Note: Don’t forget about a couple of great giveaways I have going on. One at Your Homebased Mom and one over at iLashGirls. Be sure and enter!!
Today’s post is a followup to the Cheesy Chicken recipe I shared earlier this week. Our favorite side dish to eat with Cheesy Chicken is rice pilaf.
Because I am not a potato eater we eat a lot of rice at our house. I have lots of different rice pilaf recipes but I have to say that this one is our absolute favorite. I always double the recipe because my kids love it so much.
My mother got this recipe over 40 years ago from an Armenian man who served it at a church dinner. Our family has been enjoying it ever since.
Because the recipe doubles and quadruples easily it is great for feeding a crowd. I have used it for many different church/large group dinners. It also reheats nicely so can be made ahead of time. It goes well with chicken and pork and I have even served it with beef! It’s an all around great recipe!
It is fairly simple as far as rice pilaf recipes go but you could easily dress it up with some nuts, dried fruit etc. but my kids love it plain and simple!
Rice Pilaf
1 C uncooked rice (I use a long grain)
1/2 C vermicelli (real skinny spaghetti)
1/3 cube/stick butter
1 can chicken broth adding enough water to make 2 cups
1 tsp dry minced onion
1 tsp salt or I prefer 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
In a pan melt butter and brown the broken up vermicelli. Stir often as this will burn easily. Cook until the noodles are well browned. Add chicken broth, onions and salt and bring to a boil. Add rice and stir once. Cover and simmer slowly until cooked through (15-20 minutes)
Serves four but is easily doubled
Did you just say you are NOT a potato eater? :O OMG! I’ll have your potatoes.
PS. This rice looks delish. *adds to recipe folder*
really only 1 tsp minced onion? Do you dice a little slice?
Had the rice pilaf with honey ham tonight. YUMMY! (I used some beef broth I had open instead of chicken broth, and it was great. Can’t wait to try the chicken broth next time.) thank for sharing!!
Hi Leann, do you have a recipe for Christmas Bark? I have been asked to make some for my BFF’s Christmas party. Every year I make all the treats that they filled in baskets for their employees and they LOVED your candy corn bark.
Tried the Cheesy Chicken and thought maybe that I’d try a mixture of Monterey Jack and Cheddar next time as it was somewhat pale looking. My family loved it though (pale or not!) Also, tried the Rice Pilaf and it was quite good. I ended up using brown rice and so the contrast between the noodles and the rice wasn’t all that apparent. Perhaps with some craisins (cranberries) that would colour it up (and perhaps nuts). What sort of nuts would you suggest and when would I add those and the craisins do you think – right at the end or just before serving? I wonder if I want them to be soft or chewy? Thoughts?
Thought I should mention that the rice pilaf is definitely a dish to “take to someone”. I have a Christmas Potluck for the Ladies in the area this week and so I have to make something ahead of time (since I’m going right after work). Very good and definitely a nice change from just the plain old rice.
Cat, I totally agree about the “paleness” of the dish. It is not the prettiest so you just need to make sure there is some othe color on the plate but it is yummy! I think some slivered almonds might be yummy in the rice and craisinets or dried cherries would be lovely too!
This sounds yummy and looks simple. My favorite kind of recipe!
This would be great on Thanksgiving as a lighter alternative to mashed potatoes. Or a fantastic base for a leftover mash-up! Substitute turkey broth for chicken, add some leftover meat, throw in some dried cranberries and pine nuts, and round two starts to sound pretty darn good.
When you say minced onion in the recipe…are you talking about a fresh onion or like the McCormick spice?
Thanks!
I mean the dried minced onion. Sorry!
Tried this tonight – both hubby & I were very impressed & the 3 yr old ate it up! So easy, light & good. Thx for the recipe!
I’m going to make this for 125 people. Do I just double it 30 times? Any special hints/tips for making it in the oven? Can you tell I’m nervous? Btw, I’m serving it with your tenderloin too…done on the grill.