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....