Cooking with Food Storage - Rice

Why Rice?  Rice was always one of those boring foods to me.  And I wasn't really sure how to prepare it well.  How could I keep it from being sticky or turning to glue?  And why was it so tasteless?  While rice is not on the "basic" list for food storage items it is a cheap, easy to come by and easy to store item with a long shelf life of 30 years.  So I started purchasing rice.  I made friends with a woman from South America a good number of years ago who laughed a little bit at us eating potatoes like they ate rice.  So I asked her for a few pointers because her rice was always so good.
Everyday Uses:  Rice is a versatile side dish and can be included in any meal to take the place of a potato, as my South American friend pointed out to me.  It is filling and while not a complete protein by itself it can be eaten with beans to form a complete protein.  They compliment each other nutritionally in that way.  My friend told me to heat my pot on the stove and put a little butter into the hot pot.  Once it melted I could drop my rice into the butter, stir quickly to heat and coat the rice with butter but be careful not to let it burn.  Then add in the water, bring to a boil before reducing heat, covering the pot and letting it simmer for 15 minutes.  Then I would have rice perfection.
How much rice and how much water?  Rice approximately doubles when cooked.  And I need twice as much water as rice.  So if I want two cups of cooked rice, approximately, then I cook 1 cup of rice with two cups of water.  I made this harder than it needed to be for years.  Really it's easy!
Still too bland and boring?  Add 1 bouillon cube per cup of water you add when you go to cook your rice.  Chicken or beef bouillon gives rice a nice added flavor.

Favorite Recipes

Red Beans and Rice (From Our Best Bites Cookbook)
I'm not a "down south" kind of girl where Red Beans and Rice are infamous and I resisted having anything to do with this dish for a long time.  I'm from New York.  But I have red beans and I have rice and this recipe caught my eye.  When I came across an inexpensive bottle of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning in the store I knew I'd be trying this dish in my crock pot.  If I love this dish anyone can love this dish!

1 pound dry red kidney beans, rinsed, sorted and soaked
6 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 lb. smoked sausage, quartered and cut into thin slices
1 chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. creole seasoning
3/4 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. coriander
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups water
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 c. rice
Combine all the ingredients except for the last 3 in a large crock pot and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low all day.  You can also cook it on high until it starts to boil and then switch the heat to low.
When beans are tender, mash about 85-90%  of them against the side of the crock pot.  Replace lid and turn off heat.  In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water, vinegar and rice to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and steam for 15-20 minutes.  Ladle 1 cup of beans into individual bowls and top with 1/2 cup of rice.
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Chicken and Rice Soup Mix  (tastes like Mrs. Grass)
This is an easy shelf stable mix to keep on hand for thermoses packed in lunch boxes going out the door on chilly days.  It's mild ingredients are good for those who have been feeling under the weather as well.  I like to store this on my pantry shelf in a quart sized Mason jar.
Soup Mix:
2 cups dry rice
12 chicken bouillon cubes, ground up (hit with a kitchen mallet before unwrapping)
4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. black pepper
Toss this into a jar and toss to combine evenly.  Yields 4 batches.
To prepare soup: In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water,1 Tbsp. butter and 2/3 cup soup mix to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender.  Yields 2-3 servings per batch.
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More favorite recipes:
Corn, bean and rice is found here on my blog under "Cooking with Food Storage - Beans"
Rice is good for puddings, too!