Dry Mixes

A couple of years ago I faced a dilema. I had canned a years worth of rice and had it neatly stored in my basement. So what's the dilema? My family hated eating it! Oh sure they loved "Rice-a-Roni" and good old Uncle Ben had mastered the art of flavored rice mixes that you just add water to and poof this delicious garlic roasted chicken rice would appear. How could I compete with that? Then to add insult to injury, my husband brought home Uncle Ben's 2 minute flavored rice. If you haven't heard of them, let me tell you now...they're pretty good! And in just 2 minutes? Well I didn't even want to compete! They soon became a staple purchase on every shopping trip.

Now in the back of my mind this little voice said "Val, why are you buying this stuff when you have all this long grain white rice in your storage?" I would quickly shut it up by telling myself that it would always be there. Surely I would make some here and there, with a stir fry and the occasional meal. I knew that over the next 30 years I would probably use it up.

Then that voice said things like "Do you really think if the rice can sit cooked on a shelf for a year, it is good for you? Maybe there are some preservatives and junk in there? Wouldn't you rather give your family a healthier choice?"

To which I replied..."FINE!"

So I went to Chapters the next day (a couple of years ago) and searched for a book all about rice.

And you know what? They didn't have ANY!!

They had hundreds of specialty cook books....probably thousands and guess what? Not one on rice!

To this day, anytime I visit a bookstore or a place that sells cook books I always take a peek and to my disappointment....nothing! I've even searched on line and NOTHING!!

Don't you think this is CRAZY??????

COME ON! This is a staple food for most of the people in the world!!!! How many countries live off this stuff and no cook book??

As a side note... now that I've shared this with all you talented and resourceful people....please PLEASE let me know if you ever find one. It's become a small obsession!

Sure there are sprinklings of rice recipes in many books....but I'm talking a whole book dedicated to this delicious staple!!!

Now having said all this......I have found a website that has listed a way of making "Rice Mixes"

A rice mix is where you mix dry rice with a bunch of spices and store in your pantry for when you need it. I got really excited....went out and bought all the missing spices I needed and then made 4 different recipes that looked good to me. Then the first night I made one for dinner...I anxiously waited for my families responses......and just as I suspected from my earlier taste tests they hated it. Oh well.....3 more recipes to go. I tried 2 more the next day....hoping that if one was gross they would like the other. Nope....Uncle Ben doesn't like competition and has some sneaky ingredients, that have made my family loyal....Darn you Uncle Ben.

Well it was time to call in the troops! This was a battle I wasn't ready to give up! I invited Carla over and made her the same mixes. I knew the idea of mixes was good but they had to taste good too. If anyone could do it....Carla was the only one I could think of. She tried them too and with just a few suggestions.....Ta Daaaaaa! They tasted great!!!!

Ha Ha it was a mini victory for me!! What a great day it was!! I could finally start using this rice, no longer was the excuse that Uncle Ben's was easier. Auntie Carla is the new chef in town and I like her!

So here is the first of many "rice mix recipes" you will recieve in the next couple of days.

Enjoy!!!

Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix

Ingredients:
3 cups long grain white rice
1/2 cup wild rice
2 TBSP dried parsley flakes

6 TBSP Chicken Soup Base (from In Case Of) A must have!!!
4 tsp. Mrs Dash seasoning
2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. tarragon leaves (optional)
1 tsp. salt
Preparation:
Mix ingredients and store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place. This makes 4 side dish.

To Make
1 cup of mix

3 cups water

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add Rice Mix, cover pan, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

Tzatziki Rice Salad

Mmmmmm if the title lured you in then you must be a tzatziki lover! I was first introduced to this delicious stuff when Opa's came to town. If you go there they put some in the pita and then they put an extra dollop on the pita at the end. You can even get some on your fries. Now I think I just go to Opa's to eat this stuff. I am a little obsessed with it! I have tried buying it from different grocery stores but I can never get it to taste like Opa's. Ok, Ok, stop drooling and back to the recipe. I started with some epicure Tzatziki spice and sour cream mixed with white rice. It didn't taste very good so Carla....added some garlic salt... a little better. Then we chopped up some cucumbers and tomotoes (fairly small pieces) and mixed them in.

Voila! A new and delicious creation. This is something you would serve cold. Mmmmmm it was good! Look out Opa....you've got competition!

