You know why I love brown rice?
- It is a real food
- It is wholesome
- It is affordable
- It can help stretch a meal, saving lots of $$
- It can be eaten plain as a side dish, or stirred into a casserole, or made into a pudding
- It’s naturally gluten free – a perk for those who need to avoid gluten
- It tastes good
So blah, blah, blah…rice. An entire post about rice. Life does not get much more exciting than this.
Unless there’s a sale on rice!!! Now this is turning into an exciting post! (Not really, Laura. We’re still talking about rice. Keep trying.)
I told you this was exciting!
{snore}
Well, while I’ve got you, I would like to share that cooking brown rice is very easy. Here’s a full tutorial if you’re new to brown rice.
Below you’ll find many of my family’s favorite recipes that include rice. Admit it. This post is making you giddy. Talk of brown rice is as exciting as talking about vacation plans and chocolate cheesecake. Yes, it is exactly like that.
Our Favorite Rice Recipes
- Cheesy Beef and Rice
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice
- Spanish Rice
- Swiss Steak
- Teriyaki Chicken and Veggies
- Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew
- Rice and Veggie Stir Fry
- Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals & Snacks eBook)
What are your favorite rice dishes? Chime in by leaving a comment. This conversation is clearly shaping up to be the most fun we’ve all had in the past three minutes.
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I always loved my grandma’s stuffed cabbage (filled with hamburg and rice then rolled up and topped with tomato sauce), but it is so time consuming to make! So now I do a layered “stuffed cabbage casserole”. I chop up the cabbage and lightly steam it, then mix the hamburg and pre-cooked rice with tomato sauce and spread it between layers of cabbage. I like to spice the tomato sauce up a bit with chili/onion/garlic powder and top the whole casserole with shredded cheddar cheese (isn’t everything better topped with cheese?!) YUM! This post is SO much fun!
Oops! Can’t forget chicken soup w/rice! Made with homemade stock that starts with a REAL, honest-to-goodness WHOLE chicken, of course! A staple for lunch at our house. Even better if you serve it after you’ve just read the book CHICKEN SOUP WITH RICE!
That sounds like a great idea. I love taking short cuts and still creating a healthy and yummy meal. :)
Laura,
I need a healthy recipe for RICE PUDDING. Would you give it a go please? Thanks!
Baked rice pudding is a favorite around here for breakfast. Now that the temps are getting cooler I think it is time to make my pumpkin with chunked apple version. Yum!
I hardly ever make rice pudding – I don’t know why. It’s on my list of breakfast food to make next week! What a great idea to add pumpkin and apple. :)
My family loves your cheesy beef and rice. There is usually no complaining that meal and clean plates afterwards. Thanks for posting this deal!
So glad hear your family loves it as much as mine. It’s SO easy to make!
Have you tried wild rice (or a wild rice blend)? I’ve read that it’s an even healthier alternative to brown rice (I still use both, depending on what I’m making), but I know you do a lot of research as far as what you’re cooking and feeding your family and wondered if you’d read anything about wild rice.
I cook mine in the rice cooker – even less work! Although I sometimes find that it forms a little bit of a crust on the pot, I’m experimenting to see if I can avoid that and make it a bit fluffier and without the crust.
I’ve read the health benefits of both – so I think eating a variety is a great idea. :)
Rice and bean burritos with lots of peppers and onions and fresh salsa. Veggie stir fry, salmon and rice, sushi!!
Those burritos sound simple and delicious. I usually don’t add peppers – but I’m thinking I definitely should!
Well being from Louisiana, rice is a staple with every dinner meal. You serve everything over rice. I love jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, any beans over rice, smothered steak and gravy over rice, any etoufee. When we cook a roast we make gravy to serve over rice with the roast. Very rarely do you see a dinner meal without rice as a side dish in my house.
That is very interesting! I don’t think I’ve ever served gravy over rice, but why not? It sounds really good!
You really should try Alton Brown’s method of baking brown rice. Perfect brown rice every time could not be more simple. I double his recipe and use a 9×13 glass dish with heavy aluminum foil to cover!
I have heard Alton Brown’s method is super simple and works great. Maybe this winter I’ll give it a try. :)
I cook big batches of brown rice pilaf in my steamer, divide up individual portions in baggies and freeze. When I need a whole grain to go with my lunch (since I don’t like biscuits or rolls warmed over in the microwave, no toaster oven at work) I throw one in my lunch bag. Really good with leftover grilled fish, chicken, beef, even scrambled eggs. I also love brown rice for breakfast with butter, cream and brown sugar. MMMM!
