<p>Many of us love our Rice Cookers!!! (even students love them!)</p>
<p>What do you make in them besides standard plain white/brown rice?</p>
<p>I’m going to try to create a Tomato Risotto Rice Cooker recipe today for my gluten-free son. (crossing fingers - I’ll confess the results later. lol )</p>
<p>One of my fav Rice Cooker Recipes is…</p>
<p>Mexican Rice<br>
Spray the cooker with Pam
Add some canola oil
Add some chopped onion
3 cups of white rice (using that smaller rice cooker measuring cup)
3 1/4 cups of either water or chix broth (or mix of both)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes (any of the flavors - I like the one with lime) - some may prefer only using half of a can for less spicy flavor or using the “mild” variety.
a few shakes of garlic powder (to taste).
a few shakes or grinds of black pepper
1 t of cumin (or more to taste)
2 T of Taco Seasoning (I prefer the home-made Taco seasoning mix - see below)</p>
<p>For those who don’t have Rotel in your stores, it’s sometimes sold generically canned as diced tomatoes with green chilis …and I’m guessing that the Del Monte Mexican tomatoes would work similarly.</p>
<p>Home-made Taco Seasoning mix - </p>
<p>1 cup dried minced onion
1/3 cup chili powder
2-3 T cumin
4 t crushed red pepper (or 1 t ground red pepper and 3 t crushed - this is hotter.)
1 T dried oregano
4 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
Combine and store in cool dry place.</p>
<p>The only thing I make in my rice cooker…is rice. BUT we use it at least once a week. Ours is over 27 years old and if it died, I would replace it immediately.</p>
<p>Are they really good? I hate single-use appliances, but my rice ALWAYS boils over. I didn’t even know you could do other stuff with them! I will be watching this thread with interest.</p>
<p>the results…pretty tasty! A surprisingly good turn out! So easy!!! </p>
<p>Tomato Risotto Rice </p>
<p>Turn on cooker to “White Rice” to start heating
Spray cooker with Olive Oil Pam
pat of butter
add a splash of EVOO to the pan as well
add chopped onion (about a half of an onion)
add some shakes of crushed red pepper (less if you don’t like much)
1 t of oregano -crush between fingers when adding
1 t of basil - crush between fingers when adding
heavy pinch of dried parsley…crushed between fingers when adding
3 crushed chopped garlic cloves (or use dried garlic)
some grinds of black pepper
some shakes of salt</p>
<p>Stir above in heating rice cooker…then add…</p>
<p>1 can of diced mushrooms - drained
1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes (the one with Italian seasonings added - do not drain!)
3 cups of Arborio Rice (risotto style rice) Used the rice cooker measure which is smaller.
1 can of chix broth PLUS water to make a total of 3 1/4 cups of liquid</p>
<p>Gently stir the above and then close lid and cook.</p>
<p>When done, gently stir to redistribute the veggies and such. </p>
<p>before serving, sprinkle with the Italian-style cheese of choice.</p>
<p>You could easily add/include some chopped zucchini, yellow squash or asparagus as well for a veggie main dish. …and use veg broth as well. </p>
<p>I think some would use some white wine in place of some water, but didn’t have any on hand.</p>
<p>Are they really good? I hate single-use appliances, but my rice ALWAYS boils over.</p>
<p>I don’t care for single-use appliances either (take too much room!), but a rice cooker is different…love it, love it, love it.</p>
<p>*How easy is a rice cooker to clean??? And how long does a recipe like above take to cook? *</p>
<p>I have an Aroma brand from Costco.</p>
<p>Mine is very easy to clean…it has a “no-stick” interior pan. The deep non-stick pan lifts out (like a crock pot removable crock) and can go into the D/W or be easily cleaned in the sink. </p>
<p>The recipes above take about 20-30 minutes in the Rice Cooker…the timing is automatic based on what you select…I selected “White Rice”. If you notice in my first post, I mentioned that I was going to try to create a Tomato Risotto recipe and then an hour later I posted the results with what I did.</p>
<p>When I was in college, I cooked anything that needed to be steamed or boiled in a rice cooker. It is a staple appliance in nearly all HI homes. Some homes even have multiple ones of different sizes. The one I have in my kitchen makes up to 10 cups of rice–some make as few as 3 cups or many, many more. A 5 or 10 cup rice cooker is quite common in HI & sold at Costco & many other stores here.</p>
