Today we start a new weekly item for budget-minded brown baggers. “Dinner Tonight, Lunch Tomorrow” will feature a supper recipe that’ll seriously slay ’em at your dinner table, and also make an excellent cubicle lunch the day after.
First up: Faux-balaya, a quick riff on a longtime favorite New Orleans rice dish.
Faux-balaya
This is a kitchen-sink stir-up: throw in whatever’s in the fridge. Torn chicken, leftover chunks of ham, any vegetable you can think of. Serves 4 for supper plus microwave-friendly leftovers for 2 lunches.
Ingredients
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, shells removed
2 cups white rice
3 cups chicken stock or water
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1 small bunch scallions, chopped
Plenty of Tabasco sauce
Directions
In a large saute pan (use a pan with a cover if possible) over medium heat, cook bacon until fat is rendered and pieces are crispy. Remove bacon to bowl, leaving fat in the pan. In the same pan, saute vegetables until soft. Remove to bowl. Add a drizzle of oil to pan if necessary, then saute shrimp, in batches if necessary, until just cooked through. Remove to bowl. Add rice to pan, stirring to coat with pan juices. Add stock and cover pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until rice is al dente, about 15 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, spinach, and reserved bacon, vegetables and shrimp, plus whatever else you feel like. Top with scallions and a few shakes of Tabasco sauce.
