Cajun-spiced Dirty Rice

1 t. olive oil
1 minced onion
1 minced celeryrib
1 minced green pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
8 oz. finely chopped mushrooms
2 t. Cajun spice blend
1 c. quick-cooking brown rice
1  15 oz. can red bean, rinsed and drained
2 c. vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Lightly oil a 3 quart baking dish and set it aside.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and then add onion, celery, and green peppers.  Cover and cook about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, mushroom and Cajun spice.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Put mixture into the 3 quart baking dish, then add the rice, beans, broth, salt and pepper.  Cover and bake in the oven until the rice is tender, about 50 minutes.

Non vegans can add sausage to it, if they want.

Korean Short Ribs

by Jana

1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

2 T. sesame oil

2 T. rice vinegar

2 T. minced fresh ginger

 4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

5 lbs. beef short ribs or 5 lbs. pork ribs  (also works with chuck roast)

3 T. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. shredded carrots

3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 T. sesame seeds

3 c. cooked white rice

Blend soy sauce, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper in bowl.  Place ribs in 5 quart slow cooker, add sauce. Cover, cook on High for 6 hours or Low for 9 hours, until meat is tender.  Transfer ribs to a platter. Skim and discard excess fat from liquid. Combine cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water; blend with liquid in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until thickened. Stir in carrots. Top ribs with sauce, scallions and sesame seeds.  Serve over cooked rice.

Homemade Rice-a-roni

Homemade Rice-a-roni

1 cup rice
1/2 cup broken up angel hair pasta
2 T. margarine or butter

1 T. seasoning (McCormick Grill Seasonings work well for this!)

3 cups water
1 T. bouillon (chicken, beef, vegetable)
OR
3 cups broth

Melt Margarine in pan. Cook rice and pasta in margarine until it starts to turn a bit brown. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and all to sit for an additional 5 minutes.

If you are feeling really awesome you can combine the rice and broken pasta in a canister ahead of time (Example: 6 cups rices and 3 cups pasta). Then whenever you want Rice-a-Roni, just scoop of 1 1/2 cups of that mix and add in the remaining seasonings and water.

OR

If you know you only like one flavor, then you can go ahead and mix all the ingredients together in a canister and then to make it just add the water and cook as directed.

Sausage Rice Casserole

by Kristin

1 lb. sausage

2 c. coarsely chopped celery

1/2 onion, chopped

1 envelope chicken noodle soup mix

3/4 c. rice

4 c. water

Brown sausage with onion and celery.  Combine all but water.  Put in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Pour water over.  Bake at 350ºF. for 1 hour.

Rice Pudding

by Elverda

2 1/2 quarts milk

1 1/2 c. rice (not instant)

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. sugar

dash salt

3 beaten eggs

1 oz. cornstarch diluted in water

cinnamon to taste

handful raisins

Heat milk over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan.  Stir often, add rice and bring to mild boil.  Let simmer until rice is done.  Stir in sugar, salt and vanilla.  Beat eggs and add a little hot mixture, then stir into hot milk.  Let cook.  Add cornstarch and cook longer.  Season with cinnamon.  Cool

~All the ingredients to make rice pudding were readily available on our dairy farm.

Raisin Rice Pudding

by Roma and Nancy

1/2 c. rice

 2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 c. milk

1/2 c. sugar

1/8 t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins

1 t. grated orange or lemon peel

Cook rice.  Combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, raisins and peel.  Add to rice.  Pour into well-greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish and bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Bake at 325ºF for 45-50 minutes.  Serves 4-6

La Bandera

by AJ

1 lb. dry red beans

8 c. water

1 large red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 c. celery, chopped

1 t. oregano

1/2 T. freshly chopped cilantro

2 T. olive oil

1 cube chicken bouillon

1 t. vinegar

2 t. tomato paste

The day prior to making the dish, soak the beans in sufficient water to cover them and leave them overnight.  In a large pot, bring to a boil 8 cups of water.  Add the soaked beans, cover, and reduce temperature to medium.  Cook until the beans are soft.  It may be necessary to add 1 or 2 cups more of water during this process that can take 1 1/2 to  2 hours  The length of cooking time depends on the quality of the beans used.  Once cooked, set aside and leave in the water.  

In another pot, sauté the onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, oregano and cilantro in the olive oil.  Add the cube of chicken bouillon, vinegar, tomato paste and a cup of water from the cooked beans.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add this mixture to the beans.  Mix well and cook uncovered on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the liquid has been reduced by half.  Serve over cooked white rice.

~AJ spent 2 years living in the Dominican Republic.  The traditional meal in the DR is, without a doubt, La Bandera.  It consists simply of rice and beans.  AJ translated the directions from "La Cocina Dominicana"

Broccoli Casserole

by Nancy

1 chopped onion

3 T. margarine

1 c. cream of mushroom soup

1 1/2 c. cooked rice

1 package chopped broccoli

1 small jar Cheese Whiz

Sauté onion in margarine.  Add soup, rice and broccoli and simmer 15 min.  Stir in Cheese Whiz and put mixture in baking pan.  Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.