The night I made Taco Chicken (it’s on the web site), I searched Allrecipes for a flavorful, yet easy, rice side dish using brown rice. I searched “Brown Rice” (because that’s what I had) and got a recipe that called for white, long grain rice (even though the recipe was called “Brown Rice”). It called for a can of beef broth; I had steak seasoning. The recipe also called for a 10.5 oz. can of condensed french onion soup – I had Lipton dried onion. The two things I did have were Worchestershire sauce, dried basil, and 1/4 cup butter. As usual, I improvised.
It’s what I do. Mom of four = improvisor. After all, when are you EVER fully prepared for everything as a mother of that many children going in all different directions?!?
Flexibility is the mother of invention. No wait…that’s just my philosphy.
Here’s what I did: I used my quick brown rice, 1 tsp. steak seasoning, dried french onion soup, water, worchester, and a teeny bit of basil (because there was already some in my steak seasoning).
14 oz. canned broth + 10.5 oz. canned onion soup (both ingredients which I did not have = oh let’s add a little over 1 pint of water, say 2 1/2 cups. (1 pint = 16 oz. or two cups just in case you forgot, I still have to remind myself sometimes.) Turns out, I probably only needed right at 1 pint because the rice turned out a tad bit watery.
The rice was to be baked at 350 for an hour, which meant this was not quick rice we were dealing with. So, I baked it for 30-40 minutes. (I say that because I can’t remember the exact time, I kept checking the chicken and resetting the timer.)
The result? Everyone LOVED it!!! They asked why I’d never made it before. Definitely a keeper.
I say all that to say this: don’t let a few pesky ingredients hold you back. Be creative, be flexible, make a decision, go with it.
Now. I’ll give you my version, and their version. You can decide for yourself which one you like.
RUTHIE’S SEASONED RICE
Ingredients:
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1 1/2 cups brown quick rice
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1 tsp. steak seasoning
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1 package dried onion soup
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1/4 cup melted butter
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1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
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sprinkle of dried basil leaves
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2 cups water, heated in microwave 1:30 minutes.
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Combine steak seasoning and onion soup in water.
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Combine all ingredients in 2 qt. casserole dish.
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Cover and bake 30-40 minutes.
ALL RECIPE’S SEASONED RICE
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 14 oz. can beef broth
- 1 10.5 oz. can condensed french onion soup
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a 2 quart casserole dish combine rice, broth, soup, butter, Worcestershire sauce and basil.
- Bake covered for 1 hour, stirring once after 30 minutes.
Serves 6-8 – let me know which one you prefer!
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