Does one ever get too old for siblings competitiveness and the “I bet you can’t” and “I dare you” challenges? It was the last day of my brother’s visit. We were casually reminiscing about life when a commercial came on. My brother quipped “Food NEVER looks like it does on the box!”

Wearing my rose tinted glasses of my spouse being a chef, I quipped back “Well maybe you’re just cooking it wrong”.

He looked at me and said, “I bet you couldn’t make fried rice look like it does on the Rice a Roni box.”

I laughed and said, “I bet I could if we had a box, but we don’t.”

He laughed, “You do, I bought some (How many groceries did this guy buy?) after I ate that fancy rice when I housesat (please note, we have never asked anyone to buy groceries when they house sit that’s just rude. We encourage them to drink and eat as much gourmet food as they want, and do as much laundry as they want because were not paying them.).

I laughed and said, “It’s called risotto.”

My brother rolled his eyes and said, “Whatever, you up for my challenge or not?”

I retorted “It’s not even a challenge.” We marched into the kitchen. I told him have a seat at the island while I show him how it’s done. WARNING, I don’t think anybody has EVER put this much effort into a box of Rice-Roni, but I had to. My reputation was on the line.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 t cornstarch
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• 3 T sesame oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
• 1 half red bell pepper chopped
• 1 box of Rice a Roni – cooked according to package directions
• 2 carrots – sliced
• 3 T soy sauce
• 1 glass of wine or cocktail to handle all the shit talking

Instructions:

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and pepper; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Let marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink- about two to three minutes. Remove and put in a bowl. Add garlic and green onions to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about three to four minutes. Stir in bell pepper and carrot, and sauté for about five minutes until the carrots soften up (about three to four minutes). Crack eggs in bowl and season with chopped ginger, black pepper, and salt. Over medium heat, add sesame oil to the same skillet. Add eggs and cook to lightly scrambled. Remove to a bowl. Stir in rice, green onions, soy sauce mixture, and veggie mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through (about two minutes). Stir in shrimp and eggs. Bon Appetite!

Just like the box right?