Search Results for: rice cooker

Rice Cooker Recipes: Coconut Lime Rice

April 14, 2016 by Danielle 1 Comment

I purchased some hazelnut crusted salmon at Trader Joe’s this weekend in case I got lazy one night this week… well, that night came quickly. I wanted something else to make the dish really pop but didn’t know what to make.

So with a bit of searching in my pantry, and perusing Food Network, I was inspired by a meal I watched and tried to re-create it with what I had on hand. I was not disappointed! This coconut lime rice is not only easy to make, it’s so delicious, rich, and flavorful. And it paired perfectly with the salmon.

Plus, I could use the rice cooker to make it. That means one less pot on the stove or dish in the oven. Looking for a great rice maker? This one is my favorite!

Coconut Lime Rice and Beans

2 cups brown jasmine rice
1 14 ounce can coconut milk
1 1/4 cup water
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Juice of 1/2 a lime

Throw everything but the chives and lime juice into a rice cooker and flip the switch to cook… wait for switch to go to warm.

Fold in chives and season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Squirt the juice of 1/2 a lime on top and stir.

Makes 8 servings, 7 WW points per serving (and sooo worth it!)

What’s your favorite rice cooker recipe?

Looking for something else to make in your rice cooker? You won’t want to miss this delicious oatmeal recipe!

How to Make Oatmeal in a Rice Cooker

Filed Under: Appetizers & Sides, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: coconut, healthy side dishes, lime, rice, rice cooker, Side Dishes, sides

AD: Date Night At Home with BBQ Asian Cornish Hens + Rice Cooker Fried Rice

August 28, 2015 by Danielle 4 Comments

This shop featuring BBQ Asian Cornish Hens and a recipe for Rice Cooker Fried Rice has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #JuicyGrilledCornish #CollectiveBias

With a 6 month old at home (who refuses to take a bottle now) it’s a little hard to get out for date night. But that doesn’t stop my husband and I from spending time together. Instead of heading out for a date night together at a nice restaurant, I try and find delicious, simple meals I can make at home that we can enjoy after the kids go to bed.

Now we don’t let the kids starve, we make them something fun like hot dogs or mac and cheese from the box. They consider that a treat and are happy to eat dinner without us. Once we sucker them into their beds, it’s our time!

Now since it’s summer and I’m already using the stove for the kids meal, I don’t want to have to wait a while to get our meal going. So while the husband is putting the older two to bed, I get the barbecue ready and my rice cooker going. By using something other than the oven to make our dinner, we don’t have to worry about the heat.

I have to admit. I’ve never considered making cornish hens for dinner. But after seeing them at our local Walmart in the freezer section, I figured I’d give it a shot and try them out. And since Tyson Cornish Hens are All Natural with no artificial ingredients, preservatives, added hormones or steroids, they fit perfectly with our family.

Paired with the Kikkoman stir-fry sauce as a glaze and I’d have a deliciously tasty main course! Kikkoman’s full line of sauces and marinades are perfect for the grilling season. Next time I want to try the sweet & sour sauce!

Now for the side dish. Since I was going with an Asian themed meat dish I knew I wanted to make some fried rice. But didn’t have any time (or cooked rice) to do so. So in the rice cooker everything went! And it turned out surprisingly well. No sauteeing or cooking ahead. I could make fried rice without having to have leftovers on hand in the fridge to do so. The only thing I had to do was scramble an egg before I put everything in the rice cooker.

Rice Cooker Fried Rice

2 cups brown rice
1 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 eggs, scrambled
1/2 cup Kikkoman® Soy Sauce
3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Wash rice thoroughly in a mesh strainer until water is clear. Add to rice cooker.

On top of the rice add frozen vegetables, garlic, ginger, onion powder and scrambled eggs. Top with Kikkoman Soy Sauce and stir to combine.

Add chicken broth and set rice cooker to the brown rice setting OR quick setting if you have a Zojirushi rice cooker.

*makes 6-8 servings

How to Barbecue Cornish Hens

Barbecuing the hens was easier than I thought! With very few ingredients, and a hot grill, I was able to make two delicious birds in about an hour. Here’s how:

1. Heat up the grill. Make sure the charcoals are white hot before cooking.

2. Take the Tyson® Cornish Hens and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place on grill breast side down. Cook for 30 minutes.

