Rice-A-Roni Three Ways

Growing up, we had a lot of food from boxes or packages.  

Pretty much the only thing we made from scratch was my mom’s famous chocolate chip cookies (a family secret), pancakes, and biscuits.

I can now understand why we had so many pre-made food items.  It is time consuming to cook from scratch.  I lived with a single mom of four kids who was working her butt off just to keep us fed, clothed and happy.  And honestly, I still can’t make chicken and rice like she made in the microwave.  (Love you mom.)

Then at the Daddio’s, we had poptarts and beefaroni (and LOVED it).  Would you expect any more from a bachelor?  sigh Brown sugar poptarts and Saturday morning cartoons.

I think this is why I tend to go to packaged foods, although in theory I would make everything from whole foods.  If I had the time and materials, I might even attempt to make my own pasta.  But really, who has the time for that?

I grabbed a few boxes of Rice-A-Roni when they were on sale a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve been trying to get better at spending less money at the grocery store…but I have this weird thing where I never look at the prices.  I generally know what I want, what brands I prefer and I just load up my cart and check out…then slightly cringe when the number on the register creeps up.  I think a lot of times I am too focused on the side of the box than the price on the shelf.

Like I said, I am working on this, therefore the on-sale Rice-A-Roni went into the cart.

I thought what I was getting was a simple rice dish that I would add meat and/or veggies to.  But it is a rice AND a pasta dish.  Vermicelli pasta to be exact.  Very interesting.  (More about Rice-A-Roni here.)

When following the instructions on the back of the box, I found out that you actually start out by sauteing the rice/pasta mix in butter until golden brown.  THEN you add the liquid and powder mix.

I have never made pasta OR rice like this!  It was fun and delicious.  Because let’s face it, butter is yummy.

~Did you know that margarine does the same thing in your body as butter does?  For a long time everyone was fooled into believing that margarine was better than butter.  Good marketing huh?  They are basically the same, but margarine is MUCH more processed.

Tips for making Rice-A-Roni:  

• Read the box.  Sauteing with butter makes it yummy!  It’s only 2 TBS for the entire box, which the box is truthfully about 4 servings…so 1/2 TBS of butter will not kill you.   Use less if you’d like.
• Adding cottage cheese or some other kind of cheese makes it super creamy and delightful.
• Add cooked vegetables in during the last 5 minutes of cooking so that they don’t get mushy.   Or uncooked, fresh vegetables at the same time if you want a raw crunch.
• If you have leftovers…see below for a yummy way to make-over your Rice-A-Roni from the fridge.

Here are some ideas on how to use Rice-A-Roni:

Crunchy Mexican Style Rice-A-Roni

Ingredients:

• 1 box Mexican Style Rice-A-Roni + required ingredients
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup finely chopped carrots (I chopped up carrot chips)
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• Grilled chicken

How To:

1. Follow the instructions on the box.
2. In the last 5 minutes of simmering, add carrots to the mix and cover.
3. When finished cooking, add cottage cheese and stir until cottage cheese dissapears for a deliciously thick and creamy textured Rice-A-Roni.
4. Serve with grilled chicken breast either on the side or chop up the chicken breast and mix it with the Rice-A-Roni in a bowl.

Leftover Idea: Fried Rice-A-Roni and Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 1/3 leftover Crunchy Mexican Style Rice-A-Roni (from above)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup cooked green beans (fresh or frozen variety)
• sea salt to taste

 How To:

1. Heat up rice from the fridge in a greased skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add two eggs (you can mix them up in a bowl and then dump them into the skillet).  Mix up all of the Rice-A-Roni meal and eggs.  Cook until eggs are fried or appear to be the consistency of scrambled eggs.
3. Mix in green beans and serve in a bowl with a dash of sea salt.

Note: To create more crisp green beans, consider baking in an oven or toaster oven.  I baked mine in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes at 425F.

Double Broccoli Rice-A-Roni

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Broccoli Au Gratin Rice-A-Roni (plus ingredients on box)
• 2-3 cups nearly cooked broccoli
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• Grilled Chicken

How To:

1. Make Rice-A-Roni according to the box.
2. During the last 5 minutes, add the broccoli and cover.
3. Add cottage cheese and stir until it dissapears for a deliciously thick and creamy textured Rice-A-Roni.
4. Serve with grilled chicken breast either on the side or chop up the chicken breast and mix it with the Rice-A-Roni in a bowl.

[Tweet “Jazz up your Rice-A-Roni three ways! #imasemihealthnut #semihomemade”]

I hope everyone’s having a lovely week so far!  I am currently feeling imprisoned in my house since it is a zillion degrees out and my black car doesn’t have A/C.  I mean when I got off work last night at 11pm my car was STILL boiling.  More on the car later…

Have a great Tuesday everyone!
~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~

What would YOU add to your Rice-A-Roni?

Butter or margarine?