Fabulous "Brown" Rice

If you're looking for a side dish that is NOT potato based - here it is.  Disclaimer:  This is not health food, but everyone loves it and it goes with just about anything.  And being simple and easy makes it even better. 

You'll find this recipe all over the web with the title "Stick of Butter Rice".  And it's not exactly easy to photograph to look appealing - it reminds me of plush multi-color carpeting (can't get that picture out of my mind).  But it's delicious.  

You can double or triple the recipe to serve more. You can also add fresh or canned mushrooms for a more savory flavor.

Fabulous "Brown" Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked white rice (NOT instant)
1 10-oz can condensed French Onion soup
1 15-oz can Beef Broth
1/2 cup (one 'stick') butter, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°.  In a 9" x 9" (or similar size) baking dish - combine rice, soup, and broth.

Cut butter into slices and place on top - the butter slices will 'float".

Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

Notice the rice is not quite done at this point.  Removing the cover helps.

Remove cover and bake 30 minutes more.

The final 30 minutes at high heat 'caramelizes' the onions and gives it a wonderful flavor.

Stir before serving to distribute onions.

Easy Lemon Rice

If you’ve ever enjoyed lemon rice at a Greek diner - it’s the best side dish to ANY meal.  Grilled chicken is my favorite meal to serve this with.  From start to finish - it takes an hour (tops).  The most tedious step is zesting the lemons - but don’t substitute.  Converted rice makes a real difference in the outcome - so avoid using standard long grain rice.

This side dish has a heavenly light lemon flavor, the rice doesn’t stick together, and (best of all) you can just throw it in the oven and forget about it.  My wonderful neighbor, JoAnn (an amazing cook), shared this with me.

You’ll want to make sure you follow a few important details in the recipe. You might be tempted to ignore placing the baking dish on the bottom oven rack.  For some reason, this just makes it “work”.  Remove your top rack and just use the bottom rack.

If you aren’t familiar with what “converted” rice is - it was developed during WWII so that rice could be air dropped to troops without the risk of weevil infestations.  It also drastically reduced the cooking time of the rice so they could cook meals more quickly.  In case you care (?) - converted rice is “parboiled” - which involves vacuum drying of the whole grain, then steaming, and finally vacuum drying and husking.  Although it has more “processing” - it increases the nutritional value of the rice.  Who knew?

Converted rice does not have the ‘sticky’ consistency of standard long-grain rice.  It makes a prettier presentation in dishes like rice pilaf, etc.  Uncle Ben’s had a corner on the market until recently.  I have found other brands of parboiled (or converted) rice in Sam’s Club & at Costco.

You may wonder about the high baking temperature.  Not sure why this works - but it does.  The only problem is it will make a mess of your baking dish - so transfer it to a prettier serving dish if that concerns you.

I haven’t found anyone who hasn’t loved this method of making lemon rice.  Better than any you’ll have in a restaurant.  It rewarms beautifully in the microwave.

For the recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Cafe Rio 'Take-In' - to someone you love...

I’ve said it before that I don’t buy in to the Cafe Rio mentality (stand in line like a herd of cattle, wince when they holler at you in Spanish when you can’t decide what to order, move down the line to the cash register, pay up, and sit in a very noisy crowded place to devour your order.  Here’s your alternative - eat in - and enjoy the silence. Better yet - make the same food to take to someone you love.

The best part about making this at home is that you don’t have to eat it with a plastic fork!  I’ve heard Cafe Rio described as the most “Ute-tex-mex-ifornian” experience - and I (sheepishly) have to admit that it has grown on me a bit.  

Last week my brother-in-law died unexpectedly - leaving everyone stunned.  My sister’s family came home as quickly as they could to make plans for his funeral.  In addition to the usual stress of having a houseful of family staying together - the added pressure of making meals for that many people can be hard during a time of grieving.  I wanted to do something to help - and about all I’m good at is making food (in mass).

