Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Not What I Was Hoping to Post...

But it's all I've got. I was gone from Wednesday until Monday, doing some preparations for my youngest daughter's wedding in June. No cooking/baking, just lots and lots of painting. Then, when I got home, life kind of exploded. Had hoped to share my peach cobbler recipe with you today, but that will have to wait.

We're talking brown rice instead. One of my favorite "healthy" side dishes. At least cooked this way. This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. My original copy got water damaged and the pages stuck together, tearing and shredding when I tried to pull them apart. Then I found out it was no longer in print, so I searched for another on Amazon, thrilled when I succeeded.

But I digress.

For Herbed Brown Rice, you will need:
  • 2 tablespoons chopped onion
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted (I use olive oil)
  • 1 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (the original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups of water and 1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 bay leaf






Saute onion and garlic in butter (or oil) until tender. Add remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. (I've never had the liquid absorbed in 35 minutes. It usually takes 45-50 minutes)

Discard bay leaf and serve.

In my experience, the rice is more creamy than fluffy, but it tastes yummy. Even my guys like it. They love Rice-a-Roni, this is my healthy alternative.
 
Yeah, my poor guys. After being gone for five days, I'd hoped to prepare a nice, homecooked meal. You know, let them know I still love them. But when things didn't work out as planned, we ended up with pizza delivery.
 
Sigh.
 
And so it goes....




15 comments:

  1. YUMMY!! And I love the cookbook!

    I can't make rice to save my life. But I may just try this. :O I'll let you know how it goes!

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    1. Can't make rice? Why? What do you do it, Virginia? :)

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  2. hmm I might could do this - takes a long time though! (well longer than the 3 min frozen precooked stuff!)
    Susanna

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    1. Yeah, Susanna, you do kinda have to plan ahead on this one. Which I don't always do. But it definitely takes longer than 3 minutes:)

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  3. This looks good - but I've never tried creamy rice with my guys. I'll have to try it!

    And how exciting to be planning a wedding!

    Someday. Maybe. The oldest is only 28. I have plenty of time, right?

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    1. Jan, I don't know if it's supposed to be creamy, but mine always turns out that way. Who knows, I may be doing something wrong.

      Planning the wedding is fun, but so many details. And while I'm tempted to do all of the food myself, my SIL finally convinced me to hire some of it out and save myself a breakdown. Probably good advice. She has a friend who does catering, so I'm just waiting to see what's more cost effective (not to mention preserving my sanity).

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    2. I think you're smart to cater it! You'll have so many last minute things that the more you hire out ahead of time, the more you'll enjoy the wedding.

      Of course, I haven't been mother of a bride or groom yet! I'm just going on what I've witnessed.

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    3. You're probably right, Missy. No, I know you're right. But there is this thing called finances. I just have to remember that it costs me to buy/make the stuff too!

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  4. Typing on teeny cell phone. Mindy what a fun rice dish! I love rice. And if Mary of many names had my ancient cast aluminum dutch oven, she'd love her rice! I'm almost kind of sure of it. :)

    Wedding prep and food. Just too much to expectfrom mere mortals!

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    1. Hold the phone there, Ruthy.... You mean we're mortals? Wow! My family must have missed that memo. They've pegged me somewhere in the superwoman realm. Oh, the pressure...

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  5. Well, Mindy, you can't always do everything! At least they got a meal. :)

    Thanks for sharing this easy recipe! So much nicer than a boxed mix.

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  6. Peach cobbler? Kav perks up after a grueling day of setting up a Scholastic Book Fair. I wait with bated breath for that blog.

    Love the rice recipe though. I never do anything fancy schmancy with rice but now you've inspired me. All I have to do is substitute veggie broth for the chicken broth and voila dinner is served!

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    1. You're exactly right, Kav. And, hopefully, you won't have to wait long for that cobbler recipe:-)

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  7. That was some kiss! Unfortunately, I'll have to come back later so I can focus on food. LOL

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    1. And my comment just went on the wrong blog!! LOL Sorry for the confusion. I started on Virginia's blog. :)

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