Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

3 tablespoons lite soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup diced ham
3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
1 can (20-oz) pineapple tidbits, drained
2 green onions, sliced

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat.  Add garlic, onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the corn, peas and ham and cook, stirring constantly until the vegetables are tender, about 3-4 minutes.    Stir in the rice, pineapple, green onions and soy sauce mixture and cook until heated through and well mixed, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

This was really good with the Island Pork Tenderloin I made tonight.  My husband considers Fried Rice a side dish, but this would be good for dinner all by itself!  I have to say though that the sauce from the Pork Tenderloin is what made this rice dish so good!

Adapted from a recipe found on Pinterest that linked to this blog:
http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/25/pineapple-fried-rice/

Cranberry Rice Pilaf

Cranberry Rice Pilaf

2 Tbsp butter
1-1/2 cups long-grain rice, uncooked
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Melt the butter in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat.  Add rice and cook 3 minutes, stirring often, until the rice starts to turn golden brown.

Add the broth, juice, thyme and salt and bring to a boil.  Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 18 minutes or until rice is tender.  Stir in green onions just before serving.

Excellent rice pilaf!

Found on Pinterest.

Dirty Rice

Dirty Rice

1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz sausage
1 small onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, minced
1/4 tsp celery seed
Splash of hot sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup tomato juice
2 3/4 cups water

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot and add the sausage, onions and bell peppers.  Brown, stirring and crumbling the meat really fine.  Add celery seed, hot sauce, garlic salt, cajun seasoning and oregano and cook about 1 minute.  Stir in the raw rice and continue cooking and stirring for another minute or so, until the rice begins to turn opaque.  Stir in the bouillon cube, tomato juice and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.

Yum!  Awesome with Red Beans and Cajun Roast Chicken!

Easy Spanish Rice

Easy Spanish Rice

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
2 tsps chicken bouillon granules
2 cups water
1 cup chunky salsa

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the rice and cook until it's translucent, stirring frequently.  Add the bouillon granules, water and salsa.  Stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 20 minutes without taking the lid off.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered for about 5 minutes before serving.

Ridiculously easy Spanish Rice!  Tasty too, though I personally think it needs more spice so next time I'll add some jalapeno!  From allrecipes.com

Black Beans and Yellow Rice with Fresh Tomato Relish

Black Beans and Yellow Rice with Fresh Tomato Relish

Tomato Relish:
2 large, ripe tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp minced red onion
1 tbsp minced cilantro
2-3 tsp lime juice
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Yellow Rice:
2.5 cups water
2 tbsp butter
11 oz can Mexicorn
10 oz pkg Vigo Yellow Rice mix
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp minced cilantro

Black Beans:
2 cans Black Beans
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp catsup
1 heaping Tbsp diced pickled jalapenos

Sour cream, if desired

Combine Tomato Relish ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

About 1/2 hour before serving, bring water, butter and Mexicorn to a boil over high heat in a medium sized saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Stir in yellow rice mix, cumin, chili powder and cilanto and boil 1 minute. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low and cook 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

In the meantime, combine beans, cumin, tomato paste, catsup, and jalapenos and heat, stirring often, over medium heat until thoroughly hot.

Spoon yellow rice mixture onto plate, top with beans, a spoonful of the tomato relish and a dollop of sour cream.

This was absolutely the best Yellow Rice and Black Beans I've ever made! Really good! And it was really pretty to look at...I have to start taking pictures!

Southwestern Rice

Southwestern Rice

1 small Vidalia onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup frozen Sofrito
1/2 packet taco seasoning mix
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 cup long grain rice
14 oz chicken broth
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
10 oz can Mexi-Corn
10 oz can Ro-Tel


Cook the onion in the olive oil in a large skillet until onion is translucent. Add garlic and sofrito and cook until Sofrito is thawed, stirring often. Add rice, taco seasoning, cumin and turmeric and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is done. Stir in the beans, corn and Ro-tel and continue cooking over low heat another 10-15 minutes or until completely hot.

