Brown Rice Pilaf

I love rice. When I was in college, I ate an ungodly amount of Rice-A-Roni. One of my favorites was rice pilaf. So when I decided to make garlic butter shrimp one night, I thought pilaf would be a great side to o along with it. Whipping out my cell phone and looking for recipes on the Interweb, I came across one similar to this. After making jambalaya, I had a lot of brown rice leftover, so I used that, which turned out to be a great choice. Also, in place of the broth the recipe called for, I used the chicken stock that my boyfriend had made from the chicken carcass we had leftover from another dinner. If there’s one thing I love, it’s being able to use ingredients from previous meals. And this had an exceptional flavor because I didn’t use the salt-infused, store-bought chicken broth.

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup long grain brown rice

2-1/2 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, sauté onions and garlic in oil for 4-5 minutes. Add rice and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (about 45 minutes). Uncover, add salt and pepper and stir. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.