A quick and easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love, and you can substitute your favorite kind of protein!

I’m going to share something about me that you don’t know yet, but I’m sure this applies to a lot of people.

Here goes…

I hate the dentist. Hate it. Hate it. And hate it.

That being said, I had two of my upper wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday morning before work. Yup, at 7:15AM, they put the nitrous oxide strapped onto my face and started chipping away. And then I went to work for 8 hours.

It’s really amazing as to how your mind wanders into such crazy, imaginative things while you’re sitting in that chair, numbed up, with laughing gas going right through your nose. I was definitely relaxed for a bit, that is until the doctor came in and stuck that big ass needle into my gums to “numb” me.

I can’t even think about that again.

So as the doctor is applying a crapload of pressure onto my tooth to get it out, I couldn’t help but think how the tooth was going to fly out of my mouth, bounce against the wall and then have blood start shooting out like Kill Bill status. That vision just kept replaying in my head until the doctor said, “Okay it’s out.”

…

I think I might be a tad bit crazy.

Anyway, here is my go-to pancetta fried rice recipe as promised. This dish is in constant rotation at our house, and the leftovers are always brought to work along with a huge bottle of Sriracha. It’s a super easy and simple one-pot meal that can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes. Plus you can throw in any lingering veggies that you have in the fridge.

When you’re done making dish, be sure to top this off with a fried egg. It serves as a perfect accompaniment to the salty pancetta. Plus the dish looks so much more aesthetically pleasing!

So here’s how you make this:

Let’s first start off with some pancetta. I used to get it in a huge chunk from my local Italian bakery but I’ve been too lazy to drive all the way out there so I just pick up the pre-cut ones from Trader Joe’s.

We’ll saute it until it gets nice and brown.

Then we’ll drain them on some fresh paper towels.

In the same pot, we’ll now stir up some garlic…

onions…

and then some veggies. I used corn, peas and carrots but feel free to throw in whatever you got.

Next comes the ginger. Be liberal with it while grating. I like to add a whole tablespoon.

Throw in the rice along with the soy sauce.

Finally, we’ll stir in the green onions and cooked pancetta.

Don’t forget to fry up and egg or two to top off the rice.

Serve immediately with the Sriracha, the most ingredient of all when it comes to fried rice.

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway! Winners for the LAND O LAKES® Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt will be picked on Friday, June 15th and announced Monday.

One year ago: Italian Goulash

Pancetta Fried Rice:

Yields 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 4 ounces pancetta, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 2 carrots, peeled and grated
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 4 fried eggs, for serving
  • Sriracha, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the garlic to the pan and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the corn, peas and carrots. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the grated ginger.

Add the rice and soy sauce and gently toss to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the green onions and pancetta.

Serve immediately, topped with a fried egg and drizzled with Sriracha, if desired.

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