Salsa Risotto

More risotto; creamy rice with a salsa kick. This is suppost to be rather spicy-- don't be shy about leaving the jalapeno seeds in when you dice the peppers!
Sorry about the sparse updates. Work has been hectic lately...hasn't left me much time to write things up.



Serves 2
35 minutes
- large saucepan with deep sides -or- large pot
Easy

INGREDIENTS
6 large green onions
2 cloves garlic
2 large jalapenos
1/2 of a large green bell pepper
1/2 of a large red bell pepper
1 Tbsp. corn oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 large tomatoes
1/2 of a large bunch of fresh cilantro
[1 large ear of fresh yellow corn-- optional]
1 c. aborio rice
1 tsp. corn oil
ground cumin
2 c. chicken -or- vegetable broth*
1/2. monterey jack cheese

*Swanson 14 oz. canned Natural Goodness chicken (and veggie) broths are GF, and hold about 2 cups of liquid

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash and remove dangling root ends from green onion. Slice up the whole green onion, separating the white and green parts. Peel and dice the garlic. Remove stem from the jalapeno and dice it up, leaving in the seeds for extra heat. De-seed the bell peppers and chop into small pieces. Cut tomato up into 1" cubes (don't bother peeling tomatoes). Wash and cut up the cilantro. [Husk corn and rinse, set aside.]
2. Pour rice into the pan with the white parts of the green onion, 1/2 of the diced garlic and all of the diced jalapeno. Add in the corn oil and cook over medium-high heat until crackling, about 2 minutes; season with lots of cumin (~1 tsp).
3. When the rice has developed a tiny, opaque starch spot in the middle, add in 1/2 c. of chicken broth and stir. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Wait until broth is almost all absorbed-- about 5 minutes-- then add in another 1/2 c. of broth. Stir.
5. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, then add in another 1/2 c. of broth plus the red and green bell pepper bits. Stir, again.
6. Let cook for another 5 to 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Throw in the remaining broth, tomatoes, and cilantro. [Cut the fresh corn straight into the pan.] Stir well.
7. Cook till broth is almost all boiled off and tomatoes are just starting to fall apart. Rice should be soft and creamy, but not mushy. Remove from heat and fold in plenty of monterey jack cheese. Eat warm.

Summer Vegetable Risotto

Recipe for a busy weekday evening. I like corn in my risotto. I'm also fond of scooping this into GF corn tortilla chips*.



Serves 1.5
35 minutes
- medium saucepan
Easy

INGREDIENTS
8 medium okra fruits
1 medium red onion
1 large tomato
1 large ear of sweet corn
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. aborio rice
[1/4 c. white wine -- optional]
1 (14 oz.) can Swanson Natural Goodness chicken -OR- veggie broth -- about 2 cups
1/2 Parmesan cheese

*Tostitos crispy rounds, restaurant style and scoops corn chips are GF

DIRECTIONS
1. Remove stems from the okra and slice into 1/2" pieces. Remove ends of the onion and chop into small pieces. Cut the tomato into 1 inch pieces (don't bother peeling) and remove the corn husk.
2. Place onion into the saucepan with the olive oil and rice. Stir. Cook over medium heat until the rice is mostly translucent (will have a dot of starch in the middle)-- about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add in a splash of white wine (if you desire) and 1/2 c. of chicken broth. Stir until rice starts to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the broth is almost all absorbed.
4. When broth is almost gone from the saucepan, add in another 1/2. c of chicken broth. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Once again, when broth is nearly all absorbed, add in another 1/2 c. of broth AND the okra slices. Stir; let simmer gently. The okra will thicken the rice, watch to make sure things don't stick and burn.
6. Cook for another 5 minutes, add in the remaining 1/2 c. of broth. Throw in the tomato pieces and cut the fresh corn straight from the cob into the saucepan. Cook until rice is nice and creamy. The corn should also be crisp-tender and tomato nearly broken down. If the rice needs an additional 3-4 minutes after broth boils off, add in a splash of water.
7. When rice reaches desired creamy texture, remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve warm. Suggestion: Eat with corn tortilla chips.

Spicy Bok Choy and Broccoli Stir-Fry

More bok choy. It's really good with a spicy kick. I really liked the green onion taste in this dish. Makes a nice rice bowl.



Serves 2
30 minutes
- wok or large saucepan with deep sides
Easy

INGREDIENTS
1 large head broccoli
1 large red bell pepper
5 cloves garlic
1 to 1.5 inch piece fresh ginger
3 green onions, white and green parts separated
4 heads baby bok choy
1 + 1 Tbsp high heat oil -- I use peanut oil
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or adjust amount to suit your spiciness level)

about 2 cups cooked rice
[pan-fried firm tofu-- optional]

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash and cut the broccoli into large bite-sized pieces; leave some of the stem intact. Wash and slice the red bell pepper into long, thin strips. Peel and cut the ends off of the garlic (smash the cloves with a meat mallet for easy de-peeling/cutting). Cut the paper-y skin off of the fresh ginger root. Finely dice both the garlic and ginger. Separate the white and green parts of the green onion. Finely slice the white parts of the green onion, then dice. Collect the minced garlic, ginger and white green onion parts into a large pile. Leave the green leaves of the green onion as long 3 inch pieces. Wash and cut the tough ends off of the bok choy leaves; slice leaves into 1 inch long pieces. Likewise, separate the light green bok choy stalks from the dark green leaves.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp. peanut oil over medium-high heat in the wok. Add in half of the garlic, ginger and diced white green onion pieces. Let the oil and spices saute for a minute.
3. When the oil is aromatic, add in the broccoli pieces. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add in the red bell pepper pieces. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Add in the remaining 1 Tbsp. peanut oil, minced garlic, ginger and white green onion. Also throw in the light green parts of the bok choy. Shake in some cayenne pepper; this stuff is hot, so be sure to taste the dish and adjust amount to desired spiciness. Stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Make sure to stir often, or else things will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
5. Throw in the green leafy parts of the bok choy. Mix well. Stir-fry for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the green parts are wilted and the broccoli and light green bok choy stalks are crisp-tender.
6. At the very end, add in the long green green onion pieces. Stir to heat through. Serve alone, or tossed with spiced tofu or over cooked white rice (this will help reduce the dish's spiciness).