I’ve made Cafe Rio-type fare before, and I’ve not been bowled over with the results.  So I decided to try the top-rated “copy-cat” recipe on the web.  I adjusted the amounts to serve 20 people - and they seemed to enjoy it (it was all consumed - that’s the best evidence)

I kept out a small portion for myself and my mother to try.  I have to admit (as a Cafe-Rio non-fan) that it really was pretty good.  My son dropped in during the day to inform me that the sweet pork was spot-on.  I especially enjoyed the beans.  I would recommend holding the salt until the cooking is complete - as it gets saltier as it cooks down.  

I always keep the half-size steam table pans on hand for taking meals to someone.  Sam’s Club carries them in a 30-count for a very reasonable price.  They also have foil lids that keep the food contained as you transport it - a real plus (so much better than foil!)

As the pork cooked slowly during the day - I prepared a large bag of romaine, crumbled the cojita cheese, squeezed the limes, minced the garlic, chopped (a ton of) cilantro, and had plenty of time to do other things.  The nice thing about a project like this is that it keeps me home where I can actually get things done - besides making me feel like there is actually something I can “do” for those I love who are hurting.  

This meal is good with guacamole, sour cream, shredded mexican-blend cheese, crumbled cojita, crisp tortilla strips, olives, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, etc...  I purchased a package of uncooked flour tortillas and quickly cooked them in my non-stick skillet. I then wrapped them in paper towels and heavy duty foil - and they stayed warm for almost an hour.  You can then use them to make burritos, or as flat-bread with a salad made from your choice of the other components.

Prepare to scroll - this is a long set of recipes!  You'll find all of them (sweet pork, black beans, cilantro lime rice, & cilantro ranch dressing) at:

www.changeabletable.com

3 Hour (Crockpot Version) Brown & Wild Rice

Oven meals are a life-saver when you want dinner soon after you walk in the door from church on Sundays.  Baked or mashed potatoes are what we usually have, but we would love rice occasionally. Using a crockpot for rice can be tricky, but this worked out well for small portions for dinner.  

Now that I’m practically alone for Sunday dinner, I can get away with ‘stuff’ in my rice.  I remember the days when my children suspiciously picked at anything they thought was foreign in the rice.  I love a nice rice pilaf occasionally, but it makes a huge amount.  I have to really love it to endure it for weeks afterward.  

I decided to use my mini-crockpot to try to duplicate a fabulous rice dish I enjoyed at a recent women’s meeting.  Since I didn’t want to be buried in leftovers, I changed the amounts and tried to adjust it so it would work well cooking on “high” (since it has ONE setting on this really small pot) for three hours.  I was happy with how it turned out, other than next time I will add more liquid (the amounts shown in the linked recipe already have this adjustment added) and salt.  Usually, when cooking in a crockpot, you need to reduce the liquid - but I was being a bit too conservative in my first attempt.

As to where this recipe originated, here is the background...

I serve in my stake Relief Society, and we recently enjoyed a Women’s Conference.  This is an event where all the women in our boundaries (a very large number) gather for a nice dinner and to enjoy selected speakers.   We had a very capable woman (Diane Kennison) serving as the chairperson for the dinner that evening.  

It’s hard to find something that lots of women can help make, bring to a church building (with only TWO ovens!), and combine for serving.  This rice was just the ticket.   We served over 400 that night, with very few leftovers - thanks to Diane’s good planning.  

The recipe for her “Brown & Wild Rice” is included in the post link below, after my adapted crockpot version...

www.changeabletable.com

"Manfood" Beef & Brown Rice - it's what's for dinner around here.

What qualifies a recipe to be true “manfood”?  That’s debatable.  For my guys - it’s anything that makes you feel all relaxed and ready to watch sports after dinner.  With short grain brown rice - it will keep you from getting hungry again for most of the evening.  What’s more - it has a green vegetable too...

After a long stretch of having spring meals, my son’s patience wears thin.  When coming home from school & work - he’s ready to smell BEEF cooking.  

But I can’t serve steak every time he thinks of Sam Elliott’s “Beef... It’s What’s For Dinner” ad.  So this manfood dish is a good compromise.  I’ve made it for over thirty years - and we still use it often.

