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So here’s the scene in my house at about 5:30 pm:
- My son is running around the living room, diving into pillows, because no matter how much exercise he’s gotten that day, he needs more.
- If he happens to be calm because we just came in from playing outside, he wants to play on the floor. With me.
- My seven-week-old needs her bath, like NOW, because this time of evening is her last “awake window” before she begins to go back and forth between awake and asleep, and then finally falls asleep for the “night” around 9:00 pm.
- Once she’s had her bath, she wants to play on the floor. With me.
So, it’s almost impossible for me to stand by the stove and cook anything. It’s childcare central. Consequently, unless I’ve started dinner in the crockpot or put something in the oven during naptime, I’m totally screwed. And although my husband is completely understanding if I don’t have dinner prepared, I still would like to have something warm and yummy for him to eat.
Now, if I do manage to put together a meal, I usually remember the protein and the vegetable, but forget the grains. Most nights I look through my cabinets, trying to find some side dish to put with my meal, and usually come up empty-handed. Potatoes and rice take forever to cook anyway…right?
Apparently not. There’s an awesome product for busy cooks called Minute Rice. Can it be true? Rice in just minutes?
At the store I found two alternatives, white and brown rice. Because my husband prefers white rice, I went with that. (I tried serving brown rice to him once, and he just scoffed at me.) The product boasts that you can have great-tasting, fluffy white rice in just 5 minutes with Minute White Rice. They also explain that if you like the nutty, rich flavor of brown rice, Minute 100% Whole Grain Brown Rice is a delicious, healthy option, as it has the same nutritional value as regular, long-cooking brown rice, but is ready in just 10 minutes—just 1/4 of the time of regular brown rice.
So, that night, I tried it out. And since I’m trying to lose the baby weight, I went with what looked to be a delicious, low-calorie Weight Watchers recipe of apple/cranberry/tomato chicken curry. What makes this recipe healthy? Glad you asked. No added salt, sauteed chicken, and one fruit and one vegetable in the curry! And just in case you’re looking for a new, healthy quick meal to try, I included the recipe at the bottom of this post.
The actual process of cooking took about thirty minutes.
And the final product? Delicious! The rice cooked in the microwave in 8 minutes and came out fluffy, and a bit sticky, just how we like it. And the best part? I didn’t have to think about it. I just measured out rice and water, put it in the microwave and let it cook. Awesome.
Want more recipe ideas for Minute Rice? Visit www.minuterice.com for over 400 recipe ideas and more information about the Minute Rice family of products.
Curried Chicken with Dried Cranberries, taken from “Weight Watchers: Simply the Best” (1997).
Ingredient List:
- 4 boneless chicken cutlets
- Olive oil
- 1 or 2 onions
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tsps ground cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 14 1/2 oz can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 2 diced apples
- 1/2 cup of low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1. Heat the oil in a skillet or Dutch oven. Add the chicken and cook until almost cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Add onions and cook, stirring often.
2. Add garlic, cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger and pepper flakes, stirring constantly until fragrant; about 30 seconds.
3. Add tomatoes, apples, broth and cranberries. Bring to a boil.
4. Return chicken to skillet, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
5. Serve with Minute Rice! 
Minute® Rice is so quick and easy to prepare and is great pantry staple. When meal time seems like a hassle, Minute® Rice is a go-to ingredient your whole family will love and allows you to have more quality time doing what your want with your loved ones.
Leftover rotisserie chicken or veggies from a meal earlier in the week? Minute® Rice can easily be paired with some of your leftover ingredients to make a quick, easy and wholesome meal your whole family will love in just a matter of minutes.
Visit http://www.minuterice.com/ to create a great main meal or side dish for your next family get-together or potluck.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Minute® Rice.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Couscous is even easier.
If you’re looking for things that can be cooked very shortly, couscous definitely a good option. Also, toasted bread with homemade garlic/thyme/butter (made in advance). Here’s one – saute a few diced potatoes with some garlic and rosemary and paprika that only takes 10 or 15 minutes. Here’s a wonderful easy recipe side that is sure to please (and is healthy): One full head of cauliflower, one yellow boiling potato. cut all into quarter inch pieces and steam until tender to the fork (about 10 minutes). Mash all of them together with lemon zest and a touch of yogurt or skim milk. Perfect side in 20 minutes.
point being, there are lots of starch sides that don’t have to be rice that can be easy or quick or time-durable (a baked potato will stay warm wrapped in foil for 30-40 minutes) and can be dressed up and down depending on how your particular guests wants to eat (sour cream, chives, scallions, butter) or just plain with some salt, pepper and paprika
as for easy: couscous definitely and quinoa only takes 20 minutes
Another simple starch side I like is simply roasted root veggies. Always a crowd pleaser because it gives the depth of flavor you expect out of a “starch” like dish but you get the benifits of it being vegetables and not high calorie low quality grains. Take some potatoes, parsnips, carrots, turnip, fennel – cut them all up in 2×2 inch pieces. toss in a zip lock bag with pealed garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme and olive oil. spread on a baking sheet and cook at 450 for about 35 or 40 minutes until brown and fork tender. those will stay warm for 45 minutes in the right container and some foil…yummy! make them in batches and reheat throughout the week!
rice can be made way in advance…stays cooked in the frig for a few days and can be re-heated with a little water…or tossed in and fried up with a little chopped broccoli, snow peas, frozen peas and corn or the like…as it dries out after a day or two it’s great for absorbing flavors in stir fry – don’t forget the sesame oil and soy sauce and hot pepper flakes!
This looks delicious, Sarah. Another grain that I have become of big fan of is quinoa. I’ve recently learned of its health benefits and it is also quick and easy to prepare as well as versatile. It can be a bit pricey, but I buy a big bag at my local BJs. All these grains can be cooked in bulk and reheated, too. I also an a big fan of the rotisserie chicken. I use it as a base for many recipes, which saves time. The pre-cooked meat can be used in soups, stews, curry dishes, cacciatore, salads, etc. As a former SAHM and current working woman who works crazy hours, I also cook in bulk. I rarely prepare only enough food for one meal. It is usually no extra effort to double or triple your recipe and reheat or freeze the extra for another night’s dinner. The dinner your prepared would probably be more delicious the second or third night:)
Just like everything else in a woman’s life, we learn to not just do it, but do it smart!
Thanks for the suggestions, Maureen! I love quinoa and used to cook it a lot when my son was about a year old. I should start again!!
And I definitely need to start cooking in bulk for those nights when I just don’t have time to put a meal on the table! Great advice!
I can’t wait to make this later in the week! I’m always looking for new dinner recipes.