Rice, Rice Baby!
What can you do with rice? The possibilities are endless! From exotic dishes to rice for fussy eaters, including gluten-free options, one thing is for sure — you can’t go wrong with this inexpensive pantry staple. Although it’s a classic on its own, we love how many opportunities there are to spice things up!
Dishes For Picky Eaters
Kids have gotten a reputation for being hard to please (and it may be well earned), but we think Delish might be onto something with this Cheesy Chicken Rice recipe. Chicken, mushrooms, and parsley all come together beautifully, but they might just have the secret to pleasing kids: put a bunch of cheese on it!
Disguising new meals with salsa, cheese, and sour cream might be the key to getting your little ones to try this Healthy Mexican Fried Rice, which is secretly nutritious while still being delicious. Even better, make a topping bar, and encourage the kiddos to “add to” their own meal out of the ingredients.
Easy Gluten-Free Options
Rice pasta is a fantastic option for making a yummy meal without gluten! Simply Home Cooked provides a recipe for Gluten-Free Stir-Fry with Rice Noodles that will have your guests singing your praises! Tweak this recipe with different meat or meat alternatives to please everyone who sits at your table.
Family Food on the Table brings us this yummy Brown Rice Edamame Salad with Carrots featuring their distinctive Soy-Ginger Dressing. A salad that is just as enjoyable hot, cold, or at room temperature, this dish is perfect to bring along when visiting friends and neighbors. 
There are a few menu items that are as universally adored as stuffed peppers. This Rice Stuffed Pepper recipe from Taste of Home is no exception. Using instant rice and a cheese sauce, this main dish or side comes together beautifully; the rice taking on the flavor of everything it touches. Plus, you really can’t go wrong with – you guessed it – cheese sauce.
Spice Up Your Fried Rice
One of the first things that comes to our minds when we think of rice is the oh-so-adaptable fried rice. There are approximately one million ways to customize fried rice, making it hard to choose just one recipe! Delish provides their take on the Best Fried Rice recipe while encouraging improvisation. Make this dish your own by adding whatever ingredient moves you.
The delightfully simple Doodhpaak / Kheer recipe from Framed Recipes is swoon-worthy. Rice pudding has never looked, sounded, or tasted so good! The saffron and chopped nuts add yummy and refined ingredients to this exotic treat that will have everyone begging for seconds.
Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice from Skinny Taste uses leftover cooked brown rice – a delicious whole grain that’s high in fiber- and topped with a seafood lover’s dream – shrimp flash fried in a sizzling hot wok!
Rice Pudding-Palooza!
Rice pudding is perfect for the cooler months ahead — it’s creamy comfort in a bowl! It’s also completely customizable. It’s a simple recipe, but whether you go the classic stovetop route, or you make rice pudding in your slow cooker or instant pot is up to you, Add chocolate chips, cinnamon sticks, dried cranberries… the options are endless (and delicious)!
We surveyed a few of the most-loved recipes in the rice dessert department and one of the highest rated is Spicy Southern Kitchen’s Old Fashioned Rice Pudding, that takes just a few ingredients and a little patience. For 13 more rice pudding recipes that combine the perfect texture with the perfect sweetness, check out Saveur’s best-of collection.
Home Cooking in Crystal Valley
Whether you’re whipping up a fancy multi-course meal with stuffed peppers and or tossing rice pudding in the slow cooker, you’ll love cooking in your dream home at Crystal Valley. You’ll feel right at home with plenty of counter space and walk-in pantries from our high-quality builders, Richmond American, Century Communities, D.R. Horton, and Kauffman Homes, starting in the $300s. Let your meal settle with a long walk through our 600-acres of open space or by enjoying a slow stroll through Pinnacle Park, the heart of our community.
