rice

Quick & Easy Skillet Chicken Jambalaya – 15 minute meal

May 13, 2015 by Tiffany King 8 Comments

We love jambalaya, but it takes a while if you bake it in the oven. I’ve tried making it in the slow cooker, but that didn’t turn out very well.

Then I realized that it could be made in a skillet, using a similar method that I use for fried rice. The rice cooks separately, in chicken broth instead of water. Once it’s added to the ingredients in the skillet, it all comes together similar to a traditional jambalaya.

The bonus, of course, is that it’s much faster to make on the stove top. If you use jasmine rice, it will only take 15 minutes for the rice too cook and the whole dish is done in short order. Jasmine is my favorite rice for this reason. With other long grain rices, I’ve found it takes closer to 30 minutes for it to get tender.

Start the rice, then beginning chopping and cooking the other ingredients in the skillet. To keep this in the 15-20 minute range, you’ll also need to use chicken that’s already cooked. I keep rotisserie chicken in the freezer for quick meal prep.

If you want to cook the chicken from raw, you can still have a quick meal by following the instructions on Basic Chicken Skillet. This recipe is a take on that basic recipe.

Here’s what you’ll need for Skillet Chicken Jambalaya: [Read more…] about Quick & Easy Skillet Chicken Jambalaya – 15 minute meal

7 Ways to Use Leftover Rice

October 9, 2014 by Tiffany King 4 Comments

Leftover rice is so versatile. It’s one leftover you’ll be glad to have. Here are 7 ideas for using it:

Turn it into Cheesy Rice

One of my favorite lunches growing up was cheesy rice. We would could minute rice and add cheese, but it’s even better if you have long grain white rice or brown rice.

Heat the rice and add any kind of shredded cheese and a generous shake of black pepper.

Make Pizza Rice Casserole

I used instant brown rice in this Pizza Rice Casserole, but you can also use leftover cooked rice. This makes a quick and easy lunch or dinner.

Make Chipotle’s knock-off Cilantro Lime Rice

Reheat the rice, add a splash of lime juice and a handful of chopped cilantro. Serve it with any Mexican dish. Here’s the recipe I wrote on the Savings Lifestyle blog. I used basmati rice, but you can use leftover rice.

Make Freezer Burritos

Vary the filling according to what you have available, but this is a great way to use up leftover rice.

Make Haystacks

Use taco meat or this slow cooker recipe for Sweet Korean Haystacks. Either way is great!

Fry it!

Fried rice is easy and a wonderful way to clear out your fridge. You can use up leftover rice, meats and veggies with this one.

Make a salad

Wild Rice or Brown Rice Salad is fantastic for lunches, picnics or as a side dish.

How do you like to use leftover rice?

Wild Rice (or brown rice) Salad – redeeming leftover rice

October 7, 2014 by Tiffany King 2 Comments

Wild rice salad is a quick and easy way to use leftover wild rice or brown rice.

I completely bombed a meal the other day. Multiple things went wrong, resulting in weird tasting chicken and a lot of leftover wild rice.

With no chicken to go with the rice, I decided to turn it into something else. We had a soccer game the next night, so this worked out great for our sideline picnic.

I adapted this recipe from an old cookbook I have, Country Gourmet Cookbook. This is one of those salads that is great for cleaning out the fridge though. All kinds of raw veggies can be added to the rice.

The dressing is a simple vinaigrette. This can be altered as well. The recipe called for lemon juice, but I decided red wine vinegar would be better. Use any type of vinegar or lemon juice you like or have on hand.

Here’s what I used. Change it up so it suits you.

32 Simple Side Dish Ideas

October 2, 2013 by Tiffany King 3 Comments

There are all kinds of things you can serve as side dishes, but if you’re like me you prefer simple things that don’t require a lot of prep. Unless the main dish practically makes itself, I normally don’t like to spend time on the sides.

With that in mind, here’s a list of 32 simple side dishes that come together quick. A few do require baking/slow cooking time, but the hands on prep is minimal.

Salads

Here are 7 things you can add to your salad to make it more interesting

Fruit

Warm Cinnamon Applesauce with Toasted Marshmallows
Cranberries and Oranges
Ambrosia – so easy and tastes like more than the sum of its parts
Easy Peachy Fruit Salad
Vanilla Fruit Salad

Vegetables

Honey Glazed Carrots in the Slow Cooker
How to Cut Cauliflower in 1 Minutes (so you can steam it or eat it raw)
Mashed Cauliflower
Grilled Zucchini
Parmesan Zucchini and Summer Squash in the Microwave
Roasted Broccoli and Red Pepper
Slow Cooked Apples and Butternut Squash
Winter Squash in the Slow Cooker

Potatoes/Stuffing/Pasta

Easy Pizza Rice Casserole – Take a Real Lunch

August 29, 2013 by Tiffany King 2 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sargento Foods, Inc. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Getting tired of cold sandwiches and canned soup for lunch? Sargento Cheese is encouraging us to take a real lunch. Mid-day meals don’t have to be hurried, grab-whatever-you-can-find affairs. Slow down and plan a real lunch.

This Easy Pizza Rice Casserole uses a few quick ingredients. If you have leftover rice, it’s even quicker. The Italian Sausage and zucchini make for a hearty lunch. The dish gets topped with slices of Sargento provolone cheese. Who can resist a cheese topped casserole?

Pizza Rice Casserole can be made for lunch at home, but it also travels well if you’re sharing at the office. Or if you need to pack it up, use a soup thermos to keep it hot until lunch time. Guaranteed to cause lunch-envy in everyone around you!

Pair this casserole with a green salad tossed with oil and vinegar dressing.

I adapted this recipe from the More with Less Cookbook. I used instant brown rice, to make things quicker. Instant brown rice has all the nutrition of the long-cooking variety, but can be made in 5 or 10 minutes. I also added chopped zucchini and swapped out the ground beef for more flavorful Italian sausage.

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Easy Pizza Rice Casserole

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Ingredients

2 cups instant brown rice
1 3/4 cups water
1 lb. ground Italian Sausage
1 onion diced
1 clove garlic crushed
1 zucchini chopped
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp oregano
16 oz cottage cheese
5 slices Sargento provolone cheese

Instructions

Cook brown rice in water according to package directions.
Brown sausage, onion and garlic in skillet over medium heat until sausage is cooked fully.
Add zucchini to the skillet 5 or 7 minutes before sausage is done.
Drain meat and rinse with hot water to remove extra grease.
Return meat to the skillet.
Stir in tomato sauce and oregano.
Stir cottage cheese into cooked rice.
Pour rice into greased casserole dish.
Top with meat mixture.
Place Sargento cheese slices over top of meat.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until hot.

Sargento Natural Cheese comes in many varieties. My cheese drawer almost always has several types. We especially love the ultra-thin slices.

What’s your favorite kind of real lunch?