4. Turn over breast side up and glaze with Kikkoman Stir Fry sauce.

5. Cook an additional 20 minutes or until internal temperature reads 165 degrees and juices run clear with no blood.

Serve the chicken with the rice cooker fried rice and enjoy a delicious date night meal together with your significant other!

How do you make time for your significant other?

You can find Tyson cornish hens in the freezer section of your local Walmart. And right around the corner from the hens, you can find the Kikkoman products in the Asian food aisle or, like in my store, next to the refridgerated meat section.

Filed Under: Date Night, Parenting, Uncategorized

How to Make Oatmeal in a Rice Cooker

February 18, 2014 by Danielle 19 Comments

I absolutely love multi-purpose kitchen gadgets. If it doesn’t do more than one thing, I don’t want it in my kitchen taking up space! When I was asked to check out the latest Zojirushi rice cooker and see how it fared compared to my smaller rice cooker I knew i wanted to find more ways to test it out than just make rice. So I figured out how to make oatmeal in a rice cooker. And I have to say… I’m pretty impressed!

I already loved the Zojirushi brand and own one of their bread machines (all the way back from when my husband and I first got married) and the smaller rice cooker so including this larger capacity rice cooker into our home was perfect. The Zojirushi NL-AAC10 is a great multi-use rice cooker. And I’ve not only made rice and oatmeal in it, but I’ve also used it to steam things as well. Hello delicious dumplings and pot stickers!

Making oatmeal in a rice cooker is a piece of cake! As simple as dumping the ingredients in, adjusting the settings for porridge, and letting it cook. The rice cooker does all of the work. Wait… did I just give that all away in the beginning of the post? Well let me just show you the pretty pictures and talk about this awesome machine.

Aided by microcomputer technology, this category of rice cooker takes having rice on your menu from “occasional” to “serious”. Basically, the microchip does all the thinking for you, as far as adjusting cooking times and temperatures according to the type of rice you are cooking, and timing the pre-soaking of the raw grains and the final “wait” period during steaming.

That means you’re left with perfectly cooked food that every family member will love! No more burnt rice on the bottom. And it also means that you can make a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner using the same rice cooker.

How to Make Oatmeal in a Rice Cooker

1. Add 2 cups of old fashioned oats into the rice cooker*. Then add in 3 cups of water (or milk if you prefer a creamier oatmeal). Add any mix ins or flavors and stir together to combine. I added 1 diced apple, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and a tablespoon of brown sugar.

*For this recipe I consulted my rice cooker’s manual to see if there was a minimum amount of oats I needed to use for this rice cooker. I also wanted to make sure I was using the correct amount of liquid. If you’re using steel cut oats, double check the manual to see what the minimum amount is as well as what the liquid level should be.

2. Using the menu button, set rice cooker to porridge setting (bottom right). Once the setting is selected, hit the start button. A melody should play letting you know that the rice cooker has started the cooking process. Sit back and relax as your food cooks.

3. When the rice cooker is done cooking the oatmeal it will play a melody again. Don’t worry if you aren’t immediately available – the rice cooker will go to the warm setting after it’s done cooking. When you’re ready to eat, open the lid carefully and scoop out your oatmeal.

This 5-1/2-cup rice cooker and warmer makes 10 cups of cooked rice and includes a variety of cooking functions including white rice/sushi, mixed rice, porridge, sweet, brown, steam, and quick cooking.

If you’re looking for a great rice cooker to add to your kitchen definitely check out the great line of Zojirushi rice cookers.

What would you love to make in a rice cooker?

Love what you see? Try these recipes!

Vanilla Raisin Oatmeal Squares

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothies

Oatmeal Apple Crisps

Filed Under: Breakfast, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Reviews, Technology, Uncategorized Tagged With: apples, oatmeal, rice cooker, Technology

Easy Dinner Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

October 28, 2015 by Danielle 1 Comment

Since having my third child, dinner is usually the farthest thing from my mind at the end of the day. Between working from home, dropping off and picking up the older kids, and entertaining my baby throughout the day, It’s just not as important as my kids or my work (unless making dinner is work!).

