All the flavors of fall in a dinner dish. That's this rice pilaf! When making this, I used 1/2 cup of wild rice because I have some in the pantry and I'm trying to use it up! You could use all brown rice or even all wild rice if you have some. Wild rice is expensive, which is why I try to use it sparingly and stretch it out! This pilaf has roasted butternut squash, … [Read more...]
Best Tips for When to Add Rice & Pasta to Slow Cooker
Making some meat or chicken with a sauce in the slow cooker can make for a wonderful meal. But cooking the rice or pasta “on the side” is not always necessary. With many recipes, you can add the rice or pasta right in and let it cook during the last bit of cooking. However, adding rice or pasta in at the beginning with the meat means you are going to have a mushy mess at the … [Read more...]
Fiesta Beans and Rice
Rice and beans will always be a $5 Dinner. Unless, of course, you go all sorts of crazy and add in expensive spices like saffron or cardamom (2 of the more expensive spices). Rice is crazy cheap - especially if you buy in bulk. And beans might be even cheaper when you buy dried beans and cook them yourself. (They are really easy to cook - if you haven't tried it, you should. … [Read more...]
Shrimp Mango Curry
Shrimp reeks expensive. And it certainly can be expensive. But it doesn't have to be. Shrimp can be bought in a number of different varieties - cooked, raw, fresh, frozen, tailless, by count, from mini to jumbo prawn. It's often on unadvertised sales, and can be found for less at non-chain grocery stores. The next most expensive ingredient in many curries is the … [Read more...]
Sloppy Joe Bowls
This recipe is featured in the 21 Gluten Free Freezer Cooking Recipes from Costco Meal Plan #5. This recipe is part of the latest 21 Gluten Free Meals from Costco Plan. I had the most fun making these Sloppy Joes...probably the most fun time ever making Sloppy Joes. Reason being...I had help from the oldest sous chef in the house. Ryan is almost 9 and I decided to use … [Read more...]
Honey Mustard Lentils & Rice Casserole
What's with the crazy half-fluffed photo, Erin? I know that's what your thinking. I haven't lost my mind. Well...since this cooking method is probably a new concept for many of you, I decided to just fluff half of the dish before snapping the photo so that you can see what it will look like when it comes out of the oven. And what it will look like once it's … [Read more...]
Chorizo Rice Skillet Dinner
One of the beautiful things about a pantry challenge (from 2 weeks ago!) is that you unearth treasures from the depths of your freezer. And one of those treasures for me was a 20 oz. package of chorizo links. (Score!) I knew right away that I could pull off another 'pantry challenge meal' with the chorizo, along with some rice and other goodies in the pantry. Plus a lone … [Read more...]
Tex Mex Restaurant Style Rice
Last weekend we had our final church group meeting before summer and the dinner theme was 'taco night.' Upon seeing the signup list, I quickly chose rice and beans...because I love cooking rice and beans. :) They're cheap, healthy and are easy to 'doctor up.' I made 2 lbs. of these Dominican style beans. And then made a giant pot of Tex Mex restaurant style rice (2 lbs. of … [Read more...]
Southwest Rice Pilaf
This recipe is part of the latest 21 Gluten Free Meals from Costco Plan. Please note that the photo above includes green peppers, but the plan calls for red peppers. Peppers can be interchanged easily in recipes, so feel free to use either red or green...depending on what your store has, and what your taste preferences are. Love this simple one-dish vegetarian meal. Hope … [Read more...]
Chicken Pineapple Stir-fry with Coconut Rice
Sometimes the ingredient stars just align and the meal that I was thinking about, turns out even better than I imagined. I wanted to make something that I knew the boys would love, using a can of coconut milk I've had in the pantry for a few weeks. (I purchased it with this recipe in mind, but just haven't made it yet.) I also picked up a can of pineapple recently with a coupon … [Read more...]