Wild Rice with beef
This is one of the ones I made up following a really tasty wild rice experience at Indian Summer in Milwaukee...it's not what I had there, but I like it even better, I think. I've not made it in YEARS but something reminded me of it the other day and I reconstructed it tonight.
1 C wild rice
1 C 'sticky' (short grain) brown rice*
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 can straw mushrooms
8 oz 'moonlight' mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp - 1 tbsp chicken soup base (to taste) [Better than Bouillon]
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
optional: chopped walnuts or almonds
Cook both types of rice separately**, according to package directions; use just a bit of extra water in both cases***. While those cook, fry up the ground beef and onions, add spices and chicken soup base, then add mushrooms and cook until done. Mix the rices in.
If nuts are desired, these can be added during cooking the beef or offered on the side as a condiment. They add a bit of crunch.
*Any brown or white rice should work; brown or jasmine are preferable to keep it as healthy as possible and also because 'converted' brand rices won't give you quite the same texture.
**I used the rice cooker for the brown rice but prefer to prep wild rice in a large pot on the stove. It bubbles up quite a bit.
***Particularly use extra water if you plan on freezing it; this dish will freeze well but will dehydrate slightly in the freezer. In either case extra water will help mix the rices in well and make it all slightly sticky. (Obviously if you don't like sticky rice, reduce the water amount, and probably use a less sticky rice as your 'mix' for the wild rice.
1 C wild rice
1 C 'sticky' (short grain) brown rice*
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 can straw mushrooms
8 oz 'moonlight' mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp - 1 tbsp chicken soup base (to taste) [Better than Bouillon]
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
optional: chopped walnuts or almonds
Cook both types of rice separately**, according to package directions; use just a bit of extra water in both cases***. While those cook, fry up the ground beef and onions, add spices and chicken soup base, then add mushrooms and cook until done. Mix the rices in.
If nuts are desired, these can be added during cooking the beef or offered on the side as a condiment. They add a bit of crunch.
*Any brown or white rice should work; brown or jasmine are preferable to keep it as healthy as possible and also because 'converted' brand rices won't give you quite the same texture.
**I used the rice cooker for the brown rice but prefer to prep wild rice in a large pot on the stove. It bubbles up quite a bit.
***Particularly use extra water if you plan on freezing it; this dish will freeze well but will dehydrate slightly in the freezer. In either case extra water will help mix the rices in well and make it all slightly sticky. (Obviously if you don't like sticky rice, reduce the water amount, and probably use a less sticky rice as your 'mix' for the wild rice.