Monday, February 10, 2014

Ten Things to do with Leftover Rice ( 9 GF )

Greek Gemista - Just one option for how to use leftover rice.
I don't know about you, but I LOVE rice plain the first time I eat it, but I don't want it plain as
leftovers.

I've gone on the internet more than one time, looking for leftover-rice ideas - it seems that the TWO big answers are Fried Rice & Rice Pudding.

So, since "Necessity is the Mother of Invention," I made my own list!

Not only are these recipes frugal because they make use of leftover rice, but they are also time savers, because when you cook you don't have the added time of cooking the rice from scratch : )

One tip - for great leftover rice, always put white rice straight to the freezer (not the refrigerator) in an airtight container right after the first meal (where it wasn't needed/eaten). This way, when it is reheated it tastes almost indistinguishable from freshly made. I have no idea WHY this is true - but it seems to work! For Brown Rice, I find it is quite acceptable when refrigerated, as it has a different texture, anyway.  If you didn't freeze your white rice, and have stale rice in the fridge - it can still work in the Philippine Fried Rice, Jambalaya, or Lemon Rice recipes below ("fried" rices actually do BETTER with stale rice : ).

And, if you do reheat refrigerated white rice in the microwave, you might find it helpful to
1) cover it while it's heating,
2) sprinkle it with a little water before reheating and
3) make sure you heat it until it is HOT - not just warm - for best texture.

Scroll Down for All The Recipes : )


This Post was featured at:
Simple Lives
 Simple Lives Thursday 

and at:
wydtw200200
What'd You Do This Weekend

This post is being shared at
Making Your Home Sing Monday
Clever Chicks
Modest Monday 
Living Proverbs 31
Marriage, Motherhood & Missions
What'd You Do This Weekend
In & Out of the Kitchen 
Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural
MaMade
Women Helping Women
Cottage Link Up 
Turn It Up Tuesday 
Penny Pinching Party
Tending the Home Tuesday 
Real Food, Allergy Free 
Simple Lives Thursday 
Fabulously Frugal Thursday 
Home Acre Hop 
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways 
Gluten free Fridays 
Healthy Vegan Fridays 
Living Big on Less Money 
Savoring Saturdays 
Simple Saturdays 
Real Food Friday 
Mums Make Lists 
Traffic Jam Weekend 

Rice & Cinnamon Sugar for Breakfast

A while back I was chatting with a friend, and she said that her kids only liked Rice one way- for breakfast, and covered in Cinnamon & Sugar! I tried it, and it's really good! Just like that - nothing added. But, you can add raisins, dates, nuts, berries - whatever you like! Sometimes I use Agave in place of the sugar. And sometimes I substitute Cardamom for the Cinnamon. Some people even pour nondairy milk over the top (but that's not my style).

Cinnamon Sugar Rice Bowl. Lately, I've been having this as a
regular Breakfast - made with Brown Rice, Apples, Raisins, & Pecans -
And Cinnamon-Sugar, of course!




Rice & Blueberries

Another great Breakfast treat - recommended by another friend. This one is best with hot Brown Rice, and just fresh or frozen blueberries. Actually, I've tried everything from Pineapple to Peaches in place of the berries - it's all good!

And - here are lots of great choices for other times of day besides breakfast:

Fill Your Own Tortilla Night















Greek Stuffed Veggies ( Gemista )

















Indian Chickpeas in Ginger Sauce over Rice




Indian Lemon Rice with Peas
















Philippine Style Fried Rice















Stuffed Eggplant
















Sushi




















Lentil & Rice Salad 
This one works best if you heat the rice before preparing it, even tho it will be served at room temperature.




















Jambalaya

36 comments:

  1. You read my mind - I was just googling for recipes with leftover rice! Thanks for the ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So glad you find it helpful! Thanks for dropping by again : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE this! :-)
    I frequently make big batches of rice and these are great ways to make sure it all gets used up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your always-encouraging comments. It's great to "see" you again : )

      Delete
  4. Great list :) I love rice and I'm trying to find healthier ways to use leftovers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you : ) I love rice, too - it is very much a staple in our house. Nice to have you visit!

      Delete
  5. I am going to try the breakfast one for sure :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for all the ideas for leftover rice. I might try that chickpea one soon. :-) (Saw you at MaMade)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for visiting & for your kind comments : )

      Delete
  7. This is a great list! My mom would love some of these recipes! Thanks so much for linking up at the MaMade Blog Hop! Don't forget to stop back to link up again next week and see if you've been featured! :) Have a great week :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. We eat a lot of rice in our house...this will be good to have on hand just in case we have leftovers. Thanks for posting. Stopping in from Mamade Blog Hop

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping by & visiting! You have a great looking blog : )

      Delete
  9. So many great options!! Definitely will be trying a few of these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for visiting & for your sweet comments : )

      Delete
  10. Smart and interesting ideas!
    Blessings :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I appreciate your always-encouraging comments : )

      Delete
  11. I like the stuffed peppers. I have both at home and this may be dinner. Thanks for linking to What'd YOu Do This Weekend. You will be featured at Monday's party.

    Have a great weekend,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for the feature! I'm honored! Hope you enjoy the Stuffed Peppers/Gemista! : )

      Delete
  12. I love this post, great ideas for using left over rice. I also really like the idea to put the rice right in the freezer and I'm going to try that.


    Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much - and thanks for posting a great blog-hop! : )

      Delete
  13. What a great list! Fried rice and breakfast pudding are definitely some of my favorite ways to use leftover rice. Thanks for linking your post to Savoring Saturdays! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for visiting & for hosting - I appreciate it!

      Delete
  14. Some really good recipes for rice. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays! Have a wonderful healthy day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for visiting - glad you enjoyed it : )

      Delete
  15. I didn't know to keep white rice in the freezer! I can't wait to try out these recipes. Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you next week.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The Gemista looks awesome! I have been loving anything peppers lately, and we always have a ton of rice on hand. Thanks for sharing! Pinning :-)

    Ashley @ PioneerMomma.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! We love Gemista at our house! I appreciate you hosting & pinning!

      Delete
  17. Great ideas as usual! Wonderful! The stuffed peppers remind me of the veg version over at Bob marley's Cafe in Orlando! I need to revisit that place soon!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)

    Hope your week is great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for hosting - and for the tweet & pin! Hope you have a great week, too! : )

      Delete
  19. It's so wonderful to read your creative reuses for rice. I love brown rice in particular and I try to add leftover brown rice to soups, stir fries, salads, and I also use it to make a yummy breakfast bowl with sauteed kale. I can't wait to make this exotic twist on the Southern Style home fries i grew up eating.
    Thank you so much for sharing these healthy and delicious ideas on the Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Blog Hop! I appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad you enjoyed it - thanks for a great blog hop - I always enjoy it. I really appreciate that you always leave such sweet & detailed comments : )

      Delete
  20. What a great list of uses for leftover rice! Thank you for sharing this at the HomeAcre Hop; I hope you'll join us again this Thursday.
    Kathi at Oak Hill Homestead

    ReplyDelete

Due to an exceptionally high current spam comment problem, I have turned off comments for the time being.




Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.