There are times when the thought of preparing supper; the slicing, dicing and general prep work are just are not what I want to do. On the other hand I do not want to order a pizza or chicken, nor do I want to pop something in sealed package into the microwave, oh, wait I do not own a microwave.

What I do on these occasions when the thought, not of cooking but of preparation, is too much to handle, is either take something, such as a stew, chili or soup, that I have frozen out of the freezer and have that.

The second option and the one I use the most, is to draw upon the extra rice that I have cooked when I make rice and pout in a sealed container in the refrigerator to form the basis of a stir fry.

As cutting, slicing and dicing are what I am trying to avoid, I make sure to have either some precooked, usually red kidney beans or chick peas on hand to add to the dish. Or if I am not in the mood for beans and this does happen. Then sliced water chestnuts and a pack of frozen vegetables, it really does not matter which vegetables but I usually have a Mexican or Asiatic type, you know the ones with the little corn cobs, red peppers, green beans etc or sometime just peas and carrots.

This way I can have a tasty and healthy meal on the table within 15 minutes and with very little effort. This is the recipe I followed for last night’s upper, very simple and reasonably quick.

15 Minute Stir Fry:

Ingredients;

1 cup cubed tofu

1 small can sliced water chestnuts

1 cup pre-cooked rice

1½ cups frozen vegetables

Soy sauce to taste

Optional: 1 small canned sliced mushrooms

Optional sea salt, black pepper

Optional hot sauce

Preparation;

Spray black cast iron frying pan with Pam olive oil

Place on high heat

Add tofu, stir

Add water chestnuts, stir

Add splash of soy sauce, stir

Cook 2 minutes

Add frozen vegetable

Cook 3 minutes

Add rice stir and cook 3 minutes.

I always taste test before serving to make sure food is hot enough to enjoy.

You can add more soy sauce or a hot sauce if you wish. You now have a real meal to enjoy that is ideal for a vegetarian or when you feel the need to have a meal that does not include meat.