Less than 5: Spanish Rice

This Less Than Five post will be the all-around qualifier: it takes less than 5 ingredients, less than $5, and less than 5 minutes (if you don't count inactive cook time). 

When I have an idea for the main dish but need a quick side, rice is always my first thought. Rice is so versatile, you can put almost anything in it and it will taste great. And since I got my new rice cooker, I eat rice at least 3 days a week because it is so easy!

Even if you don't have a rice cooker, rice is super simple to make. 

Stove top: Put 1/2 cup rice and 1 1/2 cup liquid in a pan, heat to boiling. You could use water, broth, tomato sauce, juice, whatever you want. Add any fresh or frozen vegetables too. Lower to simmer, and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and enjoy!
Microwave: Put 1/2 cup rice and 1 1/2 cup liquid in a microwave-safe bowl with plenty of room for the rice to boil. You could use water, broth, tomato sauce, juice, whatever you want. Add any fresh or frozen vegetables too. Microwave for 15-20 minutes on high, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Fluff and enjoy!

Now, for this spanish rice I cheated a little and used a boxed mix because it was on sale for $0.73. You could also use a tbsp chili powder and a small can of tomato sauce for about the same price and taste.

Rice: Bought on sale with spices included. = $0.73
Can of corn: On sale 2 for $1, one for $0.50. = $0.50
Can of diced tomatoes: Usual price is $0.69. = $0.69
Total: $1.92 for about 5 servings = $0.38 per serving!

Ingredients:
1 box Spanish Rice mix
(Or 1 cup rice, 1 small can tomato sauce, 1 tbsp chili powder)
1 can of corn
1 can of diced tomato
1 cup water

Step 1: Spray the rice pot lining, combine all ingredients. Don't drain the corn or tomatoes, the juice adds extra flavor.

Step 2: Turn the rice cooker on and let cook for ~20 minutes. Or use one of the above cooking methods.

Step 3: Serve and enjoy. I made chicken legs to go with my rice. But this would be delightful in a taco or burrito, as a side to enchiladas, baked into a frittata, or on its own as a vegetarian meal.

What's your favorite easy side dish?

Turkey porcupine meatballs

So one day, I was running late at work. I text my SO (significant other) that I would be late, and he asked if I wanted him to start dinner. Bonus points already for asking! Yes please. We had some cooked rice in the fridge, and always have ground turkey on hand. I had mentioned porcupine meatballs previously, to which he responded with a weird look. To explain, adding rice makes meatballs 'porcupine'. We used to have these all the time growing up, maybe it's a Polish/Slovak thing. 

Anyways, so since I had planted the idea earlier, I suggested that as an option, with some healthy tweaks. An additional can of pinto beans mashed in, plus a can of diced tomatoes or two ups the protein, fiber, and vitamins from the usual just meat/rice combo. Using ground turkey over beef helps cut down on saturated fat as well.

Of course, the only side dish you're allowed to have with porcupine meatballs is mashed potatoes. Sometimes you can take shortcuts and make them healthy, but sometimes you gotta go all-in: butter, milk, sour cream, and garlic salt. You just know by the look and feel of the potatoes when you've added enough of each. Creamy and smooth without being too liquid, with a slight hint of yellow, and a strong smell of garlic. Starting to drool just thinking about it. 

And of course, the whole shebang gets drowned in a homemade tomato sauce. Simply perfect.

Ingredients: 

1 pound ground turkey

1 cup cooked rice

1 can beans

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

Italian seasonings

Garlic salt

Butter/margerine

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

6-10 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

Step 1: In a bowl, mix turkey, rice, drained beans, drained diced tomatoes, and some seasonings if you like. Form into golf to tennis sized balls and place in an oven-safe pan.

Step 2: Bake these at 350 for 50-60 minutes. You can use a meat thermometer to check, or cut one open and make sure there is no pink inside.

Step 3: For the sauce, combine 1 can undrained tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, and spices. Leave chunky or mix in a blender for a smooth sauce.

Step 4: Pour the sauce over the meatballs. You can do this before or after cooking them, if you do it after simply return to the oven for 3-5 minutes to heat through.

Mmmm don't these look fabulous!?

