If there is one thing I’m learning it’s that I will always thank myself on Tuesday night for cooking up a batch of brown rice Sunday. Food prep like cooking grains, baked potatoes and even shredded chicken in the slow cooker ALWAYS saves me during the school week.

When I find myself unsure of what I want to make for dinner (not to mention, short on time), it’s always incredibly helpful to have a few staples already cooked up and waiting in the fridge. Brown rice is one of those staples and helps to make this super quick and easy Vegetable Fried Brown Rice possible even on the busiest of nights.

(more…)

The post 5-Ingredient Vegetable Fried Brown Rice appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

(This post is part of the #ThinkRice campaign that I am participating in as a member of the Healthy Aperture network, sponsored by USA Rice.)

Happy Spring!! I don’t know about you, but Spring is most definitely my favorite season of the year. Depending on where you live, the weather has warmed up (we hit the 90s last week – too warm!) and when the weather is nice like it has been I just crave good, light, fresh food. No offense to winter comfort food, but I am so done with all that. Bring on the crunchy veggies, fresh fruit, all things grilled and my current favorite obsession – grain salads! This Caprese Rice Salad screams fresh, warm weather food and was enjoyed along side our favorite grilled chicken.

I know tomatoes are technically a summer food, but here in Florida they are pretty much available all the time. Especially the smaller varieties like cherry tomatoes, which happen to be one of my favorites. They are sweet and bite sized and are perfect for salads like this one.

(more…)

The post Caprese Rice Salad appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is my favorite week of the year. I always feel more relaxed, refreshed and ready to take on whatever lies ahead in the start of the new year. I love looking back on the blog while writing posts like this and seeing what I’ve cooked over the last 12 months. For someone who didn’t’t know what to make for dinner more than half of the time, I didn’t do half bad.

I can’t thank you enough for visiting Aggie’s Kitchen for recipes, this blog fulfills me more than you know and I appreciate all my readers, friends and family who have supported it and me over the years. Hope you are enjoying the holiday and I wish everyone the best in the upcoming year. Bring on 2016!

Here are the Top 15 Most Popular Recipes on Aggie’s Kitchen from 2015: 

1. Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing

2. Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

3. Mexican Slaw Salad with Black Beans

4. Slow Cooker Asian Citrus Pork Tenderloin

5. Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

6. Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Melts

7. Strawberry Grapefruit Ginger Smoothie

8. Apple, Celery, Walnut Salad with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

9. Roasted Red Peppers with Pesto and Goat Cheese

10. Greek Village Salad

11. Almond Peach Kefir Smoothie

12. Taco Turkey Black Bean Rice Bowls

13. Spring Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts

14. Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

15. Kale, Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Frittata

From the past:

Best of 2014 – My Favorites and Yours

Best of 2013 – My Favorites and Yours

My 12 Favorite Meals of 2012

Bye Bye 2011

Top 5 Favorites of 2009

The post Top 15 Most Popular Recipes From 2015 appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I can’t tell you what a life saver having part of dinner ready before dinner time has been lately. Grain salads, like this Black Bean and Rice Salad, are hearty and healthy and can be made ahead of time to go with pretty much whatever you are serving. They are pretty good on their own too quite frankly (I had leftovers for lunch just yesterday along with torn fresh spinach, extra lime and a few dashes of hot sauce, so good). I’ll add that my bean loving daughter took some in her lunch box too.

This Black Bean and Rice Salad is also perfect picnic or barbecue food. (Is anyone out there picnicking or barbecuing this time of year? I ask because in Florida right now the thought of being outside is the last thing on my mind. August has officially become my least favorite month with it’s super high heat index and humidity. It’s just gross I tell ya.)

So whether you are looking to make dinner time easier, or need something to bring to a late summer pot luck, this is just the type of dish you need in your repertoire. A hearty grain like brown or wild rice, some basic veggies and a couple of cans of black beans simply dressed in fresh lime juice, olive oil and a couple of spices. Easy peasy.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

(more…)

The post Black Bean and Rice Salad appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Taco night returned last night. Yay! My son mentioned over the weekend that we should make chicken tacos at home this week, just like Chipotles. Sounds great to me son! I love that my kids are starting to embrace Mexican food more than a simple cheese quesadilla – it makes me happy to see them grabbing for fixings to add to their tacos on their plates.

