seasoned brown rice

A couple days into my Eat Through the Kitchen Challenge I realized I have nothing with which to make side dishes.  I had a couple boxes of Rice-a-Roni, but no potatoes or anything else.  Part of this challenge is to not buy anything that I don't absolutely need.  Side dishes aren't a necessity, but it gets a little boring eating nothing but meat and veggies.  And I don't want to use all my pasta up.  So, I broke down and went to the store.

I originally was going to buy prepackaged sides like Rice-a-Roni, scalloped potatoes, and maybe some Pasta Sides.  But when I was in the store I noticed that Rice-a-Roni is now $1.79 a box!  Sorry, but I'm not spending $1.79 on a box of rice that provides only about 3 servings. Then I noticed the huge bags of plain rice.  Five pounds for $2.99!  I'm not very creative when it comes to rice so I hesitated to buy it, but then I figured I AM good at Googling, so I was sure I could find lots of recipes for seasoning rice. Into the cart it went.  I bought brown rice, because Bob prefers it over the white rice.

I got to Googling when I got home and found tons of recipes for seasoning mix.  Of course I didn't have one or more ingredients for 90% of the recipes, so I settled on one that's supposed to simulate chicken flavored Rice-a-Roni.  So many of the recipes called for cups of ingredients, but I finally found one small enough to season just two batches of rice.

It came out really good, although I had to add salt to it.  It had good flavor and the rice had a nice chew.  Very easy, too.  I just have to make sure I don't keep sampling from the finished pot next time I make it.  Too many carbs will stall my weight loss.  Plus I don't want to make a habit of eating rice.

Seasoned Brown Rice

3 1/2 TB of Seasoning Mix (below)
4 1/2 cups water
1 TB butter
2 cups uncooked brown rice

Directions

1. Toast the rice in a skillet over medium heat.  It should only take a few minutes. 
2. Pour the water into a sauce pan and add butter.  Bring to a boil.
3. Add the seasoning mix and the rice and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the liquid is gone.  Stir several times throughout cooking.

Seasoning Mix

Makes enough to season two batches of rice.

2 TB dried basil

2 TB chicken bouillon granules

2 TB dried parsley

2 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried thyme

Combine all ingredients and store in an air tight container.