Better Brown Rice

Everyone knows how healthy brown rice is compared to regular white rice. I have tried for a long time to like it but just could never get over the bland taste and chewy texture. I've tried different recipes and different ways to cook brown rice but still never liked it much.

Then a few weeks ago I stumbled across a different way to cook brown rice (and unfortunately did not bookmark the source- sorry) that actually produces fluffy brown rice.


The method is a bit unusual but it works! Start with 4 parts water and 1 part rice. Then cook it for 30 minutes UNCOVERED, strain and let the rice steam for an additional 10 minutes...voila!


I'm very happy to say that brown rice has become a dinner time staple we ALL are eating and enjoying.

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
1 tsp salt
4 tsp chicken bouillon granules (optional)
1 cup brown rice

Directions:

In a pot, combine water, salt and bouillon (if using). Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Add rice and reduce heat to med (not low!!). Cook UNCOVERED for 30 minutes, stir occasionally.

After 30 minutes, turn off stove, drain all the water from pan. Put a tight fitting lid on pan and let the rice steam cook for an additional 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Source:

Shrimp Fried Rice

Shrimp fried rice has always been one of my favorite Chinese take-out items. That is why I bookmarked this recipe a while back. This week I found myself with some leftover plain white rice one night and I knew it was time to give it a try.

How did it compare to my local take-out place? While it didn't taste exactly like their shrimp fried rice (less greasy- which is a good thing) it did taste very good (and fresh!). I will definitely be using this recipe again!


If you have some extra time, why don't you try to make these homemade fortune cookies too!

Ingredients:

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onions, minced (I was out of green onions and used white onions instead)
4 cups leftover rice (DO NOT USE FRESHLY COOKED RICE!)
¾ cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
1 tbsp. soy sauce
Few drops sesame oil

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, salt, pepper and cornstarch, and toss well to coat the shrimp. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. When a drop of water immediately sizzles and evaporates, the pan is hot enough to add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Swirl to coat the pan well.

Add the shrimp to the hot pan and quickly spread them out so that they are in a single layer, and all touching the pan surface. (You may need to do this in two batches to ensure even cooking.) Let them cook untouched for 30 seconds, then flip over (tongs work well for this) and let cook for 30 more seconds, so that the shrimp are about 80% cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan to medium. Add the eggs to the pan and stir quickly, to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through but still slightly runny in the middle, remove from the pan to the same plate as the shrimp.

Use paper towels to wipe the pan clean and return the pan to high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat. Once the oil is very hot, add the green onions to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the rice to the pan and mix well to combine with the green onions. Spread the rice out evenly over the pan and let cook without stirring, until you hear the rice grains sizzle, about 1 to 2 minutes. Toss the rice a bit with your spatula, and again spread it out over the cooking surface.

Drizzle the soy sauce all over the rice, and toss again. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked shrimp and eggs, and the sesame oil to the pan. Toss to combine all the ingredients well with the rice. Let everything heat back up again until the rice grains are sizzling again. Add additional soy sauce to taste, if needed. Serve.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats , originally from Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen via Simply Recipes

Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes and Cilantro

Vacation eating is a lot like holiday eating too me. My family and I always end up over indulging on vacation. Our meals are typically bigger, more fattening and dessert is always included at the end.

The day we got back from our Disney trip, both my husband and I were craving something light and home cooked. I knew where to go to find it such a meal...Gina's WW blog! I had actually bookmarked this garlic shrimp dish before our trip and decided to give it a try that night. It turned out to be just what we were looking for...light and tasty! Plus, it was a quick meal to prepare and cook...perfect after a long day of flying with two kids.

Ingredients:
Servings: 4

1 1/4 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
1/2 cup cilantro
4 cloves garlic, minced
kosher salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can light coconut milk (50% less fat)*
1/2 lime, squeezed

In a medium pot, heat oil on low. Add red peppers and sauté until soft (about 4 minutes). Add scallion whites, 1/4 cup cilantro, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, coconut milk and salt to taste, cover and simmer on low about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend together and to thicken the sauce.

Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Add lime juice.

To serve, divide equally among 4 bowls and top with scallions and cilantro.

WW POINTS: 5.5 per serving

Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes, originally adapted from Fine Cooking

Spicy Beef and New Orleans Red Rice Skillet Dinner

This recipe comes from the Deen Brother's cookbook, The Deen Bros.-take it easy. This dish was pretty good but didn't love it. However, BOTH my kids ate this up and I thought it tasted much better as leftovers the next day.

