Nothing is normal during this pandemic, and that certainly includes my cooking routines.

A meal prepper during the best of times, I have fallen into the following routine during my weekdays:

• Wake up around 8:30 a.m. and stare at my work desk across the bedroom until about 8:50, thinking, “No.”
• Get out to bed, stumble over to said work desk, log into my VPN and e-mail, then suddenly wake up when I see everything I have to do (or might have to do) for the day.
• Get up from my desk around 9:30, get dressed, drink a glass of water, brush my teeth, wash my face, and sit down at my desk again. “Oh, I’ll get something to eat around 10.”
• Look at my work laptop’s clock around 2:30 and think, “I’m really cranky. Is it because I haven’t had anything to eat since 10:30 last night?”
• Raid the kitchen for any semblance of a meal. Usually end up making a cheese quesadilla and justifying two tablespoons of salsa as a full serving of vegetables.

tl;dr: I’ve become a non-meal-prepping unintentional intermittent faster since March 18th.

That being said, I’ve also found moments of genius between raiding my pantry and utilizing leftovers, which usually consist of previous nights’ dinners. The cold sad half a pork chop in a Ziploc bag in the fridge would have been a hot sad half a pork chop if I had just decided to simply zap it in the mircowave for a minute. A quick rummage through my fridge for vegetables led me to think about what might be in the freezer; lo and behold, May 2020 Allison was very happy that December 2019 Allison had bulk-bought a brunch of frozen items from Trader Joe’s, including a favorite: their Multigrain Blend with Vegetables!

Ahhhh, I love when inspiration strikes!

I had this meal ready in ten minutes, and I feel I gave that leftover pork chop a little bit of justice on its way out.

Bless a good semi-homemade meal during these trying times.

Quick Pork Fried Rice with Trader Joe’s Multigrain Blend with Vegetables

(Serves 1)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Multigrain Blend with Vegetables
• 3 ounces pork chop, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Before We Get Started…

• Feel free to substitute your favorite grains, vegetables, and protein if you do not have the Trader Joe’s Multigrain Blend with Vegetables, but it DOES make a quick shortcut!

Directions:

1.) In a large skillet, add one tablespoon olive oil. Turn up heat to medium-low.

2.) Place Trader Joe’s Multigrain Blend with Vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Remove, stir, and add to skillet. Cook for 2 minutes.

3.) Add pork to skillet and turn up heat to medium-high. Mix multigrain blend and pork and cook for 3 minutes or until heated through. Remove mixture from skillet.

4.) Turn heat back down to low, add one tablespoon olive oil, and slowly add beaten egg. Allow to sit in skillet untouched for 30 seconds, then slowly stir until curds form. Scramble fully, then add pork mixture back into the skillet. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and toss to combine. Remove from heat.

5.) Enjoy!