. Someone at church had brought in a bunch of hot house cucumbers and tomatoes and told us all to help ourselves. I picked up a cucumber and a few tomatoes.
I didn't think that was cheating on my plan as they were free and did not cost me anything. This was a really great store cupboard meal!
Some other store cupboard meals that you might also enjoy that I have cooked here in my English Kitchen are:
CHEESY TUNA BAKE- This delicious casserole uses a tin of tuna, a packet of pasta, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sour cream, milk and frozen peas. Its simple to make and quite delicious. All you need on the side is possibly a salad and some crusty bread or rolls
OVEN BAKED THAI CHICKEN & RICE - A tasty oven bake using chicken tenders, basmati rice, coconut milk, green Thai curry paste, lime and some peppers and onions. I do so love the flavor of a Thai chicken curry and this delicious casserole certainly embodies those. Again, quick, easy and delicious!
Yield: 2 - 3 as a mainAuthor: Marie Rayner
Cheesy Chili Pork & Rice
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 MinRich and cheesy, nicely spiced. A great way to use up leftover cooked pork, or chicken for that matter. (see notes for ingredient substitutions.)Ingredients
- 1 pouch of Uncle Ben's Express already cooked brown rice (2 cups)
- 8 ounces (226g) sour cream
- 4 ounce can (127g) chopped green chilies, undrained
- 1 1/2 cups (181g) grated strong cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cubed cooked roast pork or chicken
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 1 quart/liter casserole dish. Set aside.
- Crumble the rice into a bowl. Stir in the sour cream, green chilies, diced pork and 1 cup (120g) of the cheese. Season to taste with some salt and black pepper.
- Spoon into the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted on top and begun to turn a light golden.
- Serve hot.
Notes
If you are in the UK, you may not be able to find the green chilies. You can substitute two to three medium jalapeno chilies in their place. (Depending on how spicy you like things.) Just trim, discarding the ribs and seeds. Chop finely.
If you don't have sour cream you can use Greek Yogurt, creamed cottage cheese, or cream cheese loosened with a bit of milk.
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