Tis the Season!!

Here are just a few more really easy seasoning's that Carla introduced to me. I never thought

I could use these on rice but I've tried them both and am now converted. If you like parmesan you will love McCormick's Parmesan Herb Seasoning. This was absolutely delicious! If you are a seafood or fish lover...try sprinkling the lemon and herb seasoning on the rice to make a perfect side dish!

These seasonings will need to be infused into the rice so if you are cooking rice from scratch then sprinkle into the water. If you are using frozen rice, mix rice, a little bit of water and some seasoning in a pot and heat until ready. Don't forget to throw in some dehydrated veggies if you can, just to add color and variety! (not to mention additional nutrients)

Wow a couple extra bucks to buy some seasonings and it really adds a variety to your rice! Next time you go down the seasoning isle....be adventurous! Pick up a blend that looks good to you. Give it a try and let me know how it tasted. If it doesn't taste good maybe try adding a little bit of this and that! You never know what you may discover!

Season Your Rice

If you haven't seen this bottle before...then I am thrilled to introduce it to you! About a month ago a good friend (Kristen) had me over to her house for dinner. Something smelled really good. I had to get to the bottom of it! Turned out to be this spice! She had bought some flat bread, put some butter on it, and sprinkled this majic stuff on. She put it in the oven and the smell was so mouth watering! Fast forward to yesterday and Carla, the culinary queen, brought this over to my house when we were experimenting with rice recipes. This was the second time I had seen it. She told me that this is one of her staple items and I believed her! We took some frozen cooked rice and instead of just microwaving it....we put it in a pot with a little bit of water, a few shakes of this seasoning and some dehydrated carrots. Back came that mouth watering smell.....Mmmmmm it was delicious!

So simple!!!

Today I bought some bulk bottles at Costco I think they were $6 each. Of Course I bought a couple extra bottles for my food storage. Something this yummy I don't want to live with out!!

"Dressing Rice"

Okay so this is one of my favorite rice tips! I got it from my sister Darlene almost 2 years ago and have used it since. Pour some of your favorite salad dressing over your rice for a kick of flavor!!

My personal favorites are:

Greek Feta

and

Sundried Tomato

Icy Ricy!

Do you want to cook rice but don't have the time and opt for something faster? Here's a quick tip:

When making rice, make as much as your pot or steamer will allow. Divide all the leftovers into freezer ziploc bags and freeze. Next time you want rice just grab a bag, open, and pop into the microwave until hot (usually 3-4 minutes)

It's that simple!! Rice in 3-4 minutes!!

Want to be a keener? When dividing the rice into ziplocs use a measuring cup so you know just how much is in there. That way if you have a recipe that calls for so many cups you will have them on hand! When I was doing weight watcher's this was also handy because I could pre measure my serving size and it was always a quick snack or easy side in 2 minutes!!

Rice - How much?

I am thrilled to focus on Rice. White rice is a main food source for over half of the world’s population. Rice is an excellent addition to home food storage because of it’s versatility, high caloric value, and long shelf life. Once you have purchased your rice, this blog will give you useful information on storage and most importantly many different recipes for using it.

Let's start the first day with how much rice you will need for your storage.

The LDS website has a food storage calculator. It suggests that each person store 300lbs of Grains per year (wheat, rice, corn, pasta, oats, and other grains). This makes up the bulk of your storage.
1 can of Rice is 5.7 lbs

If you were only to buy rice as your source of grains you would need 9 cases of rice per person for 1 year.

BUT

Who are we kidding....we can't eat rice 3 times every day for a year! I am not trying to put down those that do, but I know we are all used to variety so 9 cases of rice may not be variety enough for you.

So Let's start with 3 cases per person for one year.

Now let's do the math...

3 cases per person = $72

x' this by how many people are in your family.

rice can be really cheap!!

Make your goal today on how much and how often you will purchase rice.

I am taking orders for this month and will pick up cases for you. The cases are labelled as rice and have dates on them so you know when they expire. The cans are so beautiful! The labels have nutritional value and cooking directions. They are great for putting into your pantry. I already have a bunch available for purchase right now. Please call me or email me if you would like some.

llrental@telus.net

GET GOING!! GET PREPARED!! HAVE FUN!!