For this week’s taco night I wanted to add a simple side that I’ve made a couple times before using my beloved rice cooker. There are a few small appliances I have picked up over the years that have become lifesavers in the kitchen for me – this rice cooker being one of them (which is why I’m giving one away today!). I have to admit, when I first got my rice cooker, I was a little intimidated by it. I haven’t always cooked a ton of rice, and the water to rice ratio always threw me off for some reason, it just never turned out right. I am happy to report I’ve finally gotten over the intimidation and use my rice cooker almost weekly.

The best thing about this recipe for Mexican Rice that I’m sharing with you today is that I made it all in the rice cooker – at the same time. It is the easiest dish to put together ever! Pair it up with the chicken I cooked in the slow cooker for the tacos and I almost feel guilty about all the compliments I got at dinner last night – it was seriously one of the easiest dinners I’ve made in a while. All I had to really do when it came to dinner time is shred up the chicken and warm up the tortillas. Good stuff.

You can play with this rice a bit. I’ve added pinto beans to the mix before, but this time I tried corn. I always start with the rice and water at the bottom, then put the extras right up on top – without stirring. Once the cooker does it’s magic I fluff it up real good with a fork, drizzle some olive oil over it and season it well with salt and pepper. It’s a perfect side dish for taco night! Enjoy!

(more…)

The post Mexican Wild Rice Recipe appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I really can’t believe we are in the month of May already. The kids have started their countdown until summer vacation starts, and to be honest so have I. It’s always bittersweet ending another school year and watching your kids grow up right before your eyes – but I truly look forward to not having to set an alarm clock or pack lunches or being on any kind of schedule for a couple of months. Lazy days ahead!!

Warm weather dinners, the kind where most of your food is cooked out on the grill or prepped ahead of time and served chilled, are my favorite. I love the early evenings of summer where the kids are jumping into the pool while I’m getting the grill ready for dinner. We had one of those nights recently, though it was a school night it felt like a carefree summer night. The kids were getting into the pool to swim for the first time this season, and although the water was still a little chilly, they hung in there for a good hour or so going back and forth to the hot tub to warm up every now and then. Seeing them outside having so much fun instantly put me into that summer mood…the one where if I wasn’t pregnant I would have poured myself a glass of chilled white wine or made myself a Captain & (diet) Coke with extra lime and sat in the lounger to watch them play. I settled for a glass of ice water instead. 😉

Grilled chicken (like this Italian Herb Grilled Chicken) and veggies always come into play when that summer mood hits and it just happened to be on the menu that night. That and this unbelievably fresh and delicious Herbed Wild Rice Salad. I actually prepped it earlier in the day while the kids were still at school using leftover rice from the night before’s dinner (glad I made a double batch!) and fresh herbs from my little garden. I swear, I could not stop eating this stuff. It’s dressed very simply with a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. But the toasted pine nuts paired with the fresh herbs put this leftover rice over the top.

(more…)

The post Herbed Wild Rice Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Rice is not something I make very often. It’s just not one of my favorite things. I’m more of a pasta person I guess. Although…have you ever tried Basmati rice? Well, I am becoming a huge fan of this rice. I don’t know what makes it so good, but whenever I cook it, it comes out so light and fluffy, just the way I want my rice to be.

I prepared this Cilantro Rice the other day to serve alongside our Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with Tropical Salsa. It was a perfect side dish. The cilantro and green onions really brightened up the rice and added just enough flavor to keep it from being boring. I also included a “secret ingredient”…I crushed up 3 cloves of garlic and threw them in with the dry rice and water during the cooking process. Nothing wrong with a little garlic right?