Step 5: Boil the diced potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until soft when poked with a fork. Drain and return to the cooking pot.

Step 6: Add milk, butter, sour cream, and spices (maybe some cheddar cheese too?) a little at a time, mixing with a potato masher or hand blender, until desired consistency is reached.

Step 7: Scoop a hearty pile of potatoes onto a plate and dollop with extra sauce. Add a meatball, and dive on in!

This is seriously a total bliss flavor combination. Reminds me of childhood and home every time. Definition of comfort food, with less fat and tons more goodness. I'm lucky to have such a good cook to come home to.

What food(s) reminds you of childhood?

Broccoli cheddar rice

Everyone has days when they just don't know what to make with dinner. Maybe you have a perfect roast in the crock pot, or stopped on the way home for burger meat but don't know what to go with it. This is a recipe for one of my go-to side dishes, broccoli cheddar rice. A while back I posted on how to make it in a slow cooker, now I'll tell you it can also be done in the oven! This was perfect because I had a whole chicken roasting in the oven, so I just whipped this up and popped it in there with it. Super simple, filling and tasty.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup broccoli florets
About 3 tbsp butter/margerine
Garlic salt

I don't know why it won't let me flip the photo. I tried uploading it four times...

Step 1: Into an oven-safe dish (small-ish, or double/triple the recipe and use larger) pour 1 cup water, 1 cup milk and 1 cup rice. Mix it up well. Add a few tbsp margarine, broccoli and cheese on top.

 Step 2: Pop it in the oven at 350-375 for about 20-30 minutes (depends on the temp. I had it at 375 for the chicken so it only needed about 21 minutes to cook fully).

Full meal with the chicken, broccoli cheddar rice and candied carrots.

Slow cooker ham & corn rice casserole

This is another creation born of needing to use up items left in the pantry. You'll notice two themes in most recipes from times where I am either very busy (being a student) or in a state of flux (like moving), I use the slow cooker a lot, and recipes get a little weird. I prefer the term "creative" but let's not argue semantics. Anyhow, the best template for any meal in a rush is "meat + carb + vegetable/fruit + liquid", and I use it a lot. You can have literally endless variations, and in fact nearly every meal ever is based on this formula. For this recipe, I simply checked my food box and freezer to see what was left, then followed the formula with things I thought might go well together. This is what ended up happening.

Ingredients:
1 cup cubed ham
1 box rice pilaf with seasoning packet
1 can corn with liquid
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup water

 Step 1: Mix all ingredients in the slow cooker. Set on low for at least 4 hours; I left it for about 9 all day.

The rice didn't end up being overly mushy, which I worried about, and the corn gave it a nice sweet flavor. Ham paired with this well, though I think chicken would've been even better based on past experience with the flavor of rice pilaf and the fact that I used cream of chicken soup rather than mushroom or celery. But overall it was tasty, couldn't be easier, used up a box and two cans from the pantry, and lasted for about 6 servings, so I call that a success.

Crock pot: Creamy chicken & corn

Apparently this post is brought to you by the letter C. 

This is just something I came up with to continue using up things in the pantry and freezer, mixed with a love of Crock Pot cooking ease. If you've kept up on posts, you know I recently moved and have one huge box full of canned things as well as a shelf in the freezer I'm trying to eat my way through before I move to my next place in a few weeks... Anyways, so this recipe used up two cans and some chicken, as well as a box of rice. And it tasted great! (In case you're concerned about that...)

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 cup corn (or other frozen veggie)

1 box rice side or 1 cup rice cooked

Frozen chicken - I used drumsticks because that's what I found first. Thighs would work, as well as breasts or a whole chicken, just use another can of soup and extra milk for sauce if you use more than about 8 oz.

 Step 1: Spray the inner lining of the slow cooker. Add the soup and milk, mix together. Add the corn and chicken, cover and cook on low 6 hours or high 4+. I wouldn't recommend less than 4 hours on high for frozen chicken, you want to make sure its cooked through and not get Salmonella poisoning. And Crock pots nearly never burn so feel free to leave it on low for a good long while.