Zucchini and Kidney Bean Cheesy Rice Bowl

Definitely made in one small pan with minimum kitchen supplies. Very celiac travel-friendly. The jalapeño bite and zucchini pairs well.



Serves 1.5
25 minutes
- small/medium saucepan
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
1 large zucchini
1/2 c. long grain white rice
Half of a 15 oz. can kidney beans*
Shake of onion powder
1/2 c. cheddar and pepper jack shredded cheese *; you want spicy jalapeno cheese!

*Bush beans and S&W beans are GF, Kraft cheese is GF and their shredded cheese is basically lactose free!!

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash and remove ends from the zucchini;cut it into 1/2" slices.
2. Cook rice in the medium saucepan with 3/4 c. water for 15 minutes over high heat (Once it begins boiling, reduce heat to medium, but don't 'reset' the time).
3. At the 15 minute mark, add in the zucchini slices. Simmer everything for another 3 to 5 minutes., stirring occasionally. By the end of 20 minutes, you want all of the excess water to be almost gone.
4. Add in onion powder and half a can of kidney beans. Mix to heat through.
5. Remove from heat and pour in cheese. Mix to evenly melt the cheese and coat the beans and zucchini.

Sticky Rice with Bok Choy

A simple, refreshing dish to make on a busy day. Good as a light side dish, or as a veggie main dish for one. Really easy to make.



Serves 1-2
35 minutes
- large saucepan or pot
Quick & Simple

INGREDIENTS
5 cloves fresh garlic
1 inch piece fresh ginger
1 large carrot
1 large white onion
2 to 3 heads baby bok choy
3/4 c. dry rice-- use sushi rice or jasmine rice
[dash of GF soy sauce; optional, I liked the taste of the veggies and ginger]

DIRECTIONS
1. Peel ginger and finely dice. Remove flakey, outer skin from the ginger to reveal the yellow root. Finely dice the ginger. Peel the carrot and cut into oblique pieces (as if you were cutting circular pieces, but do it at an angle). Slice each carrot oval into thirds to create matchsticks. Peel and chop the onion. Separate the individual leaves from the bok choy 'stalk'. Keep both the green and white parts intact, but you can cut off the tough white part at the very bottom. Wash the leaves well.
2. Place rice into a large saucepan or pot cover with about 1/2 inch of water. Bring rice to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer for around 5 minutes.
3. Add in the diced garlic and giner. Stir well and simmer another 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add in the carrot matchsticks. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, adding more water in if necessary (like if the rice starts sticking to the bottom of the pan).
5. Add the whole bok choy leaves and the chopped onion to the pot. Cook until green part of bok choy leaves are wilted and white parts are crips-tender (shouldn't take longer than 5 minutes). Rice should be a little overcooked-- but nice and sticky. Add some salt, or a dash of soy sauce, if you so wish.

Rich Asparagus Risotto

Asparagus is in season! Big bundles of fresh, vibrant green stalks. I suggest you make this... it was the absolute creamiest version or risotto I've had yet (richer than the version I posted a year ago). The blending part makes this more involved than usual, but it's well worth it. I followed the recipe almost exactly from here, but I'll re-write it below with the slight changes I made. I served this alongside Mexican Chicken Rolls (recipe coming soon).



Serves 4-5 (as a side dish)
50 minutes
- large saucepan with deep sides
- blender or food processor
Involved

INGREDIENTS
1 big bunch of asparagus (about 20 stalks)
1 large red onion
6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. + 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 c. dry Aborio rice*
1/4 c. white cooking wine*
2 (15 oz.) cans Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken broth (or about ~4 cups of other GF broth)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese*
salt and pepper to taste

*Lundberg has some good Aborio rice that is for sure GF, Holland House cooking wine is GF, Kraft Parm. cheese is GF (and low in lactose!!)

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash asparagus and onion. Break off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus stalks (bend them with your hands until they naturally break-- you will loose about 2 inches, but that's okay). Cut the asparagus into pieces about 1.5 inches long; separate the asparagus tips from the stalk pieces. Slice the ends off the red onion, discard outer layers and chop into small pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and finely dice.
2. Place roughly half of the cut asparagus pieces into the large saucepan. Don't use the tips, they will remain whole and be cooked later. Add water until the pieces are barely covered. Boil asparagus until tender, around 8 minutes.
3. Scoop the cooked asparagus pieces out of the saucepan and place into a waiting blender or food processor with a little bit of the cooking water. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place aside. [If you don't have a blender, try mushing the soft asparagus well with a fork.]
4. Rinse out the large saucepan and pat dry. Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in the saucepan over medium heat; mix in the olive oil. Add the diced red onion and garlic when oils are hot. Saute onion and garlic for about 2 minutes.
5. Add in dry rice, stirring well. Continue to saute rice, onion and garlic until the rice becomes partially translucent (about 3 minutes; can see a dot of white in the middle of each grain) and onion and garlic are slightly golden tan. Stir frequently as to not burn the rice.
6. Pour in a splash of white wine and stir vigorously while the alcohol evaporates. Now add chicken stock (or veggie broth) 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well with each addition. Let the rice soak up the broth before adding in another 1/2 cup. You should be adding broth periodically for about 15 minutes. Make sure you stirring occasionally (you don't have to be there continuously). At the 15 minute mark, you should have gone through 1.5 cans (about 3 cups) of broth.
7. Now add in the reserved asparagus tips and stalks. Stir well to incorporate. Taste the rice and asparagus as they continue to cook and soak up broth (still adding stock as necessary). It should take about 5 to 8 minutes for the asparagus to become slightly tender and the rice to be chewy.
8. When the asparagus and rice is nearly done, spoon in the blended, cooked asparagus puree and all the remaining broth. Mix well for another minute or two, until the rice is no longer soupy, but nice and creamy.
9. Remove from the stove and stir in 1 Tbsp. butter and the Parm. cheese. Stir to incorporate. The rice should be rich and creamy (almost sticky), with bits of asparagus and a hint of cheese. Serve hot alongside meat of choice.

