Rice Pilaf

This recipe is sooo good! The cayenne pepper sounds a little strange but it actually makes it really yummy :o)

Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

2 c. white rice (I use a mixture of rice and vermicelli, I substitute about 1/2 c. vermicelli)
2 tsp oil (I prefer butter/margarine)
1/2 c onions (yellow or green....I used yellow)
1/2 c. celery (I omitted this, because I didn't have any on hand, I don't think it needs it)
4 c. chicken stock or chicken stock/water
(use no less than 2 cups chicken stock, the more chicken stock, the more flavorful)
2 tsp. seasoned salt (less depending on the saltiness of your stock, I only used about 1 tsp.)
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Look at the cooking instructions for your rice. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice then you will need a total of 4 cups of liquid. If your rice calls for 1 2/3 cups of water for every cup of rice, you will need a total of 3 1/3 cups of liquid.

2. Heat the measured amount of stock needed in a saucepan, at least 2-qt sized.

3. While the stock is heating, heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the butter (or oil), melting it so it coats the bottom of the pan. Add the uncooked rice and brown the rice, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes. Add the onions and celery and cook a few minutes longer, until the onions begin to soften.

4. Add pepper, seasoned salt and cayenne pepper into the stock. Carefully pour the rice mixture into the saucepan. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook following the time on your rice package (usually between 15-25 minutes).

5. When done remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Do not remove the lid from the pan during the cooking and resting process. Fluff with a fork and serve. Yummy!!!

This is a really good recipe, easy to half and most of the ingredients are things you keep in the house anyway. To give credit where it's due, I found this recipe at this site called Simply Recipes. There is a lot of good stuff on this site, I found quite a few things to try!