Friday, June 18, 2010

Cooking Handicaps and Green Bean and Rice Casserole

Do you want to know something about me that is really strange?  Maybe not really strange, but it boggles my mind and my husband's too.  I can't cook rice to save my life.  Yes, it's true.  Whether it's regular rice cooked in a pot, instant rice or boil in the bag rice, if I'm involved, it's a disaster.  Either it comes out gummy or it's cooked on the outside and hard in the middle.  The only way I can cook rice is in a rice cooker.

A.J. has told me, "Katherine, you could take an old shoe, make taste good.  I don't understand why you can't cook rice!".  ~Me either, sheesh~.  My mother stood over me one time to see what I was doing wrong.  She said I did everything exactly how she did and even she couldn't understand why I had a gummy mess.

As most mothers do, she figured out a way for her child to overcome this handicap and gave me a rice cooker for Christmas.  Seriously, she really did.  For about 20 years that little rice cooker turned out many perfect pots of  rice.  It drowned like a lot of my small kitchen applicances from Katrina flooding.  A rice cooker was not on the top of the list of necessities that had to be replaced.  Besides, the brand I had was no long made and I was afraid of buying a rice cooker that made suckier rice than I did.

Finally, after two years of  either eating my poor attempt at rice or buying plain white rice from Chinese restaurants, I researched and made "the" purchase.  So now my rice loving family has one less worry on their minds and I have one less stressor in my life.

If you have picky eaters that love rice, here's an evil plot!  Lace their rice with bacon, cheese and vegetables.  The won't be able to resist.




Cook 2 cups of white rice.  Brown four strips of bacon, the real stuff.  Drain, cool, crumble and set aside.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in the skillet and melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat.



Brown 1/2 cup of chopped onions, 1 can of drained cut green beans and 1/2 cup of mushrooms.  I used some baby bellas I had in the fridge.  A note about the green beans.  I used the cut beans because you want them to be approximately bite size.  They are also sturdier in the skillet than the French-style green beans.  Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat once the onions start to wilt.



Place the cooked rice in a prepared casserole dish and pour the green beans over the rice.  Gently fold in the green beans into the rice.



Add 1 cup of sour cream, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire.





1 tablespoon of hot sauce (optional).



1 tablespoon lemon juice.  Fold and evenly combine all ingredients.




Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the top.



Complete the garnishing with Panko crumbs and Asiago cheese for a salty crunchy top!



Bake at the universal oven temperature of 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.



So tell me, what is your cooking handicap?


Have a fantastic weekend!  Happy Father's Day!



19 comments:

The JR said...

Mine is bread. I always burn it. Garlic bread, cheese toast, biscuits. If it's bread it's burnt.

That rice dish looks great.

Joanne said...

Oy considering how much your family loves rice, that period without the rice cooker must have been tough! I love this dish...looks stuffed with flavor.

My weakness is cooking beans. Sometimes they turn out, sometimes they don't. I really need to just buy a pressure cooker.

Julie said...

Yeah, there's no way I could resist that either.

Debbie said...

Oh I love rice and so does my son. My cooking handicap would have to be green beans. I have to be so careful that I don't overcook them and make them to soft!

Lorinne said...

What brand of rice cooker did you decide on, and do you like it? I've been thinking about purchasing one, but have had the same thoughts.

buffalodick said...

I gave my rice maker to my kid..I've made it on the stove forever, and white, brown or wild(grass not rice!) I have never pooched a batch! Other baked goods challenge me a lot!

Jennifer said...

Damn, I knew there was a reason we are so much alike! I cannot cook rice EITHER! I gave up years ago and got a rice cooker too. I have used the shit out of that baby!

gigi said...

That's what I call all gussied up green beans and rice. Sounds just up my ally.
Happy weekend to you too.

Chef Dennis Littley said...

when I first learned to cook rice casseroles were my favorite....bacon and cheese were always a staple, I mean how can you go wrong!! I have also found that baking rice instead of stovetop gets more consistent results!
My kitchen nightmare is cornbread....sigh....imagine a southern boy who can't make cornbread to save his life

Reeni said...

That is irresistible Katherine - loaded with all those goodies! My weakness is bread baking with yeast...

julie said...

This looks great! If it's got bacon I'm all over it. I would say my weakness is cooking beans as well. I have a hard time when cooking them from dry getting them the right texture and softness.

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

Oh my goodness does that look good! Get thee an electronic rice cooker. The End. Perfect rice every time.

Happy weekend! Thanks for stopping by to visit me!!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

This just keeps looking better and better! I've got green beans, canned last summer, ham pieces and new potatoes in my crock pot and supper is waiting on me...for a change!

MaryBeth said...

Over easy eggs....I can't do it without breaking the yolk. We eat a lot of scrambled eggs at our house. My husband is the king or rice making, he has it down ..

Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats said...

This looks like a great casserole that my family would love!

meleah rebeccah said...

OMG! I cant cook rice either! It always comes out like GLUE!

Marjie said...

I fear pie crust, but you probably know that. I love rice, and love adding "stuff" to rice!

Claudia said...

I love jazzing up rice dishes and let me tell you - yours is really jazzed! Nobody could resist all those additions - not the pickiest of eaters.

Marguerite said...

This dish looks wonderful and I will definitely give it a try! I have always cooked rice on the stove and it always comes out perfect. But what is tricky for me is cooking chicken, which usually comes out tough, no matter how I prepare it.