Asparagus Fried Rice

More fried rice, this one with an Italian twist; not Asian. A nice change from my normal egg-and-soy-sauce fried rice. I think refrigerating the pre-steamed rice overnight helped make this super not soggy. Very easy.



Serves 1-2
25 minutes
-large saucepan
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups pre-cooked long grain white rice (I used a rice-cooker and placed the rice in the fridge to chill)
10 asparagus stalks
1/4 c. water
1/2 of a large red onion
1 large red bell pepper
1 + 1 Tbsp olive oil
Oregano and basil.

DIRECTIONS
0. Precook the white rice in another pot (or rice cooker), use a little less water than normal. Place cooked rice into the fridge to chill (overnight works best, but a few hours is fine).
1. Break off tough bottoms of each asparagus stalk, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Place cut asparagus into large saucepan. Add in 1/4 cup water (just enough to wet the asparagus pieces). Bring asparagus to a boil for 5 minutes (start-up included).
3. Peel and coarsely dice the red onion. Rinse and deseed the red bell pepper, then cut into small-ish 1/2 inch squares.
4. Once the water in the saucepan has diminished significantly (around the 5 minute mark), add the onion and red bell pepper to the asparagus. Stir and reduce the heat to medium-high.
5. Let the remaining water boil off completely, then add in 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Stir. Sprinkle generously with dried oregano and basil leaves, to taste. [Use fresh leaves if you have them!].
6. Saute the asparagus, bell pepper and onion for 5 more minutes, browning the veggies.
7. Once they are nice and browned, add in the chilled, cooked white rice. Break up any rice clumps and add in another Tbsp. of olive oil. Stir-fry the rice (with veggies) for an additional 3-5 minutes, tanning it, too.
Serve warm.

Autumn Fried Rice

It's finally starting to feel like fall around here. I keep waiting for it to drop below 40 degrees during the day, then I remember I am no longer in Illinois...
With the sweet butternut squash and nutty zucchini, this just tastes like autumn. The garbanzo beans were a last minute addition and I must say they're a keeper. Makes alot... be sure to bust out your trusty wok.



Serves 4
25 (rice) + 40 minutes
-large, sharp cutting knife
-stainless steel wok
Easy

INGREDIENTS
2 cups pre-cooked brown rice (slightly undercooked)

1/2 of a large butternut squash
1 large stripped zucchini (I don't know the name.. it's a green zucchini squash with prominent ridges and a 'marbled' greenish-white coloring.. check out the picture; I found mine at the farmer's market)
1 medium white onion
5 cloves garlic
2 + 1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
sea salt
1/2 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes (-or- a small bundle of fresh parsley, chopped)
1 (14 oz.) can garbanzo beans*
1 to 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
*S&W Fine foods garbanzo beans are GF; Bush's and DelMonte garbanzo beans should also be GF.

DIRECTIONS
0. Prepare brown rice as directed on package to make 2 cups cooked rice. However, use slightly less water and shave about 5 minutes off of the regular cooking time. This will help the rice to not become mushy when stir-fried. Place rice aside once done (in the fridge is best).
1. Wash off the butternut squash. I found my squash very very hard to cut (I didn't even try peeling with a normal peeler). Be sure to use a large, sharp knife and cut the squash in half right above the 'bowl' part (into two smaller 'cylinders'); place the top into the fridge for another day. 2. Scoop out the seeds and innards. Carefully slice off the outer skin while the vegetable is sitting upright like a bowl. Once the squash is crudely 'peeled' and gutted, cut squash into 1 inch cubes. Set cubes aside.
3. Wash and cut the striped, ridged zucchini squash into 1/2 inch slices. Half or quarter each slice. Place the zucchini with the butternut pieces. Coarsely cut up the white onion into about 1/2 inch squares. Set onion apart from the squash/zucchini. Peel and dice up the garlic cloves. Place garlic cloves directly into you seasoned wok.
4. Add 2 Tbsp. peanut oil to the wok. Stir the garlic cloves and begin cooking over medium-high heat. Once the garlic pieces begin to tan (should take between 3 to 5 minutes), add in the zucchini and butternut pieces. Stir to mix well. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add in the white onion pieces. Stir well. Also season generously with white pepper, sea salt, thyme leaves and parsley. Stir well, again. Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the butternut squash/zucchini pieces are tender (you might need a bit more time for the squash and zucchini). Toss and stir well while cooking. Add in a little more oil if you think it's necessary to keep things from sticking and burning.
6. Open and drain a can of garbanzo beans, add to contents of the wok. Stir well and heat through, an additional 3 minutes.
7. Once heated, spoon in the prepared rice. Pour an additional 1 Tbsp. peanut oil over the rice, then stir well, breaking up any rice clumps and incorporating it thoroughly with the veggies. Heat the rice through, slightly browning (stir-frying) the grains-- for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Don't let the rice burn, though, keep stirring.
8. When rice is golden and steamy, remove from the heat and splash with a little red wine vinegar (taste it to see how much you want.. it's good with the nutty zucchini and garbanzo beans). Serve warm.

Italian Asparagus Rice Bowl

Asparagus with crisp red bell pepper, sauteed with chicken and tossed with toasted white rice. This actually made quite a bit. I'll stuff this in rice tortillas for lunch tomorrow.



