Fried rice, Heloise style

DEAR HELOISE >> Both my husband and I love your fried rice a la Heloise. It has such a nice flavor.

I’m hosting a dinner in November for a group of eight people, and I’d like to make your rice dish. I plan to increase the ingredients to fit the crowd. That said, there is just one problem: I lost the newspaper clipping I always used and can’t find it. Would you reprint that recipe for me and others who like a tasty rice dish? — Madison E., Kalamazoo,

Michigan 1 cup cooked rice (1 cup rice to 2 cups water, or follow the directions on the box)

4-5 slices of bacon (diced) and drippings

1-4 eggs

3-4 cut green onion (or scallion) tops

Leftover bits of pork, beef and ham all chopped into small pieces

Soy sauce to taste

Cook and cool rice a day ahead, or at least earlier in the day. It’s better if the rice has a chance to dry out a little. Brown the bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and turn down the heat. Slightly beat eggs and pour them into the hot bacon drippings. Add rice and onions mixing together. Add bacon and leftover meat. Mix. Add soy sauce until the rice is as brown as you like it. Stir well and cook on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you like easy recipes like this one, then you’ll find my pamphlet “Heloise’s Main Dishes and More” a handy tool to create and serve dishes you and the whole family can enjoy. It’s so easy to get a copy. Just go to Heloise.com or send $3, along with a stamped (84 cents), self-addressed long envelope to: Heloise/Main Dishes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. And, if you like this pamphlet, there are more recipes in some of my other pamphlets that let you increase your variety of new mealtime ideas.

Frozen pizza

DEAR HELOISE >> Not all pizzas are bad for you. Several companies have pizzas that either reduce the cheese or eliminate it entirely. Some have crusts made from vegetables such as cauliflower. Others might have a whole grain crust. There are brands that have lowered the sodium or sugar content, have made thinner crusts or are meat-free to cut down on the number of fat grams consumed. The best thing you can do is read the label while shopping to see what the ingredients are used and decide which pizza fits your needs. — Mary-Anne B., Chapel Hill, North Carolina