Easy Coconut Rice

Sometimes I steal borrow things from my Sister -in-law. Last week it was a book. She had it -- I needed to read it. This time I may have "borrowed" her coconut rice recipe and adapted it. You can find her original at eathehughesfoodblogspot.com I try to always keep a can of coconut milk in my pantry. It's one of those things I restock as soon as I use it. Now I am not saying you need to bulk up on coconut milk unless you use it alot. But is an amazing thing to have in your pantry.

So this recipe combines this handy pantry extra and a pantry staple. Rice.  As a foodbuzz publisher sometimes I get the opportunity to taste test new food products. ( this is totally my favorite part of being a food blogger). I was recently sent the new Uncle Ben's whole grain white rice.

Yes I was intrigued. My main issue with rice is that the good stuff takes a really long time to cook. I rarely have the time for more than instant and I am a big fan of instant brown rice. But my family likes the white stuff and I love a long grain rice. So I was pretty excited to give this new rice a try. It is not instant but it cooks pretty quickly and it is a long grain rice. So while it does not have that nutty flavor I love in a brown rice, it has some definite good qualities.

I decided to give the rice a try with my SIL's coconut rice recipe. I really liked it. My family was a little put off by the coconut creaminess in their rice. But hey they have coconut issues. So I don't think their opinion really counts here. If you like a coconut rice this is a quick and easy version that makes a nice side dish to a Mexican, Carribean or Thai meal.


For 4 Servings


1 4.4 oz box of whole grain white rice

2/3 Cup of coconut milk

2/3 cup of water

1 tsp sugar

pinch salt

Directions.

2. Put the coconut milk, water sugar and salt in saucepan, stir until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is well blended.

3. Add the rice and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Simmer for 10-12 minutes.

4. The rice is done when the grains are soft enough to crush between your thumb and forefinger. 5. Turn off the heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed. Stir and serve

Southwestern Smoked Sausage Skillet Meal

I am always searching for a good recipe that uses smoked sausage. I buy the stuff thinking, this will make an easy dinner and then when I want to use it I can't seem to think of anything good to make with it. And good luck finding a good recipe. Fortunately, I had a stroke of genius this go round and looked up Hillshire Farms website, http://www.gomeat.com/ which is chock full of tasty recipes for keilbasa and smoked sausage. I loved the Southwestern flavors in this recipe and I adapted it a little to take advantage of my well stocked pantry. You can use frozen corn but I thought this was the perfect use for canned corn.

Sausage Skillet Meal
1 pkg. smoked beef or turkey sausage (If you use the turkey sausage this meal will be lower in fat but full on taste)
1 TB olive oil
1 large zuchinni finely chopped
2 cans of corn, drained or 2 Cups of frozen
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups of rice cooked
1/2 to 3/4 Cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1 Cup cheddar or monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/4 Cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a skillet and add a TB of olive oil. Saute over med high heat sausage, zucchinni, corn and onions for 5 to 8 minutes or until onions are tender and sausage is slightly browned.

Add black beans, rice, salsa and chil powder. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and top with shredded cheese and cilantro.

Crockpot Paella

Yep it's crock pot time again. This week for my entry to Thoughtless Thursday's at Pots and Plots I wanted to feature this yummy Paella recipe that I threw together in the crock pot. I know it's better to just use up all the cans and bags of regular rice I have piled in my food storage but I must admit I sometimes stock up on those preseasoned rice boxes when they are on sale. This recipe uses the Spanish rice boxes, and although I was short a box I substituted another flavor and some regular rice to make up the difference. Why am I spilling my haphazard cooking guts here? First, to explain any difference in appearance you may have with your results and second to prove that it's OK to fudge the ingredients with comparable items from the pantry. I did add the shrimp. I am a firm believer that Paella should have some seafood but you are certainly welcome to stick to the original recipe found below.

Tip: I used reconstituted dried green peppers that were prechopped. Once they were rehydrated I drained and used as normal peppers. These dried peppers are a new addition to my food storage and I wanted to see how they worked. They worked just fine in this paella. I bought them for a ridiculously low price along with some other dried herbs and spices from San Francisco Herb Company.