Serves 2
20 (for rice) + 35 minutes
-large saucepan
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
1 cup pre-cooked long grain white rice

10 to 15 asparagus stalks? spears?
1 small to medium red bell pepper
1 medium white onion
6 cloves garlic
1 to 2 chicken thighs (or breasts-- but I think the darker meat is better with the beans)
1 + 1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 (14 oz.?) can dark red kidney beans*
salt and pepper to taste
*Bush's kidney beans are GF; so are S&F fine foods kidney beans.

DIRECTIONS
0. Cook up enough white rice to make 1 cup prepared rice. Decrease the cooking time by about 2 minutes to avoid the rice getting soft in the final dish. Set rice aside.
1. Remove the tough end of each asparagus stalk. Cut up the asparagus into 2 inch long pieces. Set asparagus aside.
2. Wash and remove the seeds and core of the red bell pepper. Slice into thin strips, then half (the pepper strips should be about the same length as the asparagus pieces). Coarsely cut up the white onion-- these pieces don't have to be uniform or small. Finely dice up the peeled garlic.
3. Wash off the chicken thighs. Cut or tear the meat into bite-sized pieces. Place chicken into large saucepan. Add a tsp. of water (just a very little bit). Begin cooking the chicken over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until all the water boils off (should happen under 5 minutes).
4. Once water is gone, before the chicken starts to stick to the pan, add in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. Mix to coat. Saute chicken for an additional 2-3 minutes, turning frequently. The pieces should be about fully cooked.
5. Add in the asparagus pieces to the saucepan (might spit a little, be careful). Turn the heat down to medium. Mix. Cook asparagus pieces for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so that neither the asparagus or chicken start to brown too much on one side.
6. Add in the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the saucepan. Season liberally with basil, oregano, black pepper and sea salt. Stir. Cook over medium heat for an additional 5 minutes, on until the onion becomes translucent.
7. Open the can of dark red kidney beans. Drain and wash the beans thoroughly. Once the bell pepper and asparagus pieces are tender (not soggy!), add in the kidney beans. Stir well, then add in the prepared, cooked white rice. Add in the other 1 Tbsp. olive oil (and more spices, as you see fit). Stir well, making sure everything is mixed.
8. Heat rice, beans and veggies for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning the rice (it should be browned a little, though). Turn down the heat to medium-low if the rice is sticking too badly instead of adding any more oil. Heat until the beans are warm and the rice is toasted. Serve warm by itself or wrap inside a big rice tortilla.

Dirty Rice with Turkey Sausage

[It's difficult being a graduate student. I don't think you'll see anything besides 'quick and simple' on here for awhile.
Anyone near Palo Alto, CA know where I can find some GF cereal and rice tortillas?]

Rice with black beans and turkey sausage. I steamed the rice up beforehand in my new microwave rice cooker. (So easy!) The turkey really brings a new flavor; I normally use beef sausage, but I think this compliments the beans much better.... not so greasy and overpowering.



Serves 1.5 (2 if used in a wrap or as a chip dip)
15 + 25 minutes (only 25 if you have some pre-cooked rice on hand)
-large saucepan
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
1.5 cups COOKED white long grain rice-- cook up with less water than directed on bag
1/2 c. chopped fresh chives -OR- 1/2 of a large white onion
1/2 of a Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa Turkey Sausage link (the big U shaped sausage)
1 tsp. peanut oil
1 can black beans*
1 tsp. garlic powder
sea salt and white pepper
* S&F black beans are GF

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook up enough white rice to yield about 1.5 cups. Follow directions on package, EXCEPT, use 1/8th cup less water than instructed AND cut ~2 minutes off the cooking time. This will leave the rice nice and crisp.
2. While rice is cooking, wash and coarsely chop up the white onion. Set chopped onion besides range. Wait until the rice is done and stirred to start next step.
3. Cut the turkey sausage up into 1/2 inch slices. Quarter each slice and place in large saucepan. Begin cooking meat over medium-high heat. Saute for about 5 minutes, then add in white onions. Turkey should begin to brown a little.
4. Cook onions for an additional 3 minutes. Add in a little peanut oil at this point if turkey sausage is not providing enough grease. Spoon cooked rice in saucepan. Stir well to mix.
5. Saute rice with sausage and onions for another 3 to 5 minutes. Rice should darken and soften a little. Add in more oil if necessary to brown rice. Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder, white pepper and some sea salt.
6. Turn heat down to medium. Open and drain a can of black beans. Rinse beans off well, then stir them into the turkey-rice mixture. Heat beans through-- shouldn't take more than 2-3 minutes. Serve hot alongside your favorite rice chips.

Creamy Chicken Ole

This dish first came into existence way back in August, while I was visiting Denver. The markets there had TONS of fresh chilies to choose from, so I made up a creamy, spicy chicken dish. Really, this can be used as a dip for chips or burrito filling or a spread for the ever-useful ricecake. Make sure to really shred the chicken, you don't want huge chunks of meat in your dip.



Serves 3
35 minutes
-large saucepan
Quick and easy

INGREDIENTS
1 to 2 chicken breasts
1 medium white onion
1/2 of a medium red bell pepper
1 to 2 favorite chilies.. I used jalapeños the second time around
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 ears of fresh sweet corn (or a can of sweet yellow corn)
4 to 5 medium-small fresh tomatoes, unpeeled
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 to 3 heaping tbsp. favorite cream cheese [-or- sour cream] -- I used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
[1/8 cup mozzarella or cheese, optional]

DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse chicken breasts off and place in large saucepan. Fill saucepan with enough water to cover the breasts. Begin cooking the chicken over high heat.
2. While chicken is beginning to boil, cut up veggies: coarsely chop up white onion. Cut the red bell pepper into 1/2 inch squares. Slice open the chilies and remove the seeds. Finely dice up the de-seeded chilies. Place cut veggies aside.
3. Once chicken has boiled for 10 minutes, temporarily remove breasts from the saucepan (leave the water). Shred the chicken -or- cut into small 1/4th inch cubes, then place back into the pan.
4. Measure out 3/4 cup rice and pour into the saucepan along with the shredded chicken/water. If you don't have enough leftover water already in the dish to cover the rice by about a half inch, add in a little more water.
5. Bring the rice to a boil over high heat. When the rice has boiled for 5 minutes, add in the chopped veggies. Stir to mix. Turn down the heat to medium and continue simmering the dish.
6. Again, while things are boiling: Shuck and rinse off the fresh corn. Wash off the tomatoes, don't bother peeling. Coarsely cut up the tomatoes.. large pieces are fine, since they will disintegrate when cooked.
7. By this time the veggies and rice should have simmered for an additional 5 minutes. The rice should be pretty tender and not much water should be left (pour out any overly-excess water). Add in the corn (cut it right off the cob and into the pan!) and chopped tomatoes. Mix. Add in the olive oil and garlic powder. Stir well. Continue to simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally to help break down the tomatoes.
8. Now the dish should resemble thick rice soup/casserole. Remove saucepan from the heat. Measure out 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of cream cheese and quickly stir into the hot rice dish. Also add in the white cheese if you desire extra-creamy rice. Serve warm over crackers, ricecakes, inside wraps or as a tex-mex rice bowl.

Ham, Rice and Beans

Another one-pan rice dish. The rice in this turned out slightly overcooked-- the result being a wonderfully mushy ham and bean dinner. If you want distinct rice grains, decrease the rice simmering time. I used Natural Goodness Swanson canned chicken broth to cut down on the salt (the ham is salty enough).



Serves 2 or 3
35 minutes
-large saucepan or pot
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
2 (15 oz.) cans Natural Goodness Swanson Chicken broth
1 c. uncooked long grain white rice
1 medium head of broccoli
1 medium yellow onion
1 c. cubed Hormel Honey ham (the meat I used was not pre-sliced)

1 (14 oz.) can Bush navy beans

DIRECTIONS
1. Pour both cans of chicken broth into the large saucepan or pot. Add in the white rice. Turn heat up to medium-high. While waiting for the broth to boil, tend to the veggies and ham. Keep an eye on the broth, don't let it boil over (you should have about 8 to 10 minutes to chop and cube).
2. Wash and cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Dice the onion into small-ish pieces. Set veggies beside the range.
3. Unwrap your ham chunk. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices, then 'cube' each slice. You should have about a cup of 1/2 inch thick cubes. Place besides range.
4. When broth comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium; keep the broth simmering gently (don't cover with a lid). Add in the ham cubes. Mix, then continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add in the chopped broccoli and onion. Stir, then continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Add in a bit more water if it's getting too dry. However, by the end of 10 minutes, the rice should have absorbed most all of the liquid and the dish should be fairly thick.
6. Open, drain and rinse the navy beans. Gently stir them into the sticky rice dish. Turn down to medium-low. Heat beans through for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure the rice is not burning on the bottom. It's done when the rice is very tender and the broccoli is cooked. Serve warm in a bowl alongside GF bread.

Steak Risotto

Another mirage of veggies-- I was surprised how good this was. It had the distinct texture and flavor of vegetable-beef stew, captured in a creamy rice dish. Simple. Add a single small tomato (diced) at the very end, if you wish.. I didn't have one on hand.



Serves 2
35 minutes
-large saucepan
Quick and simple.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 to 1/2 lb. thick-cut tender beef steak (-OR- lamb), uncooked
1 medium white onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. uncooked Aborio rice
1 (14 oz) can Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken (or veggie) broth
1/2 c. fresh snap peas
1 ear fresh corn, cut off the cob -OR-- 1/2 of a (15 oz) can Del Monte corn
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. white pepper-- black would work, too

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash off steak and place in large saucepan. Cut into 1 inch cubes and begin cooking over medium heat. Brown the meat.. takes ~5 minutes.
2. Quickly, while the meat is heating, coarsely chop up the white onion. When the steak is browned (outside no longer pink), add in the cut white onion. Also mix in the olive oil and Aborio rice. Stir well to coat the rice with oil.
3. Continue cooking the meat and 'tanning' the rice for another 5 minutes; stir frequently.. don't let the rice burn. When the rice forms a white 'dot' in the middle of each grain, it's time to add the broth (the onions should begin to be translucent).
4. Stir in 1/3rd of the broth when rice is ready. Mix well, but let the rice begin to simmer slowly. Continue stirring frequently.. the rice will soak up all the broth (takes another 5 minutes). Once there is no longer any 'liquid' broth in the pan, temporarily turn down the heat and quickly wash and remove the ends from the fresh snap peas.
5. Add in another 1/3rd can of broth along with your prepared snap peas. Return the heat to 'medium'. Simmer the rice/meat/pea mixture for another 5 minutes, or until the broth is soaked up.
6. Add in the remaining broth and fresh (or canned) corn. Sprinkle with sage and white pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, still gently simmering until the broth becomes a thicker sauce ~ 5 minutes. Rice should be tender, but not mushy. Snap peas should be crisp-tender. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Chicken and Egg Pie

Okay, I admit this isn't the most health-friendly dish I've made, but it sure tastes good. Moist chicken casserole topped with crisp, salty potato chips. Simple to assemble and bake-- however, it was sort of a hassle to cook up 3 of the main ingredients beforehand. I'd suggest cooking up the chicken, rice and eggs the day before, or using 'leftover' rice and chicken. Serve hot or cold, it's still yummy.
Adapted from a "Gooseberry Patch" Summer? Cookbook.

