Some Rice Recipes

Here are three of our favorite rice side dish recipes. The rice pilaf is really easy and tasty. It's a recipe of my moms that she has had forever. "Blake's Favorite Rice" is kind of like a homemade rice-a-roni and he could literally eat the whole pan himself. And the oven brown rice is an easy way to make perfect brown rice. I got this recipe from a "Cook's" magazine.

Rice Pilaf

2 c. rice
3 cans Campbell’s beef consommé
1 cube butter, melted
1 T. dried onion
1 tsp. oregano
1 c. mushrooms (optional)
slivered almonds
Combine all ingredients except almonds in 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, covered. Stir in almonds before serving.

Blake’s favorite rice (rice-a-roni)

1 c. rice
½ c. raw spaghetti, broken in pieces
2 T. margarine
2 tsp. dried onion
¾ tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 T. chicken bouillon
pepper to taste
3 c. water
Fry rice, spaghetti and butter until lightly browned. Add other ingredients, cover and simmer until rice is tender - about 20-30 minutes.

Oven Brown Rice

1 ½ c. brown rice
2 1/3 c. water
2 tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375
Bring water and oil to a boil in a covered pan. Once boiling, stir in salt. Pour over rice in 9X9 square pan and cover. Cook for 1 hour.
****You can easily double this recipe and cook in 9x13; cook it a little bit longer. I like to cook a bunch and then eat the leftovers with my lunch or with milk and cinnamon/sugar for breakfast.

Almond Poppyseed Drop Scones

Here is an amazing recipe for Scones. If you are like me you think of scones as the clump of bread dough that you drop in oil and fry. This is a completely different kind of scone. This is the kind of scone that you would find during tea time or at Great Harvest Bread Co. The recipe here was actually a cranberry/raisin scone recipe, but I changed it because I love almond and poppy seeds.

Almond Poppyseed Drop Scones

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tbl. cold butter, cut up

2 Tbl. poppyseeds

1 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Grease a cookie sheet.

3. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

4. Cut in butter until fine crumbs (I have heard that this is easy with a food processor, but I don't have a large enough food processor. I put the butter in and smashed it up with a large fork. After a few minutes I used my very clean hands to crush the butter into the flour.)

5. Add poppyseeds to flour mixture.

6. In a cup, beat the egg, milk and almond flavoring together.

7. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir with a fork until moistened.

8. Drop 12 heaping spoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.

9. Bake for 13 minutes or until golden.

10. Cool on a wire rack.

You can eat these plain or make a glaze to go over the top. I put a glaze on mine.

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

about 2 tsp almond flavoring

enough milk to make it thin (You don't want it too thin, but more thin than a butter cream frosting.)

Drizzle the glaze over the hot scones and allow glaze to harden. Most of the glaze will run down the sides.

NOTE--- Like I said before, I adapted this recipe from another one. You can take out the almond flavoring and the poppyseeds and add what ever else you like. For example, chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, white chocolate chips, raspberries. (Ohhhh...Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Scones...Yummm...)

My Two Favorite Ways to Eat Carrots

GARLIC CARROTS

1 lb baby carrots

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 Tbls olive oil

1/4 cup hot water

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried thyme

dash of pepper

In a skillet, saute carrots and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.  Add water, salt, thyme, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 15 - 25 minutes, until tender.

GINGER-SPICED CARROTS

1 Tbls olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

4 Tbls sugar

pinch of salt

fresh or dried dill

1 1/2 cups finely diced onions

2 Tbls minced fresh ginger root

4 cups peeled, sliced carrots

2 c. vegetable broth

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook onions in olive oil for 5 minutes or until golden brown.  Add remaining ingredients except for salt and dill.  Simmer until carrots are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.  Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.  Season with salt and sprinkle with dill.

Miranda was gone for 2 weeks at Christmas and the day before she came home she called and asked if we could have Russian Chicken for dinner. The recipe is so simple and we love it.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and then place a layer of chicken tenders on the bottom.
Mix together in a seperate bowl:
1 large bottle of Russian salad dressing (Wishbone)
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1/2 bottle (about 1 cup) of apricot jam.
Pour over the chicken, cover and bake at 350 for about an hour. Before you take it out uncover it and let it sit under the broiler for a few minutes (this thickens up the sauce and kind of carmelizes it). Serve with sticky rice.

Mushroom Ravioli in Cream Sauce

12 oz. Ravioli or Tortellini

1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cook pasta according to package directions.Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.Saute mushrooms and walnuts until mushrooms are golden brown.Add heavy cream and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.Turn heat to warm and when cream stops simmering, add pepper and parmesan; stir until sauce is smooth. Do not boil.Drain pasta and place on a serving plate.Pour sauce over pasta and serve immediately.

Perfect Roast Chicken

This is Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) recipe for roast chicken. It is simple, delicious and makes your house smell great. It is a good Sunday dinner or "company" for dinner recipe.

Perfect Roast Chicken Barefoot Contessa

1- 5-6 lb. roasting chicken
1 lemon, halved
1 T. butter
one bunch of thyme (can use fresh or dried)
1 head garlic

Rinse out chicken and salt and pepper inside. Stuff chicken with thyme, lemon and garlic (cut the garlic open and kind of break up). Tie legs together. Brush with melted butter over top and salt and pepper again. Bake at 425 degrees covered (in roasting pan or with foil) for 1 ½ hours.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 6 oz package Stove Top Stuffing mix for chicken

1/2 cup water

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

(or whole if you're a vegetarian and can't stomach the chopping of raw meat!)

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  In medium bowl, mix tomatoes, stuffing, water, and garlic.  Set aside. Brown chicken (I season it with a little seasoning salt) in skillet and place in 13 by 9inch dish.  Sprinkle with basil and cheese.  Top with stuffing mixture and bake 45-50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

I haven't eaten this for obvious reasons, but Garreth and the kids really love it!

Pasta au Pistou

I LOVE this pasta!

16 oz. pasta (I use cavatappi)

1 lg bunch parsley (about 2 cups)

6 Tbls freshly grated Parmesan

2 Tbls olive oil

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup fresh basil

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1 med onion, chopped

1 Tbls brown sugar

1) Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente, then drain and rinse with cold water for 30 seconds.  Transfer to a large bowl and keep warm.

2) In a blender, combine the parsley, basil, garlic, cheese, salt, and 1 Tbls oil and process until a smooth paste forms.

3)  Heat the remaining 1 Tbls oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for about 7 minutes or until soft.  Add tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Reduce heat to medium-low and season to taste with salt.  Add the brown sugar and cook for 5-7 minutes or until thick.  Remove from heat and stir in the herb mixture.  Toss pasta with sauce and serve immediately.