Rice Stuff for Recipe Friday

I know, “Rice Stuff” isn’t a very good name for a recipe. But I made this last night and when we said our usual dinner prayer — “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this _______ to us be blessed” — in which the blank is the specific dish we are having for dinner, my son and husband both filled in the blank with “rice stuff.” This was then followed by, “Mmmmmm, I love rice stuff!”

If it was me, I would call this dish Beef Skillet Fried Rice, but it has been dubbed “Rice Stuff” and it’s out of my hands now. It’s a very easy dish to make and seldom results in leftovers. And I almost always have everything in the house to make it without any advanced planning.

Rice Stuff

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 package Rice-a-Roni, Fried Rice flavor
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 tbsp butter (per Rice-a-Roni directions)
2 1/3 cups water
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup string beans, chopped into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Fry hamburger in a large skillet. Remove grease using a turkey baster. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Push meat and onion mixture to one side of the pan. Melt butter on the other side of the pan and pour in the Rice-a-Roni. Saute until slightly browned. Add Rice-a-Roni seasoning packet and stir altogether. Add water and stir, making sure the rice doesn’t stick to the pan. (You will note that the water is more than indicated on the Rice-a-Roni directions. This is to accommodate the vegetables.) Layer carrots and string beans on top. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir and simmer 4 or 5 minutes more, or until all liquid is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

You can also add frozen peas instead of the green beans, but they should be layered on top in the last 5 minutes of the original 15 minute simmer or they will get mushy. If you want to stretch this dish to feed more, you can add a can of corn (well-drained, of course).