Savory Rice Stew, frugal and delicious!

Savory Rice Stew, just might be what your food budget needs! A little meat, some vegetables and rice, come and take a look...

Frugal meals have their day, from time to time. 

A couple of days ago I wrote a post with some suggestions to possibly help out in the current round of inflation. But this recipe (really more a formula if you will), came about during a previous time when inflation took over my family's food budget. And while it is not a beautiful dish visually, it was a tasty dinner on more than one occasion. And honestly, we enjoyed the simplicity of it. After I wrote my post the other day, I remembered this humble offering and decided to bring it back out, dust if off, and for better or worse, share it here. Because...

You can't beat a pressure cooker to get dinner on the table, fast. 

And it goes without saying that includes both stove top and electric pressure cooker models. But I would not be completely forthcoming if I did not say, I have a lot more experience using my electric pressure cooker over my stove top model. I tend to look at my electric pressure cooker in the same way I look at my electric coffee maker. I get to plug it in and not have to worry until it is time to serve! But for the record, this old gal does know how to use both a percolator and a stove top pressure cooker...because if nothing else, I have come through those many decades. 

I think my favorite food to cook in the pressure cooker is actually rice. 

Especially brown rice. Brown rice is our "go-to" rice in this house. Even our young grandson loves brown rice, especially the brown rice grandma makes! So it shouldn't come as a surprise that when the food budget is strained, I will turn to brown rice and a handful of other ingredients and put together a Savory Rice Stew. Not only is it tasty, it could not be more understanding of a possible missing ingredient from your pantry. There is nothing in the listed ingredients that cannot be substituted or eliminated completely. As written it is subtle, but to ensure variety, I have given a sizable list of suggestions to also make it your own!

I hade come up with Savory Rice Stew for dinner one night to take advantage of what I had on hand. 

Being able to swap ingredients listed for those you already have is perfect because there won't be any last minute trips to the grocery store. You can use a different kind of meat, use a mix of meat, or no meat at all. You can use your favorite seasonings, or a family favorite such as "tex-mex" or enjoy it seasoned simply by the vegetables called for in the recipe. And while it is not a beautiful dish of food, like I said, it is quite tasty. And perfect for those days that ran long getting everything else done, before it dawns on you, that dinner still needs to be made.....

More a formula than a recipe...

It is based on the cooking time for one cup of brown rice. Brown rice is nutritious and delicious and the cooking time is much shorter in your pressure cooker. But the best part is that when the rice is cooked, so is the rest of your dinner! This is by no means a fixed recipe, it is, however, a suggestion that dinner never needs to be forgotten again. No matter how tired you might be, or what you might have in your pantry. Saving a trip to the store or stopping for take-out. Adding extra vegetables will not change the cooking time, so this is a very easy one pan dinner. Come on, let's make Savory Rice Stew.

Oh and before I forget, here is a great tip for keeping small amounts of ham on hand without having to buy a whole ham. Buy a ham steak, cut it  into 6 to 8 pieces, wrap each individually and freeze. When you need a bit of ham for a recipe, pull a piece out, let it thaw, and proceed. 

Some additional thoughts on this recipe:

Omit the carrots and use 1 or 2 red bell peppers, diced. 

Add 1 cup of corn or green beans. Or both for a one pan dinner.

Use a pork steak cut up, instead of the chicken thighs.

Add a zucchini or 2 cut into 1 inch chunks.

Use 2 Roma tomatoes and some Italian Seasoning. 

Swap out some of the chicken stock for dry white wine.

This recipe has been updated to include the new cooking methods for possible high levels of arsenic in rice. 

Soaking rice is easy! Plus impurities go down the drain. 

How to Soak Rice.  

Measure out the amount of rice you wish to cook, 

place in a large enough bowl to be able to cover it with water, 

add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, 

cover with cool water, add enough water to cover the rice by one to two inches,

 

let it sit for at least 24 hours. 

 

How to Parboil Rice. 

Drain the rice in a wire mesh strainer, rinse well.  

To parboil the rice, place 5 cups of water for each cup of rice into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add the drained rice and when the water returns to a boil, boil for two minutes. Use a timer, and drain the rice as soon as the timer signals. 

Let the parboiled rice drain until no drips are coming off the bottom of the strainer.  You are now ready to cook the drained rice.

And finally this! Like most appliances, I have discovered that my Instant Pot cooks slightly different, from the many recipes I have tried. Cooking time can vary from appliance to appliance, as well as using a 6 QT. model or the larger 8 QT. My current IP model (a 6 QT.) seems to need an additional minute or two. Adjust the cooking time listed in the recipe if needed for your own particular model. 

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• brown rice
• chicken
• ham
• tomato
• celery
• onion
• carrots
• potatoes
• garlic salt
• pepper
• chicken stock
• Dijon mustard

You will also need the following:

• pressure cooker, electric or stove top
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• kitchen knife
• cutting board
• vegetable peeler

Now we are ready to begin!

Savory Rice Stew
by the seat of my pants!

UPDATED: 09.12.2024

1 c brown rice - soaked and parboiled, then drained (see above)
2 ribs celery, diced
4-6 carrots, peeled if desired and cut into 1-inch pieces
3-4 medium new potatoes, cut in half
1 onion, diced
1 Roma tomato, diced 
garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
2 chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces 
1/2 c diced ham 

1 1/4 c chicken stock
1 T Dijon mustard, if desired

Wash and dry the celery and the Roma tomato, set aside. Peel the onion, set aside. Peel the carrots if desired, cut into 1 inch chunks. Dice the onion and the celery and tomato.

Layer into the cooking pan in the order given, rice, then vegetables, season with garlic salt and pepper.

Add chicken and diced ham.

Stir mustard into the chicken stock, pour over contents in the cooking pan. Cover and cook on high for 21 minutes, let rest NPR for10 minutes, then carefully open the vent, remove the lid, stir gently before serving.

Storage options for Savory Rice Stew. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. You could free this recipe, but expect mild changes in texture when thawed and reheated. 

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Savory Rice Stew has been included below. 

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Printable "copy and paste" version:

Savory Rice Stew
by the seat of my pants!

UPDATED: 09.12.2024

1 c brown rice - soaked and parboiled, then drained (see above)
2 ribs celery, diced
4-6 carrots, peeled if desired and cut into 1-inch pieces
3-4 medium new potatoes, cut in half
1 onion, diced 
1 Roma tomato, diced 
garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
2 chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces 
1/2 c diced ham 

1 1/4 c chicken stock
1 T Dijon mustard, if desired

Wash and dry the celery and the Roma tomato, set aside. Peel the onion, set aside. Peel the carrots if desired, cut into 1 inch chunks. Dice the onion and the celery and tomato.

Layer into the cooking pan in the order given, rice, then vegetables, season with garlic salt and pepper.

Add chicken and diced ham.

Stir mustard into the chicken stock, pour over contents in the cooking pan. Cover and cook on high for 21 minutes, let rest NPR for10 minutes, then carefully open the vent, remove the lid, stir gently before serving.

Storage options for Savory Rice Stew. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. You could free this recipe, but expect mild changes in texture when thawed and reheated. 

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