Rice-a-Ron-ish

I have to hand it to Kayla K, over at her blog Kayla K's Thrifty Ways.  She suggested a recipe for homemade "Rice-a-Roni," and I knew I had to try it with my own twist.  (Visit Kayla's when you have the chance; she has some great thrifty projects, and she is another blogger in the small family space, which is helpful for those of us who are cooking and crafting for two instead of six.)

The "Rice-a-Ron-ish," as I call mine, was done in less than 20 minutes, and it tasted really good.  Mr. FC&G declared it "a hundred times better than the boxed stuff," and I have to agree it had a subtleness and flavor that the spice packet variety doesn't have.

FC&G Rice-a-Ron-ish

1 cup instant brown rice
About 1 cup whole wheat spaghetti, broken into small pieces
2 t. sage
1 t. thyme
2 medium leeks, chopped
2 cups homemade chicken broth
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Cook the rice, pasta, and spices in the broth.  Add the leeks in the last 5 minutes of cooking to preserve some crunch.  Serve as a side dish, or wolf the whole thing down as a meal for two, which is what we did!

The Analysis

Fast:  Just like the box, this was ready in 20 minutes.  In fact, my pasta was nearly cooked in the time it took me to go out to the garden and get some leeks.

Cheap:  The homemade broth, and garden spices and leeks make this super-cheap.  There is probably less than $1 worth of rice and pasta in here to serve two.

Good:  The flavor of the chicken broth really came through on this, along with the spices.  This is so cheap and easy, I don't think I'll ever buy the box again.  Thanks, Kayla!