Cilantro Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Basmati rice, uncooked
• 2 cups cold water
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of your knife
• 1 tsp olive oil
• large handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine rice and water in a large microwavable covered dish (I use my Corning Ware). Add a small drizzle of olive oil and crushed garlic to rice. Place in microwave and cook for 18 minutes. Do not take off lid during cooking process. Once it is cooked, fluff rice with a fork and taste for doneness. (If at this time it's not cooked well enough - it should be - just add a small amount of water and cook for a few more minutes) Toss in chopped cilantro, green onions, salt and pepper.

 

Follow AggiesKitchen on Instagram and show us what recipes you are making from the blog! Use the hashtag #aggieskitchen - I'd love to see what you are cooking up!

 

The post Cilantro Rice appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I did plan one good meal last week, these stuffed peppers. They are a favorite around here, and very healthy and satisfying. We usually just eat the peppers by themselves, but if you want to round out the meal serve them with a side of ziti and leftover sauce from the peppers.

Stuffed Peppers
Recipe by Aggie

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 can chicken broth
6 medium green (or red) peppers – all around the same size so they cook evenly
1.25 (or so) lbs lean Ground Turkey, Beef, or Pork
1 lg onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 container Baby Bella mushrooms (or regular mushrooms), rough chop
2 regular cans of Diced Italian SeasonedTomatoes
1 large can of Tomato Sauce
lg pinch of dried Basil (small palmfull)
lg pinch of dried Oregano (small palmfull)
lg pinch of dried Thyme (small palmfull)
Salt and Pepper
Grated Parmesean Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Cook rice – bring can of chicken broth to boil, add 1 cup rice, bring back to boil then turn temp all the way down to let simmer, cover tightly with lid and leave alone for about 30 minutes. Don’t take the lid off during cook time.

2. Prepare the peppers – cut the tops of peppers off so there is a hole, remove ribs and seed on the inside, wash them.
In deep baking dish, line them up. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside peppers before filling them.

3. For filling – saute chopped onion, garlic in some olive oil in large skillet. Season w/ salt and pepper. When soft, add ground turkey. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, basil and oregano while cooking. When turkey is almost done cooking, add chopped mushrooms and cook everything through. Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes and cook through. When rice is done, add rice to skillet and mix everything together. Spoon filling into each pepper. Top with grated parmesean cheese.

4. To bake -Pour large can of tomato sauce all over peppers. Add water to leftover sauce in can (about 1/4 of the can), swirl around to get all the sauce then add to the bottom of the baking dish. Wrap tightly with foil or lid. Bake for about an hour, until peppers are soft. Take off foil, add mozzarella, bake another 20 minutes to finish off and melt cheese.

The post Stuffed Peppers appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Sometimes the best meals come out of those days you play “Use it Up” in the kitchen. I play that game a lot…as I’m sure many of you do too! This meal consisted of leftover grilled chicken that I spiced up with Greek Seasoning (you can mix up your own with salt, pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder) and a bunch of vegetables that I had sitting in my produce drawer begging to be eaten. I also went the easy route and used Rice a Roni Whole Grains Chicken and Herb Classico. I love their line of Savory Whole Grain Blends, they come in really handy on those nights you are trying to put together something quick.

I call this dish fried rice because after sauteing the vegetables and cooking the rice, I threw it all in the same pan with the leftover chicken and “fried” it together…and the real reason is because my picky son likes fried rice and I wanted him to eat it! And thankfully he did (squash, zucchini, asparagus and all = accomplishment!)

Greek Chicken and Vegetable “Fried” Rice

1 box Rice a Roni Whole Grains Chicken and Herb Classico
leftover chicken, chopped or shredded (I used grilled Greek seasoned chicken for this, but you can subsitute any chicken)
1-2 TB olive oil
1 -2 zucchini, chopped small
1-2 squash, chopped small
bunch of asparagus, chopped small
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
shredded parmesan cheese
toasted pine nuts, optional

Cook rice according to directions.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add chopped vegetables, salt and pepper to taste, and saute at med-high heat for 8-10 minutes or until cooked. Once vegetables are cooked, add chicken and rice to skillet and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes. Toss to combine flavors, add toasted pine nuts if using. Serve with shredded parmesan cheese.

The post Greek Chicken and Vegetable “Fried” Rice appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.