Step 2: Before serving, cook your rice. You could use any of those $1 rice sides that go on sale regularly, or plain rice cooked. Add spices or extra veggies, soy sauce, sriracha, whatever you like to flavor the rice. Then put the chicken on top and pour on a scoop of corn cream sauce. The sauce is thick and creamy and the sweetness of the corn went perfectly with the wild rice I chose to serve it over. Delightful.


(Disclaimer: My boyfriend actually did the crock pot cooking part! So any guys reading, take note! You can use this simple recipe to impress the heck out of a new flame or long-time love with next to no effort on your part. Crock pots are culinary wonders for the cooking impaired, busy and/or lazy person.)

Crock pot: pork chops & veggie rice casserole

I openly praise slow cookers all the time for their many qualities. Here is yet another perfect example of a recipe that took me a matter of minutes to prep, then the machine did all the work for me throughout the day so that I came home to a lovely smelling house and a hot meal.

Ingredients:
2 large pork chops (or a small roast)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups water
1 cup milk
1 cup rice
1 cup frozen or fresh chopped veggies of your choice
2 tbsp garlic powder

I also made asparagus on the side. Just put 1 tbsp oil, 2tbsp lemon juice & some sea salt in a pan, and heat over medium until the asparagus starts to blacken and is soft yet firm.

 Step 1: As you can see, I like just taking out pre-frozen meat to use in the crock pot. I took out 2 pork chops I'd bought and frozen weeks earlier. Put the bouillon, corn starch and spices in the crock pot. Add the water and mix well.

 Step 2: Add the rice and veggies and mix into the watery spice mix. Place pork chops on top and cover. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8. Give it a good stir once if you can midday.

 The pork chops got so tender the meat literally just fell off the bone. So the small chunks of pork just got mixed into the rice for a casserole.

Since you know what ingredients you put in and can control what/how much vegetables go into this casserole, it is quite healthy. You could make it vegetarian or vegan easily too. Use tofu, add beans, etc. I might try brown rice next time too. Maybe throw in some tomato sauce too. Go crazy.

Easiest steak stir-fry

Anyone who doesn't have a personal chef is a fan of meals that are fast and easy to make. Bonus if it happens to NOT be grease-laden, deep-fried, double-wrapped hatred of yourself. Aka some semblance of nutritional value. At least to me that's a priority. This is one of my standby all-time favorite recipes, used from the lowly days of undergrad's first apartment until the present, it has never failed me yet. Once the individual ingredients are made, they are very versatile, and remain so even after mixing. 

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (I used easy brown)

1-2 cups frozen veggie, any you like

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed

*You can stop here for a filling vegan/vegetarian snack or meal, or continue to carnivorize it

2 tbsp sriracha, if you like it hot

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 cube frozen veggie stock or ice cube

1 small steak (or pork or chicken...)

Step 1: Mix 1 cup water and 1 cup rice, microwave on high 10 minutes. Let sit for 5, then fluff with a fork.

 Step 2: Put frozen veggies and beans in a bowl, microwave 5-10 minutes while waiting for rice to absorb the water.

 Step 3: Mix rice, beans and veggies. Sprinkle on some garlic salt and enjoy from here, or....

 Step 4: Pour on the sriracha and soy sauce

 Step 5: Put the steak in a frying pan on medium heat, add extra soy sauce if you like, and the cube of liquid. Cover and cook on medium for about 5 minutes, until nice and brown. Flip and cook on the other side 5 minutes.

 Step 6: Remove steak and cut into bite-size pieces. Return to the pan along with the rice, veggies and beans and mix well. Heat through, and enjoy! This is quite customizable based on what type of vegetables and meat you like, you can use white or brown rice, and mix up the type of beans too. Try Italian seasoning, or garlic salt, or Worchestershire. The sky's the limit!

Easy Freezer Mexican Soup

I was hungry for something hot and spicy, and tortilla soup was the first thing that came to mind. I had recently purchased a red beans & rice mix on sale for 78 cents, and realized I had all the rest of the the ingredients in my fridge or freezer, making for a ridiculously fast and easy meal. 

Ingredients:

2 chicken drumsticks

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 packet red beans & rice

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup tri-pepper and onion mix

1 cup salsa

1/4 tsp chipotle pepper powder

Step 1: Add about 4 cups water and all ingredients to a large pot and heat to boiling. Simmer on low for 40-60 minutes. 

