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.

Porcupines in a Skillet

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
• 1½ c. hot water
• ¾ c. uncooked white rice
• 1 (16 oz) can tomatoes
• 1 c. shredded cheese

Cook beef and drain grease.  Add soup mix, rice, water, and tomatoes.  Simmer until rice is done, about 20-25 minutes.  When done, top with shredded cheese.



Dry Onion Soup Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dried onion flakes
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon granules
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Stir the onion flakes, beef bouillon granules, onion powder, parsley flakes, celery seed, paprika, and black pepper in a bowl. Use as substitute for a 1-ounce envelope of dry onion soup mix.

Autumn's Mild Sausage Blend

• 4 Tbsp Legg's Old Plantation Seasonings:  Pork Sausage Blend 10
• 2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Ground Sage

Use this ratio to mix as much seasonings as needed for deer or pork sausage.  This will make mild sausage.

Weigh 1 pound meat using meat scale.

Add 20 grams of seasonings per pound of sausage.

* If  making deer sausage, use 2 lbs deer meat and 1 lb Boston Butt.

* Pure Boston Butt is used for pork sausage.

*Pasta Primavera with Chicken

• 1 lb Chicken breast, cut in thin slices
• Cavender's Greek Seasoning (salt free)
• 1 lb Penné Pasta, cooked al dente 
• 1 - 1/2 c. Chicken broth
• 1 - 1/2 c. Yellow Tail Chardonnay 
• 1 med. yellow squash
• 1 med. zucchini
• 1 large white onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 Tbsp minced garlic, from jar 
• 1/2 c. Parmesan and Romano cheese blend
• 1/4 c. Half and half 
• 2 Tbsp EVOO
• 2 tsp cornstarch 
• Sea salt, to taste

Dust the sliced chicken liberally with Cavender's Seasoning.  Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet.  Cook the chicken and minced garlic until chicken is no longer pink.  Remove from skillet.

Slice onion and pepper into thin strips.  Peel and slice squash and zucchini into 1/8 inch thick slices.  Place them in the hot skillet.  Lightly dust with Cavender's. 

Add 1 and 1/2 cups each chicken broth and Chardonnay.  Add sea salt as needed for vegetables.   Remember there is already some salt in the chicken broth.  Bring the vegetables to a boil and cook until tender.

Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup water.  Add to veggies.  Simmer for a minute or 2 to thicken.  Add Parmesan cheese blend.  Add half and half.  Stir in chicken and penne pasta.  Heat through.  Serve immediately. 

*Notes for next time: 
- increase Parmesan/Romano to 3/4 cup, maybe a whole cup.

Salmon Loaf

• 1 (14.75 oz) can Salmon, undrained
• 1/2 c. Dried Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 c. Milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt and Pepper, to taste 
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 large Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp dried Dill Weed

Preheat oven to 350°F .

Remove the bones and skin from the salmon but keep the juice.   In a mixing bowl, combine the salmon, salmon juice, bread crumbs, milk, egg, and seasonings. Mix thoroughly.

Sauté the onion in the butter and then add the cooked onion to the salmon mix.  Stir well.

 Place the mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 5" loaf pan. Sprinkle a few extra bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes or until done.

** The salmon loaf may be served as is or may be accompanied by the following sauce.

Dill Sauce

• 1/2 c. Mayo
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp Sweet relish
• 2 Tbsp Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp dried Dill Weed

Mix ingredients well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to serving.

Simple Pancakes

Prep:  5 min
Cook:  15 min
Servings:  8 pancakes

1 1/4 c. Self-rising Flour
1 c. whole milk (2% will work, but don't use 1% or skim)
3 Tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt

Whisk together in a bowl.  Get the griddle or nonstick pan hot.  Dip out 1/4 cup of batter per pancake.  When surface is very bubbly and edges are formed, flip gently and brown the other side.  Be careful not to get the pan too hot or you will burn the outside before the middle is done.