Paella
Recipe slightly altered from All You magazine.

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 lb chicken or turkey sausage, sliced diagonally
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves garlic
1 Cup green or red peppers chopped (I used 1/2 cup dried reconstituted to 1 Cup.
4 Cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 14 oz Can tomatoes
1 16 oz package of Spanish Rice mix (this is not those little boxes)
4 oz cooked ham, chopped
1 Cup frozen peas.
1 pinch saffron (optional)
1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 lb shrimp (optional)
Cook sausage in 1 Tb vegetable oil over medium-high heat, turning until browned. Transfer to slow cooker. Add remaining 1 Tb vegetable oil to skillet and cook onion, garlic and bell pepper until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker. Add 1 Cup broth to skillet and turn to high heat. Bring broth to a boil stirring up browned bits. Pour into slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except salt, peas and shrimp. Cook on low setting for 4 hours or until rice is tender. Stir in peas and cook an additional 15 minutes. Serve with cooked shrimp if desired.

I actually love this Paella for leftovers. I ate it for lunch for the next two days.

Quick Rice Pudding

Featured Food Storage: rice, pudding, raisins
Every once in a while I get a hankering for rice pudding. But with a busy hectic dinner time I want to be able to make a quick healthy version. So yes, I cheat. This version from Kraft only takes 20 minutes opposed to the 40 minute or 1 hour recipes. I also did not have instant white rice so I used instant brown rice. I also used a no sugar added cook and serve pudding. You can certainly use white rice and the regular cook and serve pudding. But I was happy with my healthy low sugar pudding and it satisfied my craving whether it was warm or chilled.

1 egg
4 Cups milk (I used lowfat)
1 pkg (4 serving size) vanilla flavored Cook and Serve pudding
1 Cup instant white or brown rice, uncooked
1/2 Cup raisins
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Beat egg with wisk in a large saucepan. Gradually add milk, beating until well blended. Add pudding mix; stir 2 minutes. Stir in rice and raisins.

Bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. This takes 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer it rests the thicker the consistency.
Sprinkle with spices and serve. Makes 5 1/2 Cup servings.

Lemon Rice Pilaf

Featured Pantry Items: Rice and chicken broth

Part of my goal with this blog is to try some of the common food storage recipes in my food storage books. So, this is one of those recipes that I tried and found surprisingly addicting. As rice is one of my food storage staples, I use it a lot. I get bored of the same old rice side and I am often left disappointed by those boxed pilaf versions. I thought this buttery lemon version made a tasty side dish alternative to my overused butter on the rice version.

2 Cups uncooked rice
1/2 Cup butter
4 Cups chicken broth
1/2 cup lemon juice (try to use some fresh if you have it)
1 tsp garlic powder.
1 TB parsley flakes
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add rice and reduce heat to warm.
Melt butter and mix with lemon juice and seasoning. Add to rice and broth and allow rice to absorb the broth and lemon mixture. It should take approximately 20 minutes. Remove from heat allow to rest for a couple minutes before serving.

Tip:
If you store lemon powder in your food storage you could reconstitute for the lemon juice.

Creamy Tuna Casserole -- In Honor of Case Lot Sales

The case lot sales have begun in my neck of the woods and I just came home with around 20 cans of tuna fish. So yes, Tuna Casserole may be a cliche food storage meal but my family considers it comfort food. Weird, I know. I have tried several recipes over the years in an effort to find the right combination of tuna, creaminess and flavor. Once I modified this recipe, originally by Kraft, I never turned back. I never cease to be amazed at how excited my husband and children become once they get a glance of tuna casserole. I am equally astonished at how many times I go back for seconds.

Recipe:
1/2 Tb garlic powder
1/8 C minced dried onions
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 C of milk
1 C frozen peas
2 Cups cooked rice or 1 1/2 cups of instant rice, uncooked
2 cans (6 oz each) of tuna
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tb margarine or butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix soup milk and peas in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Add 1/2 C cheese, tuna, rice, onions, and seasonings. Mix lightly and spoon into 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with breadcrumbs and dot with butter.
Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.