 Step 2: Take the drumsticks out and tear the meat off the bone. Return the meat to the pot.

You can use thighs, breasts, or whatever meat you want, or omit the meat entirely. Browned ground beef would probably also be delicious. You can also top with shredded cheddar or sour cream. It is filling, slightly spicy, and has great flavor. Careful, because it does make quite a bit!

Thai chicken peanut curry

I had been dying to try out my new Thai cookbook since moving to Colorado, and had a craving for it all week. I looked through it yesterday, and found a recipe for Peanut Chicken Curry for which I had all the ingredients but a few. So I went to the store on the way home from class to pick up those things and whipped up a surprisingly easy and oh-so-tasty dinner!

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp diced garlic

2 tbsp curry paste

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup crushed peanuts

1/2 small cucumber, peeled and seeded

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

RICE

2 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup green onion

1 cup rice

1 cup chicken stock

Cilantro, if you can find it. King Soopers didn't have any. :(

 

Step 1: Dice the onion small, cook in a frying pan with 1 tbsp oil for 1-2 minutes. Add coconut milk and chicken stock. Simmer 2 minutes.

 Step 2: Dice up the chicken.

 Add diced chicken, garlic and curry paste. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes.

 Step 3: Cut up pineapple, cucumber and crush peanuts. Meanwhile, boil or microwave the cup of rice in chicken stock.

 Step 4: Once chicken is cooked through, add pineapple, cucumber, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and peanuts. Simmer 1-2 minutes and serve immediately.

 Step 5: To cooked rice, add lime juice and onions (or cilantro) and fluff.

Cilantro would definitely kick the rice up a notch, but no complaints here! Sure cucumber, chicken and pineapple seems like a weird combo, but it really is delicious! Sweet but complex, the flavor is fantastic! The original recipe calls for fish sauce, lemongrass and lime leaves too, but I don't think the taste suffers at all by omitting them. Prep took about 15 minutes, cooking took less than 30. Totally worth it!

Easy chicken, rice & veggie casserole

For a day when you want to spend minimal time cooking, but want something hot, filling and delicious. It takes only minutes to prepare, then you just stick it in the oven and forget about it for a while. It is also extremely versatile, since you can use any mixture of frozen or fresh veggies.

Ingredients:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, diced in 1in cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup jasmine rice (or any kind)
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup salsa
~1/4 cup shredded cheese

Step 1: Dice chicken (and veggies if using fresh, make about 2-3 cups worth).
Step 2: In a greased 9x9 casserole dish, add all ingredients and mix well. Bake, uncovered at 375 for 90 mintues or 400 for 1 hour. Rice & chicken should be fully cooked. If crunchy or chicken is still pink, bake 20 minutes longer.

Super simple, and delicious. I used a mix that included beans, so I'm sure the protein & fiber was a bit higher, but so were the calories. But it's worth it for 2 tasty dinners plus lunch the next day!
As always, to make it vegetarian don't use chicken, and for vegan use veggie stock instead of milk and omit the cheese.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 3
• Amount Per Serving: ~1 cup
• Calories: 280.2

• Total Fat: 5.6 g
• Cholesterol: 57.8 mg
• Sodium: 544.4 mg
• Total Carbs: 31.4 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.3 g
• Protein: 27.1 g

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2253930

Hawaiian shrimp & broccoli

I am once again moving, so I make due with whatever is left in the house for dinner. I had in my freezer:

1/2 bag frozen broccoli

1/2 bag frozen shrimp

In the fridge: 

1/4 fresh pineapple

Soy sauce, Worchestershire, BBQ, ketchup

In the pantry:

1 bag simple rice, brown rice

Step 1: Microwave the rice 90 seconds and fluff.
Step 2: In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce, 2 tbsp BBQ sauce, 1 tbsp sugar. Add shrimp, coat well. Microwave on high 4 minutes. 
Step 3: Add broccoli, microwave another minute.
Step 4: Dice pineapple very small. Add and mix well.
Put 1/2 cup rice on plate, add 1 cup shrimp mix and some sauce. Dinner in under ten minutes! Enjoy!

