Rice Rice Baby!

So I have been using rice in a lot of our dishes at home and trying to find ways to spice up the plain ol' rice scene as a side item. We make Chicken and Rice in our house a lot...my brother was the first to make it when we were little.... you know the recipe:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast thawed
*1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. of water
1/4 c. uncooked rice
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
-spray glass baking dish with Pam
-mix soup, rice, water and spices
-pour into pan
-top with chicken
-sprinkle with additional paprika and pepper

Bake covered 45 min.

*can use cream of chicken instead if you have that



Ok, so that dish is a fam fav here BUT I have started buying Uncle Ben's instant Brown Rice...

it's SO good, and fast and easy, all a mom's biggest dinner deal breakers BUT sometimes it gets a little old! So I made up and looked up some ways to SPICE UP my rice. Here are some ways I found:

Greek Rice

cook your rice package as directed
add a handful of feta cheese
4-5 chipped cherry tomatoes
a handful of fresh chopped parsley
mix it all together! Easy right?! you won't believe how good it is

Mexican Rice

cook your rice package as directed
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can of black beans (drained)
*optional i can of rotel OR 3 tbs of salsa
cook beans and corn- for fast you can heat in the microwave
mix all together and get your grub on!

This is a really good side with Avocado Salad:

Avocado Salad

1 sliced avocado
1-2 sliced Roma tomatoes
1 c. shredded lettus
lemon juice to taste OR I like to use 1 tbs Newman's Lemon Italian dressing
So good!
salt and pepper to taste

Citrus Rice

1 pkg of chicken brown rice
1 tbs orange zest
2 tbs orange juice
1 tsp lemon zest
-when you open the pouch to cook rice in microwave add the zests and the juice
THEN cook
-stir in 3 tbs of chopped fresh basil



Cheesy Vegetable Rice

1 scallion chopped
1 garlic clove finely chopped
juice from two lemons
lemon zest
3 tbs of butter/olive oil mix (smart balance butter)
*steam fresh bag of broccoli
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
rice cooked to package directions
-in a saucepan heat first 5 ingredients
-cook broccoli to package directions
-add rice, broccoli, and lemon oil mix, and cheese- salt and pepper to taste
Mix together and serve!
*can change up the veggi if you want to add something else


Sarah's Rice

cook rice in package as directed
in a saucepan with butter heat contents of Gumbo Veggi Mix (in freezer section)- includes okra, corn, peppers and onions
Mix rice with cooked veggies and grub it

Ok, now off to look at some more baby smiles! i just cant get enough!! I can't have a blog without a pic.... St. Patty Fun!