Bay Seasoned Brown Rice Pilaf

This is one of my favorite side dishes!  It's simple to make, tastes amazing, accompanies pretty much any main dish I make, and every one of my guys loves it.  Bam!

I'm a big fan of pre-assembly.  I mix my rices (brown and wild), salt, and bay leaves in one prep bowl, then chicken broth (or water/chicken bouillon) in another.  Then all I have to do is sauté the onion, add the rice, and add the water/stock.  Bring it all to a boil and let it simmer for 45 minutes.  Easy.

One note:  Don't substitute white rice.  Since it cooks faster, the wild rice won't have a chance to cook and will end up crunchy.  Brown rice is healthier, anyway, so use it!

Ingredients waiting on the onion to be sauteed.

Heating up.

Bring to boil, then simmer.

For church meals, I put this in my slow cooker and keep on warm.

Bay-Seasoned Brown Rice Pilaf
Serves 6-8 (guys!)
Halve the recipe for a smaller amount.  Keeps in fridge nicely.

1 tablespoon butter (I just use a small glob)
1/4 cup chopped onion (I finely dice it to "hide" it from the onion-haters)

2 cups brown rice
6 tablespoons wild rice
1 teaspoon sea salt (less if you're using strong stock or bouillon)
4-6 bay leaves (depends on size of leaves and how strong a bay flavor you like)

4 1/2 cups water (add chicken bouillon) or chicken/beef stock

In a three-quart saucepan, sauté the onion in the butter just until it starts to brown.  Add the rice, wild rice, sea salt, and bay leaves; stir.  Add the water/stock.  Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.  Don't lift the lid during cooking time!

Fluff with fork; put lid back on and wait five minutes or so before serving.

Back to life,
Christine

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Confetti Rice with Beef ~ One-Dish Meal

It seems I have had just a little extra time on my hands lately.  It also seems I've been hard at work doing not much!  Except for dinner, that is--that meal has come together nicely each night this week.  So nicely, in fact, that I've had time to stop and document each night's process with photos.  And that's doubly nice.

I've been trying my hand at creating images that look nice on Pinterest.  I've learned--mostly the hard way--that I need to have vertical images for bigger pop.  And space somewhere within the image to imprint the name of the recipe.  I'm sure you want to know all this, huh?  Okay, okay, I'll stop now.

The Process

Confetti brings to mind lots of little pieces, and lots of different colors.  And that's what this meal is--lots of colorful veggies, some brown rice, some meat.  Colorful and delicious and healthy, too!

I always like to gather all my ingredients so I'm not prepping one ingredient, then searching for the next ingredient to measure, etc.  It's all at hand, ready to grab and chop, or measure into a measuring cup.

My kitchen work station, between the stove (left) and the sink (right).

The veggies are all added together, so they went into one four-cup prep bowl.

Meanwhile, the rice is simmering on the stove.

The meat and the veggies get mixed in a pot (I used a six-quart pot).

No seasoning needed other than salt and pepper--but I added this for a special flavor.

I also used a little beef bouillon when I simmered the meat and veggies.

The meat and veggies are cooked and awaiting the rice.

This is another one of those versatile recipes!  Don't be afraid to substitute your favorite veggies--or what you have on hand--for the ones I've listed.  Because I've listed the ones I happened to have on hand and used tonight.

Oh, and why not--go ahead and use ground chicken or turkey (change the bouillon to chicken)!  Or use some beans and go meatless.  And the seasoning--I used Cajun seasoning, but you could keep it simple and use plain salt and pepper (which is also delicious!) or your own favorite spice blend.  That's just how versatile this recipe is.

Hey, I just thought of something else--what if you have leftover rice in the fridge?  Even easier!  Mix it into your meat mixture once it's done, and heat the whole thing up gently.

The Recipe

Confetti Beef with Rice
Eight generous servings

two cups brown rice
4 cups water (or beef broth, or water with bouillon added)
1 pound beef
half a green pepper, chopped
half a red pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped carrot (I chopped up baby carrots)
1/2 cup chopped onion (any kind; I used yellow)
1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms (yeah, they're in there; they're just chopped finely and my non-'shroom guys didn't notice!)
salt and pepper to taste, or other seasoning
beef bouillon, if you're not using beef broth in the rice

In a two-quart saucepan, mix the rice and water or beef broth.  Bring to a boil; reduce to simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender, 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop all your veggies.  I chopped mine to a small dice; you can make this chunkier if that floats your boat!

At about the 15-minutes-to-go mark on the rice, add your meat and all your veggies to a six-quart pot.  Cook on medium, stirring from time to time until the meat is browned and the veggies are soft.  I didn't need to add any oil to this, but you can add a little if you need.  Add your seasonings in there somewhere during the cooking time.  Maybe a teaspoon of salt since you'll end up with a pretty full pot, but it's your call.  Once the meat is done, taste test and adjust your seasonings.  You can drain the mixture at this point if the meat is fatty, or you're concerned about the fat.

Once the rice is done, carefully scoop it into your meat mixture and stir.  Et voilà!  You're done.  Put it on a trivet or potholder and ring the dinner bell, 'cause it's time to eat!

I ate my portion on a bed of Romaine.

Back to life,
Christine

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