Serves 3
45 + 40 minutes
Preheat oven: 375 F
-large pot for chicken/egg/rice
-9" round cake pan -OR- 8 x 8 square pan
-large-holed grater
-peeler
Easy

INGREDIENTS
2 large hardboiled eggs
1/2 c. cooked long grain white rice
1 to 2 large pre-cooked chicken breast (-OR- chicken thighs)

1 medium red potato, grated
2 celery stalks
2 carrots, peeled
1 medium white onion

1/2 of a (14 oz) can Swanson Natural Goodness chicken broth (-OR- reserve 1 cup of the liquid used to cook up the chicken; seasoned with onion, garlic and parsley)
1/2 c. GF mayonnaise*
[Juice of 1 small lemon-- optional]
1 c. crushed potato chips*
*Both Kraft and Hellman's mayo is GF; wavy Lays potato chips are GF

DIRECTIONS
Precooking (day before?-- I used the same large pot for each item to cut down on dirty dishes):
1. Place whole raw eggs carefully into the large pot. Submerge eggs totally in cold water. Add a bit of salt (amount doesn't really matter).
2. Bring the eggs to a rolling boil over high heat. Immediately turn down the heat to medium and continue simmering eggs for 10 minutes. Carefully pour out hot water, and replace with cold tap water. Keep rinsing (soaking?) hard-boiled eggs in cold water until they are cool enough to touch, bag, and place in the fridge.
3. Cook up enough rice to yield 1/2 cup cooked rice in same, rinsed out, pot. Just follow the directions and water amount directly from the package (should be something like 1/2 c. uncooked rice and 1/3 c. water). Stir cooked rice and store in the fridge.
4. Rinse out your handy pot. Place washed raw chicken breasts into the pot and cover with water. Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling chicken for 15 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle.
5. Pour out water **you MAY WANT TO KEEP 1 cup of this broth for the dish instead of using the canned broth. If that's the case, season broth with onion powder, garlic powder and parsley,
then refrigerate**. Cut boiled chicken into bite-sized pieces; store in the fridge.
To assemble and cook:
-Preheat oven to 375 F-
6. Scrub red potato; don't bother peeling it. Coarsely grate potato over a bowl of cold water; let it soak. Slice washed celery stalks into smallish 1/4th inch pieces. Peel carrots and likewise slice into smallish pieces. Chop up white onion. Set all aside.
7. Take out round or square baking pan. Pour 1/2 of the canned chicken broth into the pan (-OR- 1 cup 'homemade' broth). Measure out 1/2 cup of GF mayonnaise and drop into the broth; stir well till lumps disappear.
8. Drain grated red potato and place all veggies (potato, chopped celery, carrot and onion) into the 9" cake pan along with the chicken broth/mayo. Add in lemon juice if you desire. Mix well.
9. Remove the cooked eggs, chicken pieces and rice from the fridge. Peel the hardboiled eggs and cut into small pieces (yolk and all). Place chopped egg, chicken pieces and rice into the baking pan-- mix well.
10. Crush up several , ~1 cup crushed, handfuls of potato chips (I used thicker Wavy Lays). Top chicken-egg mixture with crushed chip pieces. Place casserole into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 40 minutes-- the chips should be golden-brown and sauce bubbling when done. Serve hot or chill in the fridge (flavor is enhanced after chilling, but chips loose all of their 'crunch'). Enjoy for lunch.

Thai Fried Rice

I feel cheeky for posting another fried rice recipe, since I already have one here. I've been trying to capture more of an Asian taste with my fried rice and I think I've found the missing ingredient: fish sauce. A few drops of Thai Kitchen's Fish Sauce (GF) and a squeeze of fresh lime juice really makes this fried rice tasty. I'll also describe a better way to soften the white rice so you can cook it all on the same day. Plus, this is cooked over HIGH heat, so the veggies and rice are 'crispier'.
So.. new and improved Fried Rice:




Serves 2
20 + 15 minutes
-large pot (without lid) for rice
-large saucepan or wok-- needs to be non-stick/well seasoned for HIGH heat
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
Rice:
3/4 c. uncooked white long grain rice
water

1 + 2 tbsp. peanut oil (-or- sesame oil).. HIGH heat oil

8 baby carrots, pre-peeled (-or 2- 'regular' carrots)
1/2 of a medium zucchini
1/2 of a medium yellow zucchini
1 medium white onion
1 cup sugar snap peas (-or- snow peas)
1 egg
1 tbsp. garlic powder
juice of one small lime
1 tsp. Thai Kitchen Fish sauce
2 tsp. soy sauce*
*LaChoy soy sauce is GF; I used Eden Organic Tamari Soy Sauce

DIRECTIONS
Rice:
1. Pour uncooked rice into a large pot. Add enough water into the pot such that it rises about 1/2 inch above the rice. Begin cooking rice over high heat. Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn heat down to medium-low, but continue to simmer-- lid off (we want this rice to be dry and undercooked). Sir occasionally, watching the water level.
2. When water completely boils off (should take around 10 to 15 minutes, once you turn the heat down), quickly remove pot from heat and stir well. Rice should be slightly tender, but not at all mushy. Add in 1 tbsp. of peanut oil.. this keeps the grains from clumping (important!). Mix well and place rice aside to cool.
Rest:
3. Wash carrots (peel if need be) and carefully cut into 2 inch long matchsticks. Place carrots aside. Cut zucchini and yellow zucchini into 1/2 inch slices; half each slice. Coarsely chop up white onion. Bunch zucchini and onion together besides range (but not with the carrots). Wash snap peas and remove ends of the pods. Place peas alone beside the range.
-Also make sure the lime, fish sauce and soy sauce are right next to the range.-
4. Heat 2 tbsp. oil up into large saucepan or wok over HIGH heat-- must make sure veggies are cut and dried, or else things will burn!! Wait a minute for the oil to heat up (almost to the point of smoking), then throw in the carrot-- be careful, oil might splatter/spit. Stir carrot around in wok for a 1 minute.
5. Add in both zucchini and yellow zucchini. Keep stirring veggies around constantly for another minute. Add in the onion. Cook for an additional 1 minute, then add in the snap peas. Stir the entire combination for an additional 2-3 minutes... carefully taste a snap pea and zucchini to make sure they are crisp-tender.
6. Push veggies aside, making room, and break egg over the wok. Quickly scramble the egg and cook for a 1 minute. Stir cooked egg around till well mixed with the veggies.
7. Turn heat down to medium-high. Season all generously with garlic powder. Add in the oiled rice-- keep stirring! Squeeze lime over rice and veggies. Dash with fish sauce and sprinkle with soy sauce. Stir-fry rice until it's tan and tender (no more than 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat; serve warm.

