Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Favorite Things

Favorite Things - Pantry!

Half Past Kissing Time - Favorite Things - Pantry Edition is this weeks theme. You can join in any time and show off your favorite staples in the food category. Just head on over to Mrs. 4444's place to see who has joined in and what goodies they have in their pantry!



I honestly don't have a lot of food in my pantry.  The space available for my pantry is tiny so I've just gotten used to buying everything I need the day I need it.  I could obviously fill up my pantry a bit more, but then I lose things.  So this is pretty much what I keep on hand.  Flour and sugar and other assorted baking items are in the cupboard above this one.




One thing that I keep on hand, always, is Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice - Original Recipe.  You never know when you need to make some Rice Salad.

Rice Salad contains some of my favorite foods -  rice, mayo, yogurt and cucumbers.  Oh goodness, yum!

I discovered the other day that I don't have a tutorial for my Rice Salad, so this is the perfect time.  My friend, Bob, calls this Corlett - Michigan Rice Salad, but you can just call this Rice Salad. 


Here are the main characters of this symphony.



Two boxes of Uncle Bens Long Grain & Wild Rice - Original Recipe.
Hellmans Mayo
Plain Yogurt
Cucumber
Grape tomatoes (in this case I've used an Ugly Ripe tomato in place of the grape tomatoes - I'll explain later)

That's it!



Cook as directed on the back of the box (using the Prepare Two Boxes instructions) but omit the butter or oil.  It just isn't necessary with the way it's being served.




Get out a nice big pot and for two boxes of rice you will need 4 cups plus 1/4 cup of water.  That extra 1/4 must be needed because I've never forgotten it and I've never had crunchy rice :)



Put the rice and the seasoning packets from both boxes into the water, stir, let it come to a boil (about 3-4 minutes) and then cover when it comes to a boil and turn down the heat to low-simmer.  Set your timer for 25 minutes.  After 25 minutes come back and take a peek (it nearly always still has water in it) I give it a quick stir, put the lid back on, turn off the heat and set the timer for another 20-30 minutes.  I've left it this way for several hours before, so there is no rush as long as the heat is off.




When all of the water has been absorbed, stir in...

1/4 cup of plain yogurt. 
(I had an 8 oz cup, so I just used the entire thing, after I took this photo!)



and one cup of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise.
(I took out about a 1/4 of a cup of mayo since I used more yogurt. Once again, after the photo.)



Then I taste test it several times at this point.  It's warm and creamy and so yummy.  It takes nearly all of my effort not to eat more than a few bites.




I add in the cucumbers, peeled and sliced.   You can also add in grape tomatoes at this point.  I slice them in half and stir them in.  I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes for the most part but they make the dish so colorful that I have to add them when I take this to events.

Stir everything up and put it into a container for the fridge or put it in the dish that you want to use to go to a picnic or potluck.  Sometimes I bring this salad warm - by making it just before the event or I bring it cold - by making it a day ahead.


The cucumbers will release a bit of water after a day, so the next day you may need to drain off a little bit of water, but other than that, it tastes great many days later if it lasts that long!

Here is the completed dish.


The Ugly Ripe heirloom tomato is looking on longingly - it obviously wants to be a part of the rice salad.  What it doesn't know at this point is that sometime next week, when it ripens up more, it will be a part of a BLT.  That's where I love a great tomato.

So my favorite pantry items are those that create Rice Salad.

I hope you have a delightful day.  Please visit Mrs. Fours for more Favorite Things!

Kristin



Rice Sald
(The Corlett-Michigan rice salad)

2 boxes Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice - original recipe  (Fast cook is OK, but I prefer the 25 minute kind, it has a much better texture)
1/4c plain yogurt
1.c Hellman’s Real mayonnaise
1c. cucumber peeled and sliced (I like the English cucumber - just use the whole thing)
1c. tomatoes
**Optional*** a few sprigs of fresh parsley. (I don't ever put parsley in mine, but some do,this is true.)

Cook the rice as directed, omitting the butter. After the rice has cooked, mix in yogurt, mayo, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and serve warm or cold.


***Mrs. 4444 asked if she could use Miracle Whip instead of Mayo.  Since I don't use MW I really don't know how it would affect the taste.  My initial feeling is shouting out NO! but that's just because I love Hellman's Real Mayonnaise.  I guess try it with Mayo and try it with MW and decide which is the one for your family.

7 comments:

Mrs4444 said...

Sounds like a great dish to take to our family reunion in August! Thank you!! (P.S. Can I make it with Miracle Whip??)

michelle said...

hmmm... I wonder if my kids will eat that. All that creamy goodness can't be wrong.

Those are the grooviest measuring cups I've ever seen

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

I am so making this when our CSA cucumbers come in. The hubs hates cukes so it's MINE! ALL MINE!

jb said...

Where is the fresh chopped parsley?! You always forget that part!!! Fresh parsley ( I use flat leaf Italian...but curly works) makes this salad sing!!!!!

Kristin - The Goat said...

Oh Bob, I don't forget the parsley - I never ever put it in! But I added it to the compact recipe at the bottom of this post. Just for you :)

Katharine said...

What a great recipe... this could definetly become a summer favorite!and I LOVE your measuring cups!Where did you find such beautiful ones??

Debby@Just Breathe said...

That sounds very good and different, I will have to try it.