Best Spanish Rice

I was looking for a quick and easy recipe for a mexican side dish yesterday and found this recipe!  I made it and then thought..dang it made too much..now I'll have lots of leftovers!  Nope, it was a hit!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chunky salsa

Directions:
1.  Heal oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Stir in onion and cook until tender.  About 5 minutes.

2.  Mix in rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice begins to brown, stir in chicken broth and salsa.

3.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com

Cilantro Lime Rice (authentic)

I made this in my Brazilian cooking class.  It has a different taste than the other Cilantro Lime Rice recipe on this blog...but still very yummy!  This method of cooking makes the rice makes it PERFECT every time!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup long grain rice
2 TBS canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBS fresh lime juice
1 TBS lime zest
3 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS
1.  Rinse rice, drain and reserve.
2.  Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat.  When oil is hot add well drained rice and coat evenly with oil.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.
3.  Add water and salt to pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Allow water to evaporate to level of rice.  As soon as you see air pockets on the top, place tight lid on pot, reduce heat to lowest setting and cook for 18 minutes.
4.  Fluff with fork and gently fold in lime juice, zest and cilantro.

***TIPS***
- For better results of releasing juice from lime, roll in on a hard surface under your palm putting pressure on it.
-For a tight seal on the lid, put a piece of tinfoil over the pot and then the lid on top pressing down.

Spanish Rice

This is one of Grandma Anderson's recipes, a family favorite.  Chase just requested that I (Bev) bring a dish of this with me when I come tomorrow to see him and Danielle (just recently admitted to the hospital).  After looking through the cupboard, I was able to find this original recipe!

3 small onions
2 lbs. hamburger
2 T. butter
2 tsp. salt
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 cups stewed tomatoes
2 cups cooked rice
2 T. prepared mustard

Cook onions, peppers in butter till brown.  Add meat, salt, pepper, mustard and stir constantly till meat is seared well.  Butter baking dish and add alternating layers of meat and rice until all is used.  Pour tomatoes over all.  Bake 1 hour at 350.  Serve hot.

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

You all know Chad's aversion to mushrooms. But since stroganoff is one of his favorite meals, I have tried over the years to make a decent version of it. This recipe is our all-time favorite. We had it for Easter dinner today, in fact. This stroganoff is one way to Chad's heart. He loves it! And I love that it is a crockpot meal...so easy!

Original recipe found at Mel's Kitchen Cafe

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

2-3 pounds stew meat (or a 3-pound chuck roast, cubed)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup flour
6-7 tablespoons apple juice or water
4-8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I obviously leave these out and it is fantastic without them)
1/2 cup light or regular sour cream

Place the stew meat, salt, pepper and onion in the slow cooker. Stir to distribute the seasonings and onion. In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt, Worcestershrie sauce, beef broth and ketchup. Pour over the meat. Cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. About 30 minutes before serving, combine the flour and apple juice in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to combine well. The roux should be thick but still pourable so add a tablespoon of apple juice or water at a time to thin, if needed. Pour the flour mixture into the slow cooker, whisking quickly to mix in the roux with the stew meat and juices and to avoid lumps. Add the mushrooms and stir. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir in ½ cup sour cream right before serving. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.

*Freezable Meal: The leftovers of the stroganoff can be frozen. I store the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and then thaw in the refrigerator (usually takes about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

sweet italian sausage jambalaya

This isn't the actual picture from the recipe but it's close enough.

When I finished making this recipe we threw it together with left over brown rice and it reminded me of jambalaya- which is a really fun word to say. The original recipe is called Italian sausage with peppers and onions. BORING. Anyway, this was so good. I don't think I have eaten anything with Sweet Italian sausage that didn't taste good.

mostly from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
6 (4 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup white wine (I used chicken broth)

Directions
1.Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet, and slice.
2.Melt butter in the skillet. Stir in the yellow onion, red onion, and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Season with basil, and oregano. Stir in white wine. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.
3.Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through.

Serve over or mix it up with brown rice

Fried Rice

Recipe by Our Best Bites, adapted from Disneyworld's Ohana Restaurant

2 c. white rice + 4 c. water (OR 4 c. cold, leftover rice, which is actually better)
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. minced red onion
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. chopped mushrooms
8 oz. (1/2 bag) of coleslaw mix
3-4 generous Tbsp. soy sauce

SEASONING:
1 Tbsp. dried onion
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. celery salt
1 ½ tsp. sugar


Boil water and add rice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. This step can be done even up to 2-3 days in advance (and for some reason, fried rice tastes better when the rice is cold). Heat butter over medium heat and saute onions, carrots, and cabbage until carrots are tender. Add cooked rice, soy sauce, and seasoning to taste (you won't even come close to using all of it; save the rest for future fried rice or use as you would seasoning salt.)

Lion House - Rice with Herbs II

Ok - I clicked a wrong buttona and didn't get recipe added to previous post. Here is a rice recipe that one of our friends love to have when they come over. It's a great side for Sunday dinner.

2 TB. butter or margarine
1 c. uncooked rice
4 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 c. chicken broth
salt to taste

Melt butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Add rice and green onions; saute over medium-high heet for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add tarragon, thyme, basil, parsley flakes, and pepper; cook 1 minute more. Stir in broth and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rie is tender; about 15 minutes. Makes 6 servings.