Ingredient: instant brown rice

Black-Eyed Peas with Pork Greens

How To Prepare
Toss pork with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Add onion, tomato paste and rice to the pan and cook until the onion softens, about 4 minutes. Add kale and garlic and cook until the kale begins to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broth, vinegar, and paprika. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is done, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the reserved pork and black-eyed peas and heat for 1 minute.

Japanese Chicken-Scallion Rice Bowl

How To Prepare
Prepare instant brown rice according to package directions.
Pour broth into a heavy medium saucepan, along with Splenda, Teriyaki and mirin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low.
Stir egg whites in a small bowl until just mixed. Add chicken to the simmering broth. Gently pour in the egg mixture, without stirring. Sprinkle scallions on top. When the egg starts to firm up, after about 3 minutes, stir it with chopsticks or a knife. (The chicken will be cooked by now.) Divide the rice among deep soup bowls according to your menu portion size and top with the chicken mixture.
TIPS & NOTES
Ingredient Note: Mirin is a low-alcohol rice wine essential to Japanese cooking. Look for it in your supermarket with the Asian or gourmet ingredients. An equal portion of sherry or white wine with a pinch of Splenda may be substituted for mirin.

Five-Spice Turkey Lettuce Wraps

How To Prepare
Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice; reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, bell pepper, water chestnuts, broth, and five-spice powder; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
To serve, divide lettuce leaves among plates, spoon some of the turkey mixture into each leaf, top with herbs and roll into wraps.
TIPS & NOTES
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare the filling (through Step 2), cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Serve cold or reheat in the microwave.

Often a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder was originally considered a cure-all miracle blend encompassing the five elements (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty). Look for it in the supermarket spice section.