The Squirrel Can Cook – Teriyaki Beef & Rice

Growing up, Mom always worked outside the home (as a 1st grade teacher, and later as an executive assistant.) As a result, she did a lot of quick and easy meals. She used to make a tuna fish casserole with boxed mac-&-cheese and canned tuna. I’ve got to admit (and it’s no secret to my mom) that I’m really not a fan of tuna fish (especially canned,) but I am a fan of quick and easy meals.

There are lots of tasty packaged noodle or rice side dishes which make great bases upon which to build a simple casserole; all we need to do is add meat and veggies.

Our ingredients:



2 packages of Knorr AsianSides Teriyaki Rice
1 pound of shredded beef
1 large can of LaChoy chop suey vegetables
(NOTE: Neither LaChoy nor Knorr sponsor The Squirrel Can Cook, nor are they responsible for what I do with their products. If you work for either company, I'd be glad to accept sponsorship. My e-mail is posted on my profile page. Drop me a line, we'll talk.)



If you’ll recall, last week we made two pounds of shredded beef for our Meat Rolls, but we only used one. Here’s where we’re using that other pound! If you already used it for something else; that’s no problem, just brown and drain a pound of burger. Or grill a steak, and slice it thin.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the two packages of rice according to the directions. I usually add just a little bit extra water to keep it from drying out in the oven.

Drain the can of veggies, stir the beef and veggies into the rice, and place into a casserole dish. Bake, covered, for 40-45 minutes. Top with some crunch chow mein noodles, or some chopped green onion (or both.)



That’s it! Quick, easy, and on the table in about an hour.

If you don’t already do something like this, you’re thinking, “Gosh, that’s so easy!” And that’s the idea. Sure, you can do this all from scratch. And, yes, it would taste better and probably be healthier. But that takes time, and sometimes time is what you’re running short of.

Mrs. Squirrel likes these casseroles, because the leftovers make great lunches for her to throw into the microwave at work.

Enjoy!

The Squirrel shall not live by bread alone!

The Squirrel's Nut Cache - 6/11/09

The Nut Cache - a collection of recent things I found interesting, or amusing, or nutworthy.

As a Science Fiction fan, I'm interested in stories like this one. When I first saw the headline, I thought of the wealthy folks who paid to visit the International Space Station (and I wondered if they'd lined up a minister, yet...), but it turns out that they're just getting married on an airplane. Not exactly a first, but still kinda neat.

I had always thought that San Diego was a rather conservative town, at least by Southern California standards. Well, after reading this article by Chuck Norris, I'm not so sure anymore. Considering the video that DJP posted on Tuesday, maybe we're not as far behind Britain as I had thought.

It's always nice to see a court make a reasonable and rational decision for a change. Well, Niagara County, New York Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza has made such a decision. This should make punks and thugs think twice about saying, "No," when the crime lab tech pulls out the DNA swab!

“I don’t know anything about cars,” is what the new head of Government Motors (GM) said, according to this post at Bloomberg.com. At first glace, my reaction was, "Oh, great..." but, after further thought, it might not be such a bad idea to have someone from the outside come in a fix things. After all, look at how well those from inside the industry have done... And Whitacre, as a former AT&T executive, should definitely understand how Government involvement can screw up an industry!

Please tell me this isn't the apartment of the future? I'm all in favor of the efficient use of space, but... Of course, in the Obamaconomy, this may be all any of us can afford in a few years.

A good practical joke should be funny, but not destructive. This fails on both counts. Although it does point out the errors in critical thinking skills among many Americans these days.

That's all for this week!

"The Truth Is What We Should Be Seeking"

Actor Jon Voight has recently had some harsh things to say about President Obama and the direction in which he is leading this nation. Just this morning, I was reading this article in The Washington Times, in which Voight says, "Obama is a very good actor. He knows how to play it. And he is very adept at creating this 'Obama' - this character who is there whenever the world needs something"

Monday night, the 70 year old actor spoke at a Republican fundraiser. Here are Mr. Voight's remarks (Note that he does not use a teleprompter.)



As you can imagine, this speech invokes strong reactions [1][2]. This morning, Mr. Voight appeared on Fox&Friends to talk about it.



In an evening when Newt Gingrich said nothing for an hour and Sarah Palin wasn't even allowed to speak (but stole the show anyway, just by being there,) Jon Voight said what he thought. It's refreshing. Now, if we could only get conservative candidates to do the same...

You Know You Have A Problem When...

Even your allies are mocking your use of a teleprompter...

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