Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Easy Brown Rice



Several months ago I came across a method of making brown rice that I just love! I make it in the oven! It is so easy just to pop it in there and it doesn't take up valuable real estate on my stove.



I don't really follow this recipe anymore. I usually double the amount for each 9 by 13 pan, and I always SOAK the rice first. You are all soaking your grains, right?

I always make at least two pans, sometimes even three, no sense having the oven on for just one meal, right? I try to plan my meals out during the week to use the two pans of rice. I leave the rice right in the second pan and store in the fridge for later in the week. To reheat, I just add a little water, cover and heat in the oven. Or I might use it for my Leftover Rice Casserole. This rice goes great with my Saucy Black Beans.



I don't always use chicken stock, often times I just use water, but, you definitely increase the nutritional value if you use the stock!


By the way, Amy, from Simple Sugar and Gluten Free has an awesome website with fabulous recipes. Her testimony of how changing her diet enabled her to lose weight and regain health is truly inspiring, check her out!

5 comments:

Julie said...

I started making my brown rice in the oven several years ago and will never make it on the stove top again. It is wonderful, isn't it? It just so happens, oven-baked brown rice is on my OAMC menu for Friday. :)

Alice said...

Michelle,
Some of the instructions for soaking grains is rather difficult to understand. How exactly do you soak grains. I hate to admit it but I haven't yet done this BUT we are slowly switching to brown rice. I just bake it. Sadly, I am only just learning about the healthier aspects of foods although I do not purchase prepackaged meals-not one single prepackaged anything. But I do need a tutor on how to do certain things. I need very specific details on what to soak and what not to soak. Thanks for your help.
Alice

Michelle (She Looketh Well) said...

HI Alice, it can be confusing, can't it, trying to do everything right and sometimes with conflicting information?? Sounds like you are making some pretty big changes, getting away from prepackaged foods is HUGE!!!

A simple thing you can do is simply soak your brown rice the day before you plan on cooking it. Put the amount you need for your recipe in a bowl, cover with warm water and a 'splash' of whey, or yogurt or even vinegar. The goal is to make an acidulated water, which just means water with some acid in it. Whey, yogurt or vinegar are an acid. It really can be that simple. There are ways to go even further in depth, but this little change alone would be great for you. I would definitely recommend a good 12 hours, but even 24 is better, IMO.

Then, just drain and proceed with your recipe. I have even read that you can use the water you soak it in to cook it in. I usually just drain it off and cook it in chicken broth. I hope that helps.

Check my sidebar for the breakfast challenge to see how to soak oats. If you are interested in more of the 'how-tos' of soaking grains you could google 'soaking grains', so many other women have done an awesome job writing about this, I just haven't had the time and they seem to have a real talent for making it simple ;-)

If I can help you further, please let me know. Just know that you are doing an awesome job already! I know what it is like to start late in the game with all these healthy changes, but God gives the wisdom we need! Blessings!

Amy Green said...

Thanks so much for sharing my recipe and my blog with your readers. I don't always soak my grains (ok, almost never...) but maybe someday I'll start. :)

You have a lovely blog and I'm honored to be part of it. Big hugs!!

sanjeet said...

Sounds like you are making some pretty big changes, getting away from prepackaged foods is HUGE!!!