Black-Eyed Peas and Brown Rice

Mild rice dish, full of black-eyed peas and veggies with a hint of spicy cheese sauce. These was wonderful rolled up in a tortilla and eaten as a wrap. I really like the squash/black-eyed peas combination.
Loosely adapted from a Williams-Sonoma recipe.



Serves 2 (4 in a wrap)
35 minutes
-peeler
-large saucepan
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. uncooked long grain brown rice
1 (14 oz) can Swanson Natural Goodness chicken broth -OR- veggie broth
3/4 c. frozen uncooked black-eyed peas,* thawed
1/2 of a medium spaghetti squash (just the neck part will do)
2-3 cloves garlic
2 celery stalks
1/2 of a medium red bell pepper
1 medium white onion
Dash of red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
*Any brand should work.. be sure to wash these well, though.

DIRECTIONS
-Defrost, rinse and drain black-eyed peas.-
1. Measure out uncooked brown rice and pour into a large saucepan along with the full can of broth. Begin cooking over high heat. Once broth comes to a rapid boil, add in defrosted black-eyed peas; stir and reduce heat to medium-high.
2. While rice and peas are simmering, cut up veggies. Peel the neck of the spaghetti squash and cut slices into 1 inch cubes-- should have about 3/4th cup of cubed squash. Set squash aside near range. Peel and dice the garlic. Cut the celery into thin slices. Coarsely cup bell pepper into 1/4th inch squares. Coarsely cut up the white onion.
3. By this time, the rice and peas should have cooked for about 5 minutes. Add in the cubed spaghetti squash and simmer for another 5 minutes. Also throw in the diced garlic and season with spicy red pepper flakes.
4. Carefully add in the rest of the veggies: celery, bell pepper, and onion. Stir well; cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes (25 to 30 minutes total simmering for peas and rice). Veggies are done when both black-eyed peas and black rice are tender.
5. Remove from heat. White still hot, push veggies and rice to the side and tilt saucepan slightly to pool the remaining broth (add in 1 to 2 tbsp. of water -or milk- if low on liquid). Sprinkle mozzarella cheese into the pooled broth and stir well-- cheese should promptly melt and form a thick sauce. Mix well to coat rice and veggies with sauce. If not spicy enough, add in more Cayenne pepper. Serve warm as a rice bowl or rolled up in a GF wrap along with lettuce shreds and more cheese.

Mandarin Orange Chicken

Slightly sweet, but good. The lemon and Cayenne pepper flakes add a mild tang to this dish. Mild and delicate fruit flavor tinged with lemon.




Serves 2
30 minutes
-large saucepan
-small pot for rice
Easy

INGREDIENTS
1 cup cooked white long-grain rice

1 tsp. diced ginger

3 garlic cloves

1 to 2 chicken breasts

¼ c. sorghum flour
1 tbsp. sesame -or- peanut oil
¾ c. mandarin orange light syrup (buy a ~12 oz. can of mandarin oranges and reserve liquid)
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. honey
Juice of 1 medium lemon
Dash of red pepper flakes
1 medium head of broccoli
1 medium white onion
½ c. mandarin oranges

DIRECTIONS
-Start cooking white rice as indicated on the package in a small pot.-
1. Wash, peel and finely dice up the fresh ginger and garlic. Place small pieces into the large saucepan.
2. Rinse off chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place into saucepan with garlic and ginger. Shake sorghum (or other GF flour) over cut chicken chunks. Toss pieces in pan until the moist meat is fully coated with flour. Drizzle preferred Asian oil over the battered chicken. Gently mix.
3. Cook chicken and garlic-ginger over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes, or until chicken coating starts to toast and garlic-ginger sizzles in the oil.
4. Turn the heat down to medium. Open up can of mandarin oranges.. a 12 oz can will do... and collect about 3/4 c. mandarin orange juice. Pour juice into saucepan with chicken. Add soy sauce, honey and the juice of 1 fresh lemon. Shake red pepper flakes over the chicken. Mix well. 5. Cut up broccoli into bit-sized chunks. Coarsely chop up white onion. Add both veggies to the simmering saucepan.
6. Cook chicken, sauce and veggies for 10 minutes, uncovered. When the sauce thickens, taste to see if you want more pepper, then remove from the heat.
7. Once the sauce is no longer boiling, gently stir in the mandarin oranges; be careful not to break up the fruit too badly. Serve warm over freshly steamed white rice.

Mongolian Beef

I had a request to attempt something Asian, and this is the result. Tangy, sweet and spicy... wonderful over long grain white rice. I used fresh ginger and real sesame oil to really make this taste authentic. Serve this with Vegetable Fried Rice.




