Italian Inspired Microwave Rice Recipes

Steps:

• Using a 2 quart casserole dish with lid, put rice, hot water, butter and salt in dish. Stir. (I put my casserole dish on a plate in the micro as sometimes the water boils over a little. Saves cleanup after).
• Cover, and microwave on high power 5 minutes. Stir with fork (careful watch the steam!)
• Cover and put back in microwave and cook on medium this time for 15 minutes.
• Remove lid (careful again!) and fluff with fork.
• Let stand 2-3 minutes.
• Serve.

Steps:

• Put all ingredients except the parmesan cheese into a microwave proof dish.
• Cover and microwave for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and liquid absorbed. Be very careful when uncovering because the steam will be very hot. I learned this the hard way when making this dish and ended up with a very bad steam burn.
• Stir in parmesan.

Steps:

• Place chicken stock in a small pot and warm over low heat.
• Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil 2 turns of the pan, and garlic. Saute garlic 1 minute, then add Arborio. Toast the Arborio rice 2 minutes, then ladle in 1/3 of the stock. Bring to a bubble. Stir rice occasionally, allowing the rice to get starchy and the stock to cook into the rice. Add more stock when rice starts to become dry. Continue stirring and ladling broth until rice is al dente, 22 minutes. Stir in peas and cheese and season with salt and pepper, to your taste. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a large nonstick skillet, saute garlic in oil for 1 minute. Stir in spinach. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until tender; drain well. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir in the rice and red peppers until combined. Cook and stir until heated through.

Steps:

• Reserve 2 Tbsp. dressing; brush chicken with remaining dressing.
• Heat reserved dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 2 to 3 min. on each side or until evenly browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet. Add vegetables and 2 Tbsp. gravy to skillet; mix well.
• Return chicken to skillet; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 6 to 7 min., or until chicken is done (165ºF). Meanwhile, heat remaining gravy in saucepan on medium-low heat 2 to 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
• Serve rice pilaf topped with vegetable mixture, chicken and gravy.

Steps:

• Heat the broth and Italian seasoning in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.
• Stir the rice and spinach in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir in the cheese. Serve with additional cheese.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray the bottom and sides of a 2 1/2-inch deep, 9 1/2-inch round springform pan with nonstick spray, then evenly dust with cornmeal.
• Roll out and stretch pizza dough to a diameter of about 15 1/2 inches. Carefully place it in the prepared pan to cover the bottom and sides with some overhang, re-stretching as needed.
• Toss mozzarella, Cheddar, and Parmesan cheeses together to mix. Set aside 1 cup in the refrigerator for later. Sprinkle 1/2 of the remaining cheese over the dough. Layer with sun-dried tomatoes, sausage, mushrooms, sweet pepper, and olives, in that order.
• Prepare custard: Whisk eggs in a 4-cup liquid measure. Add cream, eggs, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, garlic salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder and whisk until well combined.
• Pour 1/2 of the custard mixture over the layered ingredients. Top with remaining (non-refrigerated) cheese, then pour the remaining custard evenly over top. Roll the dough overhang inward over the cheese and custard.
• Place the springform pan on a large sheet of foil, and gather the foil up and around the pan in case it leaks. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Tent the top with foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake until fully set, about 45 minutes longer.
• Carefully remove from the oven. Sprinkle with reserved 1 cup cheese and pepperoni slices. Pop back into the oven and bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Tent loosely with