Cheeseburger rice

Heat a little oil, add the beef, break it up a bit, season with salt and pepper and let it get a crust -- a hard sear -- before mixing it around.

Add the onion and mix; pour off the liquid and return to the heat.

Add garlic, then a little Worcestershire, ketchup and mustard; mix.

Add about three cups of day-old cold rice, toss and break up the clumps.

Add diced tomatoes and diced dill pickles, then a big handful of shredded cheese; mix until the cheese melts.

Serve in a bowl with crisp iceberg lettuce on the side.

Variation: boil manicotti shells until al dente, stuff with the cheeseburger rice and bake until crunchy, for lunch the next day.