Chicken and Rice Revisited

When I originally posted the recipe for Simple Chicken and Rice Bake it went up with a really bad picture of the tiny amount of leftovers. My sister and brother-in-law, who is one of my "followers"(if you want to be a follower just click on the follow button on the right of the screen) made the recipe and took a much better picture:

Much prettier than mine-thinking I may make it again soon!

Turkey and Rice in One Pot Dinner

I made this a week ago but forgot to take a picture at the time so I was waiting to take a picture of the leftovers-which got eaten before I got to them with my camera. So if you make this and take a picture I will add it! I really made this one up based on random ingredients I had in my pantry. This one is simple and tasty.

1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 Tbls. Olive Oil
1 C. brown rice(I used brown basmati)
1 C. tomato sauce(I used the Yachin Bolognaise)
2 1/2 Tbls Onion Soup mix
2 C. Water

Brown turkey in oil. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for half hour or until water is absorbed and rice is cooked.

Pesto Lemon Rice

A little over a week ago I shared a wonderful recipe for Dairy Free, Nut Free Pesto. I got a few comments and email asking what I used the pesto for. So without further ado I give you Pesto Lemon Rice. This was so good that I had to make more the following day.

1 Tbls. Olive Oil
1 C. Rice(I used brown)-not instant
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbls. Lemon Juice
2 1/4 cup Chicken Stock (I used water with chicken soup powder)
2-3 Tbls. Pesto

Heat oil in a pot with a tight-fitting lid; then add the rice and saute until rice is light browned, about 2-3 minutes, stirring several times. Add the salt and lemon juice and stir again. The lemon juice will bubble up in the pan. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let it cook without lifting the lid for 20 minutes or 30 if using brown rice. After 20 or 30 minutes, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the pesto, put the lid back on and let the rice sit for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Simple Chicken and Rice Bake

Sometimes the best meals are the simple ones. I am always a fan of meals that only use one pot or pan so this one is a double win. I used Basmati rice because I was out of brown rice and that was all they had at the store. Apparently basmati rice is lower on the glycemic index so that is a good thing.

I based this loosely around a recipe I found in the Amit Women Efrat Chapter Cookbook

8 pcs. of Chicken(I used 3 legs, 3 thighs and 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
Onion Soup Mix
1 C. Rice
2 C. Water

Spray a pyrex with pam. Season the chicken with onion soup mix. Place the rice in the pan. Put the chicken on top of the rice(I didn't put the boneless skinless pieces in yet). Add water. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and chicken is browned. At 45 minutes into cooking I added the boneless skinless breasts and they came out perfect.

Everyone was so hungry and ate so much that I didn't get a chance to take a picture until after dinner when there was 1 sad leg left and a tiny spoonful of rice left. Here is what the leftovers look like:

All Day Burritos

Yesterday Danya picked a recipe out of the Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen cookbook that she wanted for dinner. It was for Bean, Rice and Cheese Burritos. I felt like this was a good chance for me to take a recipe that wasn't so healthy and make it a little healthier. I started last night by making my own refried beans using pinto beans. I didn't take a picture but be glad as they weren't pretty. Then I went a little too far and made my own whole wheat tortillas. They were very tasty however it was a lot of work, hard to do and my stove was a bit too hot so they all got a little too crispy which made them hard to wrap.

Next time I would just buy whole wheat tortillas. However, if you are looking for a challenge, or own a tortilla press, I recommend this recipe. The recipe called for white minute rice and I substituted it with brown rice. So what should have been a simple recipe became an all day process. In the end they were really good.

Josh, Danya and I liked them a lot. Jordy took an itsy bitsy bite and said yuck and Nadav said "no, no, no" as I tried to hand it to him but neither of those responses were unexpected.

Here is my altered recipe.

Bean, Rice and Cheese Burritos

4 wheat tortillas
1 C. brown rice prepared with a packed of taco seasoning
4 Tbls. refried beans
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Spread 1/4 C. of rice, 1 Tbls, beans and 1/4 C. cheese on each tortilla. Roll each tortilla and wrap in foil. Place all the burritos in oven heated to 425 and cook for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.