Uncle Ben's Wild Rice, copycat

*This is delicious!  If you're a fan of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice, you will love this!

• 1 tsp dry chopped onion flakes
• 1⁄2 tsp dry parsley flakes
• 1⁄4 tsp garlic powder
• 1⁄4 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
• 1⁄4 tsp ground ginger
• 1⁄2 tsp black pepper
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 3 c. chicken stock (or 3 c. water plus 1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken)
• 1 c. long grain brown rice
• 1⁄3 c. dry wild rice
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (optional)

Place all ingredients in a 2 quart saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 50 minutes.

**If cooked on the stovetop, this rice must be simmered for 50 minutes to be tender!  Brown rice, long grain white rice, and wild rice take twice as long to cook as traditional white rice.  

**As an alternative, you can cook it in a pressure cooker that has a rice setting.  You may have to manually adjust the cook time to about 23 minutes.

Creamy Garlic Shells

yield: 4 SERVINGS

total time: 25 MINUTES
prep time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 15 MINUTES

8 oz. (1/2 lb.) mini shells pasta

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp minced garlic from jar 

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 cup pasta water + 3/4 tsp Chicken Better Than Bouillon 

3/4 c. half n half

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 c. grated Parmesan/Romano cheese blend

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp dried parsley flakes

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Remove the pot from the heat. Drain and set aside.

Put the empty pot back on the burner over medium heat. Add in the olive oil and butter and cook until the butter is melted. Stir in the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the flour and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute until the flour is cooked and combined with the butter and oil. Pour in the half-n-half and broth and whisk until smooth. Stir in the some salt and pepper and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and bubbling.

Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and the parsley flakes. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Pour the cooked pasta into the pot and mix in with the sauce. Serve.