Friday, May 8, 2009

Tasty Rice with Veggies

Yesterday, I made some rice with veggies. There really wasn't much special about the rice except that I didn't use oil in ANY of the preparation but I preferred this recipe to many types of fried rice I've had at many restaurants.

What you'll need:

1 bag Europe's Best Zen Garden Veggies
2 & 1/2 cups uncooked par-boiled rice
2 Tbs chopped garlic with jalapenos
2 cubes chicken stock (I used one made with vegetables)
5 cups water
2 Tbs lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Bring water, stock cubes, lemon juice and rice to a boil. The lemon juice really gives the rice a nice freshness and works well with the garlic jalapenos and the stock cubes. Once the mixture starts boiling, add in the garlic, stir, cover with pot and let cook (about 15 minutes covered). Do not touch the rice during this time - it can be tempting to look under the lid and stir things around but this is a bad idea - your rice will be ruined!
While the rice is cooking, heat a pan and add about 1 Tbs of water and the bag of veggies. Cook on medium-low heat and add salt & pepper to taste.
Once the rice is cooked, remove from heat, fluff with a fork and cover for 5 minutes.
Open the rice pot and add in the veggies and you're done!

The reason I use Europe's best veggies is because they are so convenient and tasty - often I find that they taste better than fresh veggies and I like the mixes they offer. In reality, you can make this type of a dish with any type of veggies (frozen or fresh) but I really like these ones!

Happy Cooking!

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