<p>I have cooked rice with whatever other grain I wanted to–lentils, split peas, barley. I believe Quinoa may take a bit longer to cook but since H didn’t like it, I haven’t followed up. Generally, we just use it to cook rice. I often put some white & the rest brown rice & just cook it. If you eat rice daily, it is a very useful appliance for your household.</p>
<p>I have made chicken mochi rice. You make it similarly to regular rice except you use chicken broth and extra bullion to have an increased chicken flavor (also making the rice saltier). I also often add rehydrated dried mushrooms. I also cook sausage on the stove and slice it & add it to the rice after it has completed cooking. (When I’m lazy, I slice the uncooked sausage and throw it into the rice pot so it cooks with the rice. It imparts more flavor to the rice but makes the sausage lose most of its flavor. Also can throw in cooked or uncooked chicken in a similar manner.) Using a rice paddle, you combine the ingredients well after the rice is done. DELICIOUS!</p>
<p>Mochi rice is sold in many asian stores. It is stickier than “regular” rice. Similar cooking could be used with any other rice but many of us like the texture of mochi rice, especially for special occasions. Costco in HI also sells mochi rice in 5 pound bags.</p>
<p>Rice cookers never boil over, but also, rice cookers keep the rice hot for hours. So no more worrying about putting on the rice at the right time. Just dump the rice and water in the cooker and hit the switch when you start to make dinner. Then start chopping and frying everything else. When the rest of your dinner is ready, your rice is cooked and piping hot.</p>
<p>We have a rice cooker that we received as a wedding gift, 25 years ago. We use it almost every week, but have only ever cooked rice in it. DH’s sweet Aunt gave it to us those many years ago. When we visited her this past summer, we mentioned it to her (how we love it & use it often). She was so tickled to hear that her gift was our treasured appliance. </p>
<p>We are truly living the “rice and beans” life right now, so DH (so cost-conscious!) will only buy rice at Sams in 25 pound bags… :)</p>
<p>There was no particular recipe with the lentils–just put in equal amounts of lentils & rice when I cooked it, as well as the regular amount of liquid & ate it as a starch. I am sure you could add seasonings but we wanted it fairly plain so it wouldn’t clash with whatever else we were eating for the meal. It added some variety to our diet in college/grad school.<br>
I gave several of my grad school friends a rice cooker when they got married, since none of them had ever had one.</p>
<p>Oooh, HI mom, that reminds me of a dish my mom used to make–basically, chicken breast chunks, chicken broth, shiitake mushrooms, shredded carrots, and a bit of soy sauce in with the short grain white rice. That’s my comfort food!</p>
<p>When DS moved into a dorm suite with a kitchenette, the only two things he wanted were a G**<strong><em>F</em></strong>** grill and a rice cooker. The grill is gone, but he’s schlepped the rice cooker around with him for years.</p>
<p>We eat rice a few times a week and I’ve never owned a rice cooker. It’s already so easy to make and I don’t need more counter space used up. How does it cook rice any easier than a plain pot? I start the rice first when starting dinner and it’s done by the time anything else is.</p>
<p>I got tired of making rice on the stove because I would forget to turn down to simmer when it started boiling and so it would boil over.</p>
<p>The rice cooker does it all itself with no adjustments…and it kind of steams the rice which makes it less sticky ( I think). And, it then stays on “warm” afterwards. </p>
<p>I would like a Rice Cooker recipe that makes a faux Asian Fried Rice…</p>
<p>So far, I’ve come up with… (but would like some better ideas!)</p>
<p>Turn on cooker to “White Rice” to start heating</p>
<p>Spray cooker with Pam
1 T of butter
add a splash of veg oil to the cooker ( or some sesame oil)
add 1/4 chopped onion
1/8 - 1/4 t garlic powder
1-2 T of soy sauce
1 t hot Chinese Mustard
some grinds of black pepper
some shakes of salt
some shakes of sesame seed
1/4 cup frozen mixed veggies that I’ve defrosted in the micro for about 30 secs. </p>
<p>Stir around</p>
<p>Then add…
3 cups jasmine rice or reg white rice
3 1/4 cups of water</p>
<p>close lid and cook. Stir when done</p>
<p>I’ve never added an uncooked egg or two to the rice cooker, but I may need to try that. However, when I’ve had leftovers, I’ve fried the leftovers in a pan with some oil and a few eggs stirred in.</p>
<p>Have you tried the brown jasmine and brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s? Also, anyone who lives in So Cal and hasn’t been to a 99 Ranch Market should go check it out!</p>