Over the past few months I’ve become a little pro-active in making sure that I don’t have to worry about anything once dinner time arrives by doing a lot of meal prep on the weekends! I’ve been stocking up on various oven and crock pot sauces to help me out and make dinnertime a breeze. All I have to do is remember to grab the right protein, veggie and sauce and I’m on my way to making a delicious meal for the family.

Our current favorite? Cheesy chicken and broccoli. So easy to make in a snap! Almost as easy as our favorite slow cooker freezer meals.

There are quite a few sauces that you can easily incorporate into your freezer meal plan. With these pantry staples you really can make dinner a quick and painless part of the day. And don’t get me started on the delicious oven sauces like the cheesy broccoli chicken featured above.

Today I’m sharing one of my favorites: Tavern Style Pot Roast! Not only is this slowcooker sauce amazingly delicious, it’s something I can keep in my pantry until I need it.

How To Prep Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

To create this simple slow cooker freezer meal all you have to do is gather up a few ingredients. I included a beef roast, chopped carrots, chopped potatoes, and one onion, cut into large chunks.

Then I simply labeled a gallon size freezer bag with the name of the meal and the date I’ve prepared it to freeze. That way I know exactly what meal to grab when I’m looking to start dinner. Once everything is ready to go I add all of the ingredients to the bag and pop it in the freezer for later. For other dishes that are just as simple I do a similar meal prep. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Hawaiian Pork – Add pork roast, green beans (fresh or frozen), and pineapple chunks to the bag. Stock up on frozen rice and serve pork and green beans over rice.

Beef Stew – Add beef, diced potatoes, carrots and, onions (fresh or frozen) to the bag. Serve with a nice salad.

Shredded Beef Tacos – Add beef roast, onions, peppers, kidney and/or black beans and corn to the bag. Use with taco shells or as a filling for burritos or enchiladas.

What’s your favorite freezer meal to prepare?

Filed Under: Dinner, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: campbell's slow cooker sauce, campbell’s oven sauce, easy dinner, Easy Meal Ideas, easy recipes, Frozen Meals, Slow Cooker

5 Tips for Slow Cooker Success

December 5, 2013 by Danielle 6 Comments

I have had quite a few successes and failures when it comes to slow cookers. So much so that I realize I haven’t even shared a lot of my slow cooker recipes on this blog.

Well… that also may be because most of my slow cooker meals do NOT look pretty when plated. And I usually make them during the winter when I have zero light in the evenings when we eat them.

But I’ve come to realize that there’s an art to slow cooking. And when you get that down, most meals turn out amazingly well. Yes… most. [Read more…]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Uncategorized Tagged With: Slow Cooker, slow cooker tips, tips for slow cookers

Kid-Friendly Homemade Chicken Nuggets and Brown Rice #LoveEveryMinute

March 12, 2013 by Danielle 11 Comments

Dinner can sometimes be quite the chore for our family. Not only do we have children with limited palates right now, we also seem to forget to plan ahead lately and end up scrounging around the cupboards and fridge for a quick, healthy meal everyone will love.

Luckily I have ~~a few tricks up my sleeve~~ recipes to fall back on that are also kid-friendly. These homemade chicken nuggets are not only tasty but healthy as well. They’re pan fried in a little bit of olive oil and served with delicious brown rice and steamed veggies.

What kid could resist a chicken nugget?

Chicken Korma with Saffron Rice and Peas Recipe

December 17, 2012 by Danielle 3 Comments

Indian food is one of my favorites. Second only to Mexican food. The only problem is… my husband doesn’t care for it. So the only time I get it is when I go out with friends or I make it myself when he isn’t around.

Lucky for me I had the opportunity to create a Life of Pi inspired Indian dish from ingredients found at World Market. I made this delicious Chicken Korma and paired it with some saffron basmati rice with peas and Channa Masala.

Not only is this meal tasty, it’s easy to make and includes5 ingredients in the main dish. If it weren’t for the rice I would have been able to make this meal in less than 30 minutes.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: basmati rice, chicken, cooking, Dinner, Indian food, korma, peas, Recipe

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

April 14, 2017 by Danielle 2 Comments

Want to make your life easier? Try these hard boiled eggs in the instant pot and watch the shells slide off! Plus no more grey ring around the yolk.

