I am Loving My Rice Cooker!

My mother-in-law got me this rice cooker for Christmas and as a self-proclaimed lazy cook, I LOVE IT! The steamer basket that fits into it lets me fix a whole meal in this thing with little prep, no standing and watching, no stirring, no sticking, no burning!

Tonight's menu is Spanish Rice with steamed chicken breasts.

I diced some green and red peppers, sautéd them in the rice cooker with a bit of unsaturated margarine while I rinsed my brown rice (1.5 c dry) and measured the vegetable juice and beef broth (combined 3 cups). Then I seasoned my skinless boneless chicken breast halves (3) with my own Mexican seasoning mix. I lay several strips of green and red peppers on the steamer basket, and placed the seasoned chicken breasts on top. I stirred the sautéing peppers-- still slightly crispy, but the juices had been released to flavour the rice . I added dehydrated onion flakes (I cheat sometimes.) I added the rinsed brown rice and the vegetable juice-beef broth mixture. Then I placed the steamer basket with the chicken breasts and pepper strips on top. Pushed down the cook button and walked away. Twenty minutes later, the breasts were done, but the rice needed to cook longer. (I with there were a longer cook time option for us brown rice users!) Removed the steamer basket, placed the lid on the rice and pressed the cook button back down (after a quick stir. Old habits die hard!)

Dinner prep was less than 5 minutes. That works for me!

As for my Mexican seasoning mix, I mix a large batch of this at a time and use for seasoning taco meat, refried beans for burritos, or as above, chicken breasts.

Mexican Seasoning Mix

1/3 cup minced dried onion
1/4 cup dried Parsley
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (our own organic, homegrown)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (again, our organic homegrown)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I'm not THAT good yet ;) )

That's enough for one recipe of taco meat, however you'll want to add a thickener such as cornstarch.