The cookbook, is a collection of "quick and affordable meals the whole family will love", but I was disappointed that for a family cookbook there were a lot of recipes high in fat, salt, and with too much spice. Also, some of the recipes were a bit unimaginative. For example, they have a quesadilla recipe that calls for you to put shredded cheese in a flour tortilla and the cook it in a skillet...hmmm, I don't know. I just expected a little bit more. I don't have any of their other cookbooks but I'm guessing those are better.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound ground beef
2 1/4 tsp salt (I only used 1 3/4 tsp)
2 celery ribs, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 14oz can tomato puree
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 tsp sugar
2 teaspoons Tabasco, or other hot sauce (I only used 1)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Crumble the beef into the skillet and season with 1/2 tsp of salt. Brown the beef, breaking it up with a fork for 5-7 minutes, until it is no longer pink. Transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain.

Reduce the heat from high to medium and reduce all of the drippings but 2 tablespoons. Saute the celery, onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the browned beef, chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups of water, tomato puree, rice, sugar, the remaining salt and Tabasco. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to med-low and cook covered for 40 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Baked Rice Pilaf

Here is a wonderful baked rice pilaf recipe you'll want to bookmark. I found this on Annie's Eats and it is fantastic!

This would work great as a side dish to just about any type of meal. The rice is so light and fluffy. Plus, it was a snap to prepare (just note that it bakes for about an hour). I'm a little bummed that I didn't get a better picture. By the time dinner was ready, it was almost 6PM and the light was quickly fading, so this was the best I could get.

Here is a look at the rest of dinner. The flounder was kind of blah and not really "blog worthy". The spinach was frozen and from a box, again nothing special...but the rice...that was the star!

And now, on a completely unrelated, non-cooking note....some pictures of my daughter taken this afternoon. *Please scroll all the way down for recipe.*






Waving hello to a neighbor.

"Hey, we are wearing the same outfit today!"

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Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup long-grain white rice
2½ cups chicken broth, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Have ready a covered casserole dish. In a saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and rice to the pan and cook until both are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth,salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish, cover, and bake for 25 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1½ cups chicken broth and bake, covered, for another 45 minutes. About 15 minutes before it is finished baking, stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Note: This recipe can be doubled without increasing the baking time.

Chinese Meatballs and Rice

Let me start with a disclaimer...this is not Chinese food for grown ups. It is instead, a very kid friendly Chinese style supper. Meatballs (with water chestnuts, soy sauce & scallions), rice (with toasted sesame seeds and scallions) and green beans with a peanut butter dipping sauce. I think this could easily get dressed up with some extra spices or sauce for the grown up palate though.

I got this recipe from C is for Cooking....Recipes from the Street. If you're in the market for a kids cookbook, this Sesame Street cookbook is a good one. It's well organized, has lots of useful tips and wonderful recipes (Cookie Monster's me-love-mini-meatloaves are great too).

My son really liked this dinner, especially since he got to use chopsticks!! The only thing missing were the fortune cookies....next time.

Close-up

My son's plate

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 pound ground pork or turkey
6 water chestnuts, finely diced
2 scallions, minced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. roasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

In a large bowl combine the first five ingredients. Shape the meat mixture into small balls. I used a Tbsp. to scoop out even amounts. This will make about 24 mini meatballs.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Then add the meatballs, stirring often, till browned on all sides. Cover and cook until meatballs are no longer pink in the center. Keep warm till ready to serve.

Scallion Rice

1.5 cups jasmin rice
1 scallion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Cook rice according to package directions. Add scallions and sesame seeds. Toss well to combine.

Green Beans with Peanut- Soy Dipping Sauce

1 pound green beans rinsed and trimmed
1/3 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 tsp. soy sauce
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

In a large pot, steam or boil green beans til tender crisp. drain.

In another pan combine peanut butter, soy sauce and water. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until sauce thickens. Just before serving, sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the sauce.

Latin Rice

Here it is...the great latin rice that accompanied the shrimp enchiladas. This recipe came from Gina's WW Blog. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Gina's recipes are FANTASTIC!!! If you haven't checked out her blog yet, do yourself a favor and click on the link to your right.

Up until now, to make any type of latin rice I would just open a box of Goya rice mix. Goya is good, but this recipe is in another league altogether and it wasn't that much more difficult to make. This is a keeper for sure.

Here is one last look at this yummy meal.


Ingredients
Makes 6 servings

2 cups long grain rice
2 tbsp canola oil
1 chicken bullion cube
5 scallions, chopped
2 garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 cups water
sazón
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

In a medium heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, heat oil on medium heat and saute scallions, cilantro and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute another minute. Add rice and saute 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Add water, bullion cube and sazón. Taste the water for salt and add more to taste. Let water boil on a high flame stirring once. As the water boils down and just skims the top of the rice, turn the flame to very low and cover 15 minutes. The steam will cook the rice so do not open. After 15 minutes, shut the flame and let the pot sit for at least 5 more minutes. This will finish cooking the rice without burning the bottom.

WW POINTS= 5 (1 cup)