Adapted from a recipe at allrecipes.com

This was really good...however, next time I'll cook the rice with the taco seasoning, cumin and turmeric in the chicken broth separately and mix it in at the end. This would be awesome with cheese on it and baked a few minutes until melty!

Cajunesque Rice & Beans

Cajunesque Rice & Beans

2 cups long grain rice
4 cups water
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 can dark red kidney beans

I use a Rice Cooker! It's much easier and always turns out nice and fluffy, unlike cooking it in a pot on top of the stove. Put the rice, water, cumin, turmeric, cajun seasoning and corn into the cooker. Put the lid on it, plug it in and turn it on. Meanwhile, slowly heat the beans over low heat and keep warm until the rice is done.

I HAD been going to make Black Beans & Rice to go with my Roast Pork, but when I searched my pantry I discovered I didn't have any Black Beans! So I concocted this and it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'll make it again, but use 2 cans of kidney beans next time with the same amount of rice. John loved it.

Slow Cooked Pork with Caribbean Rice and Peas

Slow Cooked Pork

5-6 lb Boston butt pork roast or pork shoulder
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp black pepper

Place the pork in the slow cooker, fat side up. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the pork. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until very tender. Yum!


Caribbean Rice and Peas

2 cups long-grain rice
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 cans field peas (or pigeon peas), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup broth from the pork roast

Combine the rice, coconut milk, broth, water and lemon rind in a rice cooker. Cover and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender and fluffy. Meanwhile, in a pot combine the peas and pork broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until hot. Serve the peas over the rice. And Yum again!

Both of these recipes are adapted from Southern Living 2002 Annual Recipes.

Jerk Chicken with Rice & Beans

Jerk Chicken with Rice and Beans

1/2 chicken (or 2 quarters)
1/2 bottle Lawry's Caribbean Jerk marinade
Gallon-sized Freezer bag
2 cups rice
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tbsp dried minced onion
32 oz chicken broth
27 oz can Margaret Holme's Seasoned Black Beans with Vidalia Onions
2 tsp cumin
1/3 cup catsup
Splash worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lime juice

When I buy whole chickens, I cut them up and re-package them for the freezer. I often pour a marinade (any kind you like) over the meat before I freeze it, which makes it very easy to make dinner later on. The chicken I used for this dish was simply cut in half, placed in the zip-loc bag and the marinade poured over it, then sealed and frozen. Thaw before cooking.

Place the chicken in a 9x13" pan and roast at 400^F for about 1 hour or until the chicken is completely cooked. This would normally have gone on the grill but it's way too hot outside to bother! And it comes out really tender and juicy when cooked in the oven this way.

While the chicken cooks, combine the rice, turmeric, allspice, dried onions, and chicken broth and cook until done. I use a Rice Cooker...makes perfect rice every time!

About 20 minutes before the chicken is ready, combine the beans, cumin, catsup, worcestershire and lime juice and cook gently, stirring often, until hot.

Results: perfectly cooked, juicy and delicious chicken, and quite possibly the BEST rice I've ever cooked. The black beans were perfect with the rice and chicken!

Texican Chicken with Chile-Cream Rice Casserole 5.16.09

Texican Chicken with Chile Cream Rice Casserole

CHICKEN:
½ cup mayonnaise
½ envelope Ranch dressing mix
¼ cup buttermilk
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 ½ cups tortilla crumbs

CHILE-CREAM RICE CASSEROLE:
1 (4-oz) can chopped green chiles
2 cups long grain rice
4 cups water
1 tbsp instant chicken bouillon
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Petite Diced tomatoes with Jalapenos
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 (11-oz) can Mexicorn
1 cup sour cream


Preheat oven to 350^. Spray a 9x13” pan generously with Pam. Combine mayonnaise, Ranch dressing mix, buttermilk, chili powder and cumin until smooth in a shallow bowl. Roll each chicken breast in the Ranch dressing mixture and then coat with tortilla crumbs. Place in the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Combine all the first 4 rice ingredients in your Rice Cooker and cook until rice is done. Stir in remaining ingredients and turn into a lightly greased casserole. Bake about ½ hour. Serve with chicken and a salad.