One of the biggest uses I get out of my Instant Pot when I am not making dinner is making hard boiled eggs. I use the 5/5/5 method where I cook them for 5 minutes with a cup of water, let the pot naturally release steam for 5 minutes, then put the eggs in an ice bath for 5 minutes.

The shells fall off and the eggs are cooked beautifully! When I make them on the stove I always end up with gray rings around my yolk. No more gray rings! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Appetizers & Sides, Breakfast, Easter, Holidays, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: hard boiled eggs, Instant Pot, Instant Pot Recipes

Aloha Hawaiian Baby Shower: Ideas for A Hawaiian Baby Shower

December 15, 2016 by Danielle 20 Comments

My sister welcomed her 4th bundle of joy into the world about a month ago and we are so happy to have another niece! But before her arrival we started to celebrate her (and her momma) by hosting this Aloha Hawaiian themed baby shower. My sister’s husband is of Hawaiian and Mexican descent so it was only fitting to bring some flavors of his heritage into their celebration. And who doesn’t love some kalua pig or mac salad?

The Decor

I used simple colors and decor when planning things and based everything on the invitation that I created in Canva using a template. I used that template to then make the other signs for the party including a welcome sign, lei sign, and food signs.

The leis were perfect for the leg crossing game – whoever sees another guest crossing their leg gets to take their lei. Normally it’s played with safety pins but this was more fitting for our theme.

We also played a baby word scramble and a word search. Since it was guys and gals I didn’t want it to be too girly. The guys, however, did score the least amount in both games but I’m not naming any names!

Looking for more baby shower games? Check out the Disney baby shower games here.

The Desserts

When I called up my sister and asked what kind of cake she wanted she said vanilla or chocolate. And I had to laugh. Really? I’m getting you a cake and you want plain vanilla or chocolate? So she jokingly said she wanted haupia cake, a Hawaiian cake. I then surprised her by ordering not only a beautiful ombre chocolate cake but haupia cupcakes. I suggested this recipe to a local baker and she ran with it!

Here’s everything I ordered for the decor:

birds and blooms cupcake toppers
palm tree cupcake toppers
12 pack of tropical leaves
Hawaiian luau garland
Tissue flower garland – my absolute favorite!
50 cloth flower leis
raffia table skirting

The Menu

Like my decor, I wanted to keep things simple with the menu. And I wanted to feed a large crowd without being left with tons of food at the end of the party. So I paired it down to two main courses – teriyaki skewers and kalua pig in the pressure cooker, rice in the rice cooker, mac salad, a green salad, and Hawaiian rolls. Because who doesn’t love Hawaiian rolls?

The kalua pig recipe I found was one that everyone in the instant pot community raves about. And now I know why! It’s so good. Like melt in your mouth good. And the Hawaiian red alaea sea salt totally is worth it.

By cooking the kalua pig in in the pressure cooker, skewers on the barbecue, and the rice in our rice cooker, we didn’t have anything cooking in the oven or on the stove. And I was able to make the mac salad recipe the night before so it could soak up all of the flavors. It really was the most simple menu to date at an event I’ve hosted. But so good!

The party took about an hour to set up beforehand and everything was prepped the night before for easy set up. Simple and pretty was my goal and I succeeded! Everyone had a great time and left home stuffed (I even sent home leftovers with my sister!). Definitely the sign of a great party! And now we get to love on our new niece.

Want a sneak peek at one of the newborn photos I took of her?

Awwww!

What’s your favorite Hawaiian food?

Filed Under: Party Ideas Tagged With: Baby Shower

Back to School Healthy Checklist

August 26, 2015 by Danielle 1 Comment

As we head back to school, I wanted to share this back to school healthy checklist, sponsored by Kinsa, as a way to keep everyone healthy over the first few weeks back in the classroom.

I feel as if sickness has been coming through a revolving door this summer. We all get better and then WHAM! something else hits. From colds, to ear aches, and runny noses, our family has been hit with it all. And now that I’m sending the kids back to school next week, I need to make sure I’m doing everything I can to stop the cycle in this house.

We’ve been working on trying to keep our home sickness free and I’ve come up with a checklist for the kids so that they’re reminded of what to do to stay relatively healthy. Since the first weeks of school mean exposure to a whole new lot of kids, an a whir of germs, we want to be in tip top shape when we return. And that doesn’t just mean staving off illness, it also means doing routine check ups that may help prevent illness.

