Recipe for Fun Rice

While we were eating this, I was silently musing over what to call it.  Mr. ELEB solved the problem for me, calling it "fun rice".  I liked the name-it fit-so there you have it!

Recipe for Curried Rice Salad

One of the great things about living on Maui (there are so many!) is the opportunity to eat “al fresco” almost all year round.  Get togethers often include a picnic at the beach or at someone’s pool.  Community pot-lucks can be held at an outdoor pavilion.  This rice dish is one that I made for our community holiday party which we held at this beautiful setting.

I know many of you are bundled up right now in the middle of winter, not eating outside!  But I’m guessing you are still going to school or church potluck dinners or getting together with friends to watch sports or play cards.  This is a great dish for any of those activities too!

I got the inspiration for this dish from a neighbor who makes this with rotisserie chicken which is a great main course.  I’ve also made it with almonds instead of peanuts and with left over pork roast chopped and thrown in.  For added crunch, sometimes I’ll add in chopped red bell peppers.  I love versatile recipes like this!  The flavors actually get better and better with time, so make it ahead and let everything get happy together.  And enjoy the leftovers (if there are any).

Recipe for Mushroom Rice

What’s the best clue that you’ve developed a winner recipe?  To me, it’s when friends ask me to bring that dish to a potluck or party.  My friend Jennifer’s birthday dinner was coming up and her hubby, Ryan, asked me to bring “your rice and mushroom dish.”

The nice thing about this side dish is that you can serve it hot or room temp so it works for dinner or for a potluck where you might not be able to warm it up (picnic etc).  It does keep well covered in a low (200 degree) oven for up to an hour or so if needed.

Bringing a side dish with wild and brown rice gives people a healthier alternative to heavier potato or starch dishes.  The mushrooms make it earthy and flavorful.  If you don’t want to deal with the shiitakes, using all button mushrooms works just fine.