Sweet and tangy, protein plus fruit & veggies!

Cheddar Broccoli Rice in a slow cooker

This is a super easy side dish, requiring only a few hours in a crock pot. It goes well with most anything. The end result is creamy, cheesy, and delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

2 cups broccoli

1 full bag shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cup water

Step 1: Pour 1 cup rice into crock pot. Add 1 1/2 cups water.
Step 2: Add as much broccoli as you want, I put in about 2 cups pieces.
Step 3: Cover with shredded cheese.
Step 4: Cook on high 2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until rice is fully cooked and cheese is melted.

 

Makes about 5 cups, enough for 3-6 sides depending on what else is in the meal.

Homemade Chipotle

Chipotle is one of my absolute favorite "fast food" places for several reasons. They encourage responsible practices, local and healthy food, quality, plus it is just dang delicious. However, even the best intentioned company makes some compromises to be large scale, and I always prefer making food myself so I know what's in it and can control the portions. Plus, though $6.95 seems pretty cheap, more than once a month or so isn't practical. 

Therefore, I decided to make my own version of my favorite, the chicken burrito bowl. A website called Chipotlefan.com has recipes for several Chipotle favorites. I used their recipe for the chicken marinade, with a few variations of my own. Then I made my own version of the fresh and corn salsas based on memory, and the cilantro lime rice. Try it yourself, it isn't exact, but it is close and DElicious!

Chipotle Chicken:

1 (7 ounce) can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (remove chipotle peppers, skim out seeds)

2 tsp fresh ground ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon black pepepr
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 tbsp powdered garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 quarter red onion

1/4 cup oil (canola/vegetable/olive)

Boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders

Step 1: Mix all marinade ingredients in a blender/food processor. Add oil until it's slightly pourable. 

Step 2: Poke holes in chicken, and pour marinade over chicken. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour up to 24 hours. The best way to cook the chicken is to grill it, but you can cook it in a frying pan with a weight on top as well.

 Chicken sitting in marinade

Spiced Kidney Beans:

1 can kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup water
3-5 bay leaves
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder

Step 1: Drain and rinse the beans, pour into a pot. Add spices, simmer on very low for 10-60 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the beans don't stick.

 Seasoned kidney beans

You can add a bit of bacon here too, if you have it and like that kind of thing. Chipotle has changed their recipe to make it vegetarian, so no bacon included.

Cilantro-Lime Rice:

1 cup rice
1 1/2 cup water or chicken bouillon
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
Sea salt



Step 1: Boil the rice or prepare as directed. 

Step 2: When cooked, add the cilantro, salt and juices, fluff with a fork.

The rice magic makers. Lemon juice, lime juice, and chopped fresh cilantro.

Finished rice, ready to be mixed

Corn Salsa:

1/2 cup corn

1/4 red bell pepper

Pinch fresh cilantro

Splash lemon juice

1/8 red onion

Step 1: Blacken the corn in a skillet or grill. 

Step 2: Dice the pepper & onion, add to the corn with the cilantro and lemon, mix well. 

For extra spice, take one of the chipotle peppers from the adobo sauce and dice it up to add, or use a fresh seeded jalapeno.

Fresh Tomato Salsa:

1 large tomato, diced

1/8 red onion, diced

1/4 red bell pepper, diced

Handful fresh cilantro

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lime juice

Sea salt

Step 1: Mix the diced tomato, onion, pepper, cilantro and juices. Add a grind or two of salt to taste. 

Refrigerate both salsas until ready to serve.

Chicken after grilling and dicing, salsas ready to go.

 Beans and rice, ready for assembly.

Finished plate. Can make it into a burrito, tacos, or a bowl.

I tore up a few large romaine leaves, put the rice, beans, chicken and both salsas on, with a sprinkle of cheese on top. It was deliciously fresh tasting! It is on the spicy side, so if that's not for you then dial down the seasonings and forget about the chipotle peppers in adobo. For vegetarians, ditch the chicken and marinate some tofu, add some guacamole, or other grilled veggies. Enjoy!



This recipe submitted to the May 2014 "Cooking with Herbs" challenge!