Back to School Healthy Checklist

Wash, wash, wash your hands! Keep reminding your kids to wash their hands frequently throughout the day. I have my kids hum happy birthday two times when they’re washing (similar to how they brush their teeth) so that they wash long enough. Make sure your child’s immunizations are up-to-date. I’ve found that a lot of classrooms have hand sanitizer that they use but since my daughter has eczema, hand sanitizer burns her.
Medications and Allergies need to be mentioned to your child’s school. If medications are needed during the day, make sure the school has what they need (with prescription/note from doctor if needed) and that they know of any allergies or conditions that your child may have. We had to make sure my son’s inhaler was ready to go for the new year! You might also want to mention any allergies to the room mom, if you have one, just in case.
Keep emergency contacts up to date! Make sure that the school has the correct emergency contact information for your child. A contact may have moved or changed phone numbers over the summer.
The most important meal of the day! Plan to give your child a delicous and healthy breakfast before leaving in the morning, such as oatmeal (made in a rice cooker!), smoothies, yogurt with fruit or scrambled eggs. This will provide much-needed energy for the day. A great make-ahead option for busy mornings are these delicious egg cups!
Buy your child a comfortable, ergonomic backpack with thick straps. You don’t want the stress of a large load of books to hurt their shoulders or back.
Make sure that your child’s shoes fit properly so that they get the support and comfort they need for all-day wear. With kids growing so quickly, make sure your child knows that they should speak up if their shoes are getting tight or their feet are hurting. My son grew 1.5 shoe sizes over the summer! Talk about a growth spurt.
Has your child had a vision screening? This will ensure that he/she can see the board in class and will help with writing and reading.
Schedule a dental checkup to ensure that your child’s teeth are in good condition to start the new school year.
Concerns about hearing or speech? In the first few weeks of school you can bring your concerns to the teacher to see if they observe anything in the classroom. Or have your child’s doctor observe and make recommendations.

And the #1 way to keep everyone healthy: Keep your child home when they’re sick! Let them rest and recover so that they feel 100% and the illness doesn’t spread. A sick kid won’t be as alert and ready to learn. They’ll be much more comfortable resting at home.

But sometimes illness is inevitable. And having the right tools in the medicine cabinet is important. And Kinsa has those tools. Kinsa has built something truly revolutionary for parents – the first smartphone-enabled thermometer designed for your peace of mind. Kinsa automatically remembers fever, symptoms, medications and notes for each child or family member, and helps you take action when fever and symptoms are cause for concern. Users can also join groups for their child’s school to see the “health weather” of the school and know what symptoms and illnesses are circulating.

And even better? They’re giving back to the community in a huge way. With their new FLUency program, Kinsa is choosing 100 deserving schools this fall and providing all families in each school with free Kinsa stick thermometers ($30 value). To nominate your school email fluency@kinsahealth.com. You can learn more by watching this video here.

How do you keep the kids healthy during the school year?

Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Kids Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: apps, Health, health care, kids, Kinsa, thermometer

Search Results for: rice cooker

Rice Cooker Recipes: Coconut Lime Rice

Coconut Lime Rice and Beans

What’s your favorite rice cooker recipe?

AD: Date Night At Home with BBQ Asian Cornish Hens + Rice Cooker Fried Rice

Rice Cooker Fried Rice

How to Barbecue Cornish Hens

How do you make time for your significant other?

How to Make Oatmeal in a Rice Cooker

How to Make Oatmeal in a Rice Cooker

What would you love to make in a rice cooker?

Easy Dinner Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

How To Prep Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

What’s your favorite freezer meal to prepare?

5 Tips for Slow Cooker Success

Kid-Friendly Homemade Chicken Nuggets and Brown Rice #LoveEveryMinute

Chicken Korma with Saffron Rice and Peas Recipe

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

Aloha Hawaiian Baby Shower: Ideas for A Hawaiian Baby Shower

The Decor

The Desserts

The Menu

What’s your favorite Hawaiian food?

Back to School Healthy Checklist

Back to School Healthy Checklist

How do you keep the kids healthy during the school year?

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danielle@acraftyspoonful.com

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