Pistachio lemon pilaf

Here is another pilaf I tried out.  Again, I thought it was great, but I had planned it thinking that my younger 2 would like it because they like rice and neither of them were enthused by it.  For some reason the youngest has decided he only  likes white rice.  (Sorry, but I rarely make white rice.)  This rice was brown rice, but looked yellow again - different seasonings than last week but same effect.
While I didn't like this as much as the rice from last week, I did still like it a lot.  It was a great pilaf.  I thought it should have had a bit more lemon flavor and actually sqeezed the juice of the lemon into the rice when it finished.  Still didn't taste like a rice that had lemon in the title.  I would definitely use a second lemon if making this again.  (That is if you want the rice to taste like pistachio lemon rice.)
My inspiration for this recipe came from my book 366 delicious ways to cook rice, beans, and grains.
She seems to use mostly white rice in that book though, so I always change it to brown rice and again she called for shallots - not going to happen when I already have 8 sweet onions on my counter.  :)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced (3/4 -1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 lemon (zest and juice) -I'd use 2 next time
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup shelled roasted pistachio nuts, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse rice.  Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlica and saute until softened.  (3 minutes) Add rice and saute until rice appears a bit toasted and has absorbed some oil. (4-5 minutes)  
2. Stir in chicken brown, lemon zest and turmeric.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender (about 45 minutes)
3. Stir in pistachios, cilantro, pepper, and lemon juice.  Dry pot lid.  Place a kitchen towel over saucepan and replace lid.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. (I liked this step.  It seemed to help the rice absorb the last bit of liquid.)

Yellow rice and black bean salad

I found this recipe in my 366 delicious ways to cook rice, beans, and grains book.  I loved how colorful it was as I was preparing it.  (will post pictures soon.  I just realized DH took my camera to scout camp so not only was I unable to take pictures of the green waffles I made this evening, but I can't post pictures now.  Boo.  This was a nice colorful meal with the yellow/orange rice, black beans, red pepper, tomatoes, scallions and cilantro.  It just looked  nice.  I loved the flavor the annatto oil gave the rice.  I actually liked the rice so much that I didn't want to put the dressing on it.  So I let people choose -lime dressing or no lime dressing.    Here is how I made it.  I'm writing directions how I made it, but at the same time making it easier to shop for - for example, I used grape tomatoes and chopped them because that is what I had in the house and I wasn't buying a regular tomato just for this recipe.  However, if making this again, I'd rather look at the recipe and think -ok, I need 1 tomato.   The original was white rice.  That would definitely take less time to make, but I was going for more nutritious.  Just plan a little extra time to use brown rice.

Annatto oil is needed to make this recipe.  I made it as follows

• 2 Tablespoons annatto seeds (small red seeds.  I find them in the bulk spice area of my grocery store.)
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Heat seeds in oil over low heat stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.  (The oil should be nice and orange/red.  You can double this and store it in the fridge for future applications.  This makes a little more than you actually need for the recipe as well.  

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups basmati brown rice (LOVE this stuff - use whatever type of rice you like - the original called for regular white.)
• 2 Tablespoons annatto oil (see above)
• 1/2 large sweet onion 
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3 cups water (you may be able to get away with 2 3/4 but I didn't want to chance it using brown rice.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained (I was lazy today - can sub 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans.)
• 1 red pepper (or other color sweet pepper) diced. I actually used the tiny sweets and used about 6.
• 1 tomato, diced (I actually used grape tomatoes because that is what I had at home)
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons (more or less) chopped fresh cilantro

If making the dressing, whisk together

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar (original was red and I'd like to try that next time.)
• optional salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse the rice and drain.  In a large skillet, heat annatto oil over medium heat.  Add the rice, sweet onion and garlic and saute until everything gets nice and yellow/orange and rice starts to look toasted and more dry.  (about 5 minutes)
2. Add water and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed (50-60 minutes)  Remove from heat.  Set aside to cool
3. While the rice is cooling, chop all of your veggies.  Toss rice and remaining ingredients together in a bowl.  Stir to combine.  
4. If you want to make the dressing, whisk it all together and combine it with the rice.  The dish is yummy either way.  

