rice a roni recipe

You all know those boxes of rice with “roni” in them, or the rice sides bags in the grocery store? They come in all different flavors, no doubt they are all yummy, and a super easy way to stretch out a meal. They are usually under a buck a pop, which pretty much goes unnoticed in terms of budget, so that’s not exactly why you would want to make it yourself; but if you take a peek at the side of the box at the ingredients, I’m sure you would agree with me that half of what’s in there sounds like it could clean your windows pretty good. For that reason, and because rice pilaf is DE-LIC-IOUS I’ve come up with a really simple recipe that tastes just as good as the stuff from the store, but uses healthy whole ingredients you can feel good about feeding your family. And, if you are making your stock on your own (check out my recipe for homemade stock and why everyone should make their own), well that means that this recipe is going to cost you about 19 cents!

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Homemade Rice Pilaf

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Fluffy rice pilaf, a perfect side dish to complete any meal.

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter (can substitute 2 tablespoons olive oil)
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1/2 cup orzo (or spaghetti/vermicelli pasta broken into pieces)
• 1 tsp onion powder (minced)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
• 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon parsley or thyme or both (dried or fresh minced)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• pinch pepper

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Instructions

1. If using vermicelli or thin spaghetti instead of orzo, you will need to break it off into tiny 1/2 inch long strands. A food processor works great for this because it chops it up in about 20 seconds.
2. In a medium pot, add the butter (or olive oil), vegetables, small pasta pieces, and rice. 
3. Saute on medium high heat until pasta becomes toasted and browned.
4. Immediately add stock, vinegar, seasonings and herbs, and bring to a boil. Stir, lower heat, cover and steam on lowest setting for 20 minutes.
5. Remove lid, remove from heat, and fluff with a fork!

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