A stir-fry on the stir-fly, thanks to grub on hand & Rice-A-Roni

Early yesterday morning I went to the market (reserved for seniors only until 9am, but I get in with my white hair) and saw a stockboy setting up a large red display case of RICE-A-RONI at the end of one aisle. 

Two things came to mind:

1) My blogger friend Bonnie uses Rice-a-Roni when she makes stuffed peppers.

2) I’m 60 years old and have never—NOT EVER—eaten a morsel of Rice-a-Roni.

How could that be?  If you were around in the 1960s & 1970s, their commercials aired nonstop and still play in my brain:

Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco Treat!  Rice-a-Roni, the flavor can’t be beat!

I decided to throw a couple boxes in my cart, the Chicken Flavor & ‘Stir-Fry with Asian Seasonings’.

After I got home I thawed two skinless, boneless chicken breast halves—sprinkled ‘em with kosher salt and ground pepper and put them in a pan with 2 tablespoons of canola oil.I cooked on medium heat for 6-7 minutes, then flipped both pieces and cooked another 5-6 minutes.  Done!Okay, how do I make this Rice-a-Roni… it says to saute the rice & vermicelli in 2 tablespoons of butter until golden brown.Add the Asian seasonings and 2 cups of cold water.  I’ve never seen so much steam in my life!  “美国电机及电子工程师协会!”   (That’s “aieeee!” in Chinese)I reduced the heat, covered & let simmer for 10 minutes.  I than added my cooked chicken breast (sliced), 1 chopped onion and 1 cup frozen broccoli florets.  Put the lid back on and let it simmer another 10 minutes.  Here’s the finished product and it smells incredible.  There must be 5 lbs of food here!  

I think the next time I make this, which will be VERY SOON, I’ll add some sliced red pepper in the final 5 minutes for some color & sweet heat.  But this turned out delicious, thanks Rice-a-Roni.  Also, there was enough here to feed at least 3 adults and the total cost was under $5.00. 

That made it even tastier.