What a smart idea, to freeze it in individual portions for your lunches. I’ll try to remember to share that sometime in my Make-Ahead Lunch Box series. :)
I like brown rice and have used it a lot but I read recently that it has a lot of arsenic in it because it is not polished off like white rice. Even white rice has some. They recommended a brand called Lundberg and their Black Japonica rice which turns out purple when you cook it. I ordered it on Vita Cost. I haven’t cooked it yet but the reviews were good. This company has high quality eco-farmed rice products grown sustainably for a healthier ecosystem, whole grained and gluten-free products. They have other rice as well.
I’ve heard of this too, and just throw my hands in the air. I hate that there’s so much controversy over every single food. Ugh. That Black Japonica rice sounds really interesting though. I’ll have to check it out!
I use these containers in my pantry. I have about 50 of them that I have saved through the years! They are so pretty filled with beans, rice, raisins, almonds, etc. I used leftover scrapbook stickers to label them and they stack nicely.
Save them to reuse if you order the rice!
Yes! I am so glad you mentioned this. I thought of that before posting, and forgot to share that. I’d love to see your pantry, filled with 50 of these containers!
Someone just gave me 50 lbs of white rice
Some say white rice is healthier…some say brown. I don’t know, so personally I eat both. Enjoy your blessing! : )
I love it when people hand over food they won’t be needing anymore. What a fun blessing. 50 pounds of rice is a lot!
I read somewhere recently that perhaps parboiling white rice actually increased it’s nutritional value…? Can’t remember exact details, but had something to do with more nutrients heading into the inner germ of the rice…! Will try to track down; I may have the article in my saved web pages.
Laura,
When I click on your link, I don’t see a coupon. It also says not available for Amazon Prime, and it doesn’t give me the option to add to my subscribe and save. Did the deal already expire?
I think the coupon went away and the price went up this afternoon. :( Keep checking though, because sometimes they re-activate the coupon and reduce the price once they get more of the item in stock.
Thanks so much!
Just wanted to let you know that the price is back down and the coupon is back! Grab it quick!
Thanks for the heads-up on the sale, Laura! Brown rice is a staple in our home. We eat lots of Mexican food and Stir-frys, so we eat a lot of rice. I prefer brown to white as it is healthier and it keeps everyone fuller for longer. I need to try your Chicken & Rice Casserole for something new and exciting. Thanks for the recipes. Pinning now.
Hope your family likes the Chicken and Rice Casserole. You’ll love how easy it is. :)
I don’t know if they’re my “favorite” rice dishes, but what I make most often with rice are tex-mex rice & beans and chicken & veggie stir fry.
I’ve been brown rice only for many years. But with all the controversy I’ve read among “real foodies” over white vs. brown rice, I really don’t know what to believe! Knowing that Asians typically eat white rice as their staple food makes me wonder… I currently have some of each in my pantry. Variety is good, right? White rice is nice when I need dinner fast, but I do like brown rice, too. : )
I know lots of people rave about rice cookers, but cooking in a saucepan is seriously not hard. I often cook it in chicken broth, too. Yum!
Yes, I think variety is good. I prefer brown rice to white, but I don’t feel like we have to avoid white rice altogether.
I didn’t see this to be a subscribe and save item. Am I not looking in the right place?
I think they price changed the coupon disappeared this afternoon already. BUT, keep checking because if they get more in stock, they might give the coupon back. :)
Yay! Price is back down, and coupon has reappeared! :)
I see the coupon, but my Subscribe & Save delivery date came up as October 28! Do you know, if I order this now & the price goes up, will I be charged today’s price or the price when it ships? Who knows what it will cost more than a month from now!
Oh, and we love rice. A current favorite dish including it is your Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole from your Make-Ahead book!
The price when you make the purchase is locked in, even if the price goes up by your delivery time. So grab it now with the coupon and this price will be honored!
I was recently wondering if it were possible to make risotto with brown rice. I looked into it and learned that it should be possible if you use a short or medium grain rice rather than long grain (more suitable for pilaf-type dishes). Apparently the short and long grain have different kinds of starches that release differently. The trick is par-boiling first. Well, I was all excited to find short grain brown rice in bulk at our Co-op; however, when I was attempting the risotto, it just didn’t seem to be getting creamy. Then I experienced a vague memory of a step I had skipped – the par-boiling -lol:-), so will be trying it again! According to what I read and saw, it should work!
This particular brand of brown rice has a nice flavor, and the packaging, even though it is plastic, is much better than the small bags from the grocery store. This is also at least the second time this year the $5 coupon has appeared, so if people don’t need the product now, they should be able to benefit again in the future.