Serves 2
50 minutes
-large wok
-large saucepan with deep sides
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger (actually easy to get a small ginger root)
3-5 large garlic cloves
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Swanson beef broth (about 1/2 of a can-- freeze the rest in a plastic container for another day)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Meat and Veggies:
1 medium red pepper
1/2 cup fresh snow peas
5 green onions
1 lb. steak, your choice of cut
cornstarch, to cover meat ~1/8 c.
2 tbsp. sesame oil

3/4 c. uncooked white long grain rice

DIRECTIONS
Sauce:
1. Pour sesame oil into saucepan. Peel both the ginger and the garlic; remove ginger's outer 'paper-ish' covering with your knife. Mince the ginger and garlic and place pieces into the sesame oil.
2. Heat sesame oil over medium heat, letting the garlic and ginger flavors infuse into the oil. Remove the saucepan from heat just when the garlic starts turning tan-- about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Carefully pour in the soy sauce, it may spit a little. Stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves. Add in the beef broth; hold on to the remaining broth, since you may need to add more liquid later.
4. Place the saucepan back over the medium heat. Add in a dash of red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy). Continue cooking the sauce, while it boils, for another 10 minutes. At this time it won't be very thick. Set sauce aside while you focus on the meat/veggies.
--At this time, you might want to start cooking up the white rice--
Meat and Veggies:
5. Coarsely cut up the red bell pepper, into slices, then 1.5 inch pieces. Remove ends from the snow peas and set aside with the red bell pepper. Chop up the green onions, using both the green stems and the white bulb. Leave the green onion pieces large, too. Set all veggies aside.
6. Wash meat off and cut into 1 to 2 inch slices (bite-sized pieces). Place dry pieces of meat into the large wok (NOT the sauce, yet). Sprinkle meat with cornstarch and toss/stir to coat. Pour 2 tbsp. of oil over the coated beef. Mix again.
7. Cook beef over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until browned. Add in the red bell pepper pieces and the snow peas (NO green onions, yet). Stir-fry the beef and veggies for another 5 minutes (10 minutes total for the beef), adding more oil if needed.
Combine:
8. Remove the beef and veggies and place into the large saucepan, with the sauce. Stir well. Heat up the entire dish (saucepan) over high heat. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring well, while the sauce boils and thickens. Add in the green onions at the last minute, heating through.
9. Spoon hot beef + sauce over cooked white rice. Serve hot, with another Asian side-dish.

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Hearty and spicy with so little effort. I couldn't get my hands on for-sure GF Italian sausage, so I used Hillshire Farm's Polska Kielbasa sausage and loaded this up with black pepper. Don't half it and you'll have enough leftovers for several lunches (tortilla bean wrap, anyone?) I loved this over white rice, but brown would probably work well, too.
From Pillsbury's Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook.



Serves 4
30 minutes
-large large saucepan with deep sides, or pot
-large pot for rice
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Bean Sauce
1/2 of a package Hillshire Farms Sausage (Smoked or Polska Kielbasa)
1 large white onion
1 medium green bell pepper
1 medium yellow bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 (15.5 oz) cans of red beans*
1 (8 0z) can tomato sauce*
1-2 tbsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. dried (or minced fresh) oregano leaves

1 cup uncooked white or brown rice
*Bush's red beans are GF; Hunt's tomato sauce is GF

DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse off sausage then cut into 1/2 inch slices; half each slice. Place into large large saucepan.
2. Chop onion into coarse pieces and add to the sausage. Let the sausage/onion mixture sit for a couple minutes while you cut the rest of the veggies.
3. Wash and core the bell peppers. Coarsely slice, then cut up each pepper. Also rinse off and mince the garlic. Set veggies aside near range.
4. Add 1 cup rice to another pot and begin cooking as directed. This should all come out at once.
5. Begin cooking sausage and onions over medium heat. Add in 1 tbsp. of black pepper. Cook until sausage is heated through and onions are just translucent, around 5 minutes.
6. To the sausage/onion mixture, pour in the beans, tomato sauce and rest of veggies (green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, garlic). Season with thyme and oregano.
7. Turn down heat to medium-low and continue cooking beans/veggies/sausage uncovered for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want some liquid left in the saucepan, so don't let the beans simmer too rapidly. Add a little water as needed.
8. When rice is ready, sample the beans again. Sprinkle saucepan with more black pepper if not spicy enough. Remove beans from heat and serve in bowls over the rice. Easily frozen or doubled.

Asparagus Risotto

Cheesy, creamy, with generous amounts of fresh plump asparagus slices. The pink-ish bits are not ham, but instead sweet red onion, which added enough flavor to not need spices. I used Galaxy Nutritional Foods mozzarella rice shreds to thicken the sauce and it worked out great. Not sure how 'regular' dairy mozzarella would behave (clump?) so I would suggest grated Parmesan.



Serves 2
35 minutes
-large saucepan with tall sides
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
1 medium red onion
6-8 fresh asparagus stalks
1/2 c. Aborio rice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 14 oz can of Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken Broth (or GF vegetable broth)
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese -OR- Galaxy Nutritional Foods mozzarella rice shreds.. lactose free

DIRECTIONS
1. Chop up red onion into small-ish pieces (not diced). Also wash and slice asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Place onion into large saucepan, but set asparagus pieces aside next to range.
2. Add Aborio rice in with onion, then pour olive oil over rice/onion and mix well. Turn on heat to medium-high and begin cooking rice, stirring constantly. Cook rice and onion for 1-2 minutes, just until the rice is mostly translucent with a spot of white still in each grain (might begin to toast a little).
3. Add a fourth of the broth to the saucepan over the rice; turn the heat down to medium. Continue stirring broth for about 2 minutes, or until the rice soaks up most of the liquid.
4. Add the sliced asparagus and more broth to the saucepan; use enough broth so that the asparagus is covered. Let the rice/asparagus/broth bubble and cook, stirring occasionally. Add in a little more broth when necessary, but save a good 1/4th cup for the end. The asparagus will need to cook for around 10 minutes. Taste to make sure the asparagus and rice are tender.
5. On your last addition or broth, quickly pour in the cheese and stir well-- the broth should begin to thicken. Break up any cheese clumps and continue stirring constantly, over the heat, until the broth is mostly absorbed and cheese has melted.
6. Remove from burner and let cook for 2 minutes, while the cheese sauce thickens a little more. Serve warm.