Cooking with Rice

Rice is, of course, a very flexible staple. I use it as the foundation for both Mexican and Chinese dishes, as well as a few other meals.

Mexican:

• Mexican Haystacks: layer rice with any or all of the following: lettuce, chili, meat, beans, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, olives, salsa, tomatoes, green onions, cooked corn .... any of your favorite toppings. Crumble chips on the top or eat like a dip.
• Combine instant rice (however many servings you want), water needed for rice (less any liquid from tomatoes, if you decide to use them), tomatoes, canned corn (drained) (or thawed frozen corn), kidney/black/red beans (drained and rinsed), olives, taco seasoning. Cover and simmer until rice is tender. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Serve as a casserole, over chips, or as a filling for tortillas. If you don't use instant rice, cook rice first and add other ingredients to rice.
• Fajitas -- I use fresh or frozen peppers (frozen blends sometimes come seasoned; if not, I love lemon pepper, and you can buy Mexican seasoning packets/envelopes), stir fry them with meats (or not) and serve with rice and the fixin's (cheese, sour cream, ...any of your favorite Mexican toppings)
  

Chinese

• Fried rice: Scramble eggs with soy sauce in 2 T. oil. Add cooked rice and more soy sauce as desired. Add any meat or veggies and heat.
  
• I love buying frozen veggie packages that have oriental vegetables in them, with or without seasoning. (They are cheaper without.) I buy envelopes of different oriental seasonings and put them with the veggies and serve over rice. I will sometimes add meat as well. (So, you could make beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken/beef, chow mein, etc.)
• Cashew chicken – In a saucepan, combine 1-2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1-2 cups chicken broth (or milk or a can of condensed milk), 1-2 cups chicken, 1-2 cups mixed vegetables (thawed) and 1-2 cups cashews. Bring to a near boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Other meal ideas that use rice:

• Hawaiian Haystacks: Layer cooked rice, hot cream of chicken soup, cooked chicken, pineapple, peas, onions, dry chinese noodles, cheddar cheese, raisins, tomatoes, mandarine oranges…may sound a little weird if you haven’t tried before, but they are SO good!
• Chicken casserole: To cooked rice, add cream of chicken soup, canned broth, cooked chicken, and your favorite frozen veggies (or you can serve them on the side). Top with cheese, if desired. (This can all be done in one pan on the stove.) Or make sauce separately and put over rice.
  
• Beef and rice: To cooked rice, add cream of mushroom soup, ground beef or beef chunks, sour cream or cream cheese if desired, and veggies (carrots or peas and carrots would be good). Or make sauce separately and put over rice.
  
• Tuna casserole: To cooked rice, add 2 cans drained tuna, a can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup (and milk to get desired consistency). Add or top with your favorite cheese. (Or make the sauce separate and put over rice with cheese and other toppings as options.)
• Various homemade soups can use rice as well (chicken and rice, veggie and rice, beef and rice).
  

What are your favorite rice recipes?