This recipe won’t change the course of history, but it will satisfy a big appetite without any bells & whistles.  The brown rice adds a hearty texture, and condensed cream soups give it a nostalgic flavor from the 1930’s.  In those days men wore the pants, and women had meals like this one ready every night.  Sigh...

For this easy "get 'er done - the men are home" recipe - go to:

www.changeabletable.com

Calico Rice Pilaf - side dish with a splash of color...

The fluffy texture of this brightly colored rice makes it a nice addition to an otherwise plain meal.  You can also add other vegetables to mix it up a bit - a good idea for your summer produce coming on soon.   Prepare this first, get it started baking, and then finish up the rest of your meal.  It holds well ‘till dinner is on... 

I don’t often have chicken bouillon on hand, so I appreciate recipes that use chicken bouillon cubes or granules.  I don’t notice much difference, other than you need to be careful not to add too much salt.  

There’s nothing spectacular in this list of ingredients - which is an  advantage if you don’t enjoy store-hopping for one or two more items you don’t have on hand.  The flavor is just right for a side dish.  It doesn’t steal the thunder of the main dish, yet it's a splash of color for the eyes.  

The most time-intensive step is prepping the celery, carrot, and onion.  I like the vegetables to look “hand-diced”, but next time I’m going to try pulsing the veggies in my blender with water, then draining.   When you make this for a crowd, it isn’t necessary to have them perfectly diced.

This is easily warmed up in the microwave, and maintains it’s fluffy texture even the day or two after.  This colorful rice could also be a unique base for a casserole with diced chicken, sauce, and some kind of topping. 

For this recipe, go to:

www.changeabletable.com  

Crock Pot Pork & Wild Rice - great texture, even after hours in the pot...

You can’t beat the crockpot for convenience on a busy day. Often though, you sacrifice texture of some foods when they cook the entire day in your absence - rice, for example. This combination still has the satisfying chewiness of wild rice that you would expect when preparing it traditionally.



My daughter had surgery (for the second time!) yesterday afternoon, and this was waiting for us when we finally made it back home. Nothing like the aroma of home cooking when you walk in after a stressful day.



Wild rice is often finicky - but I love it anyway. I have a hard time knowing how long to cook it to that “just right” stage. I was pleasantly surprised when my little experiment had such good results.



Next time you want a rice dish in the crockpot, be daring and try it with wild rice. All the extra cooking time becomes your friend instead of your enemy.

To check out this recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com ("full house" tab)

Almond Rice Pilaf - take a well-deserved "potato pause"...

Every culture has their favorite “starch” - and ours seems to be potatoes... But an occasional change makes meals more inviting (unless you have anyone under the age of 12 at the table...) Since I’m past that stage - and my children now have to talk their children into embracing change - I enjoy kicking it up a notch in the starch department. This is now my personal choice (at least this week)

A lot of my closely-kept recipes are a result of something new I tried at a women’s church function... In my church (the LDS or “Mormon” church) that organization for women is called the Relief Society... and there you can find a treasure trove of some of the best recipes on the planet.

About a month ago I was at a women’s conference where this delicious rice was served. (If you ever have doubts that miracles still happen - you should attend one of these conferences. It was a reenactment of the miracle of feeding the five thousand!) I have never been a fan of “Rice Pilaf” in the past - it seems much too dry and starchy. But this was completely different and I couldn’t wait to get the recipe. The leftovers are not doomed to banishment in the refrigerator - my family loves to reheat it in the microwave and it rarely lasts long.

The best part about this is that you can get it in the oven quickly, and then forget it until dinner. Everyone liked it (except my mushroom-hater - there has to be one in every family it seems) - but she was fine about dutifully picking out every single mushroom fragment, and then proceeded to enjoy it with the rest of us.

Try adding a bright green vegetable to your entree’ when you serve a bland dish like this... We enjoy stir-fried asparagus. It is simple to put together while the rice is baking (and the recipe is included in the same post)

For photos, recipe(s), and instructions - go to:
www.changeabletable.com ("empty nest" tab)