Strawberry-coconut rice pudding

Really I came to the computer to post this recipe.  I just got here and saw the screens I had up searching for the play dough recipe and looked again.
This recipe is from 366 Delicious Ways to cook rice, beans, and grain.  This book is definitely going on my wish list.
Being a person who rather enjoys her rice pudding, I was surprised (actually quite surprised) to find a new way to cook rice pudding.  This one started in a double boiler - who knew you could cook rice that way - not me.  Just a warning - the actual rice never seemed to boil (and I checked on it a few times wondering when it was going to simmer.)  It didn't, just the water underneath, but magically the rice absorbed all of the water and on we went with the recipe.
 After the rice was made, the pudding was made separately and added to the rice, and the strawberries.  Very effective, but also a bit on the time consuming side.  Luckily the longest part is cooking the rice and it only needs to be slightly baby sat to ensure that the bottom of the double boiler doesn't boil dry. (Mine did while I taught piano lessons.  Luckily it didn't scorch.  I think it had barely boiled dry.  Whew!!
And the important info - was it any good??  Great flavor and texture.  A little too sweet for my liking.  As a dessert, it was great tonight, but typically I like to eat rice pudding as breakfast, and this would definitely be too sweet for me for that.  Next time I will probably try this with 1/2 the sugar/sweetener and sub out some agave. -I made myself some notes in the recipe below.)

On to the recipe.
Did I mention this is time consuming?  Start early :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1 Tablespoon less, and would probably use a lot less next time.
• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. In the top of a double boiler, combine the rice, water, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. (Use 1-2 Tablespoons agave here next time??)  Simmer until the rice is completely tender and most of the water has been absorbed.  (About 1 1/2 hours)  Set aside to cool
2. Meanwhile, wash and hull and slice the berries.  Place in a bowl with another 1/4 cup sugar. (Use less next time)  Mix and set aside.
3. When rice is ready (or almost ready) heat coconut milk in a heavy bottomed, medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch (Here is where I took out 1 Tablespoon of sugar -debated more and should have taken out more -next time.)  Whisk cornstarch/sugar mixture into the coconut milk.  Continue whisking until the sugar is completely dissolved.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth.  Add about 1 cup of the hot coconut milk mixture to the eggs whisking continuously.  Slowly pour the eggs back into the saucepan, again whisking continuously.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.  (About 10 minutes - it will look bubbly at first, but it gets to looking nice and puddingy (you know smooth, thick and creamy)  That does take just about 10 minutes.  I went back and froth from whisking and using a silicon scraper spoon that I like to stir with.  Whisk kept the pudding smooth, silicon spoon kept it from sticking anywhere (sides or bottom.)
4. Stir cooked rice and strawberries with their juice into the pudding mixture.
5. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled. 

One pot chicken and rice

Here is the one pot chicken and rice meal that I tried from Mel's kitchen cafe this week.  I tried to change it and use brown rice rather than white.  To make up for the additional cooking time needed for brown rice, I just added my chicken partially frozen.  None the less, the chicken ended up dry.  It was much better when I shredded it up, stirred it in the rice and had it that way for left overs today.
This was quite tasty.  I would make it again, but would probably just defrost some pre-cooked chicken and add it at the end with the corn and beans.  I could also see myself making this vegetarian and using an additional can of black beans.  As it was I only used about half of the meat the original called for. (which was plenty)

Here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb -I cut mine into a 4-5 pieces)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon garlic minces (or powder)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 32 oz container chicken stock (4 cups)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup cheese (I used cheddar jack)
• cilantro (if desired - I forgot it and wasn't sad)
• salsa and sour cream for serving if desired (I tried it like that - it was OK, but not necessary in my opinion)

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute the onions in butter until golden.  Add chili, cumin, and garlic minces.  Stir to combine.  
2. Add the rice and saute until rice absorbs the remaining oil.  Add chicken stock.  Bring to a simmer.  Add chicken. (I'd actually wait to add the chicken until about 1/2 way done next time.)  Cover and simmer for about 50 minutes (until rice is done, adding chicken after about 25 minutes -next time of course.)
3. When rice is done, remove chicken, add beans, corn, cheese and cilantro.  Heat through.  Serve with chicken, adding sour cream and salsa if desired.

Chicken bundles and lemon rice

This wins as the second recipe to post because it was really good.  Super good.  I liked both the chicken and the rice.  I was actually sad to not get to eat the left overs on this meal, but I graciously gave them to my teenage boys knowing they wouldn't appreciate the lentils or quinoa we had as left overs as well.  :)
This is definitely a keeper.
This recipe is from my Taste of Home magazine from a woman named Sheila Cutchlow of Washington, D.C.  Thank you Sheila for such a yummy meal.  This is definitely going in one of my favorites.  As a bonus, it wasn't super hard to prepare -a bit of work to roll the chickens, but no dicing, and they cooked in 20-25 minutes.  Score!  Here is my slightly modified version.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese (I used Neufchatel with no trouble), softenend
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 8 turkey bacon strips
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter, divided
• 2 cups brown rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 Tablespoon dried dill

Directions

1. In a rice cooker, combine brown rice, chicken stock and garlic. (can also cook in a pan, but you may have to adjust the amount of liquid.  For my rice cooker, I added 2 cups rice and filled it to the line labeled 3)  Cook while preparing the chicken.
2. Preheat oven to 375.  Cut each chicken breast horizontally in half;  sprinkle with salt and pepper (honestly I totally forgot the salt and pepper and it was still wonderful.)
3. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, onions and tarragon.  Spread over chicken.  Roll up from a short side.  Wrap each chicken with a bacon strip.  Place seam side down ina greased 9 X 13 pan.  Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon butter.
4. Cover and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160.  Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes longer or until lightly browned.
5. When the rice is done, stir in lemon juice, dill, lemon peel, and remaining Tablespoon of butter.
6. Serve chicken over rice.  Drizzle with pan juices if desired.

simple spanish rice

I went looking for a red spanish rice recipe to use rather than some box mix and this is what I chose to try mostly because it was super easy, but also because it was well rated over at allrecipes.  It was surprisingly good.  I really expected it to taste a lot more like rice with salsa but something about adding the chicken broth makes it work and taste good.  I did c ut the oil in half and change it to butter because I really like onions sauteed in butter, but that is all I changed.  (sorry, not the best picture)

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup chunky salsa (I used a mix of Pace and store brand mild)

Directions

1. Heat butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. (I actually used a saucepan.)  Stir in onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add rice and stir until coated with butter.  
2. Stir in chicken broth and salsa.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.

Confetti rice

I had planned to make this with a pork chop meal because it was pictured with it in my Taste of home magazine. However, I ended up making it with a chicken meal.  It went well with the meal, but I had just made Mexican white rice.  This was too much rice too close together for me.  While this was good, I prefer the Mexican white rice.  Something about the sweetness of the toasted corn, and the addition of milk really make it a nice side dish.
Don't get me wrong, this was a lovely side dish of rice.  I liked it, thought it would look great at Christmas with the red peppers and green peas. I did double this, but I'm writing the single recipe.

 Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup rice
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup diced red pepper (or 1/2 green, 1/2 red)
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

(I just read the actual instructions and they had you add the peas at the end then let them sit while they warmed up.  Probably would have made for sweeter peas which would have been yummy.  I will try that next time.)

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Coconut beef patties (Rempah) and rice in coconut milk (Nasi Uduk/Gurih)

This meal was a bit heinous to prepare, but I'm the silly person who decided to start with a few fresh coconuts.  It wouldn't be nearly as bad to prepare with regular grated coconut,

Mexican Rice and Beans

This recipe was from Food Nanny - like a lot of her recipes it needed a bit of help in the flavor arena. It turned out ok with some spice added in. (3 star) I also changed up directions since I had forgotten to soak my beans overnight. I did a quick soak method I found in my Joy of Cooking book, and also partially covered my beans like I read in Joy of Cooking to speed up the cooking time. They did turn out nice and tender and I'm always trying to learn how to make my own beans from dry beans. This was a great attempt. I kept them on the stove over a low heat uncovered waiting for the rice to cook and stirred them every few minutes and a few mashed making them a cross between a plain bean and a refried bean. That too was nice. They were great in a burrito with sour cream and the rice.

I liked the rice with this meal. (4 star) I would 1 1/2 or 2 times it next time. Maybe cut the salt down a bit. This is how I made the meal. I made the rice, beans, and tortillas (from harina pan which is really for arepas, but it worked out ok - I want to buy maseca next time though.) We ate them as burritos with sour cream and salsa (but only for the first one. Next time I'd skip the salsa and cut up some tomatoes and lettuce to add some veggies to this meal.

Ingredients

• 1 lb gab pinto beans
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 2 whole garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion (1 slick 1/8-1/4 inch thick diced)
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 12 corn or taco size flour tortillas
• Sour cream
• Fresh Salsa

Directions:

1. Rinse and sort beans removing any bad beans or rocks. Put in a pot and cover by 2 inches with boiling water. Cover to soak for 1 hour. Drain.

2. Return to pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Add the 1/4 onion and 2 garlic cloves. Bring to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer partially covered until beans are tender. 1-2 hours. Check water periodically to make sure the beans are always covered. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.

Rice:

1. Saute 2 tablespoons onion in oil in a small frying pan (or saucepan if not using a rice cooker.) Add rice stir to coat. Transfer to rice cooker with 1/2 teaspoon salt, corn, cilantro, tomato sauce and water. Cook in rice cooker (or simmer 15-20 minutes.)

We ate this like a bean burrito with sour cream and salsa. I wasn't a fan of the salsa - thought it was too spicy, but Brandon liked it. I had tried it because it had you roast the veggies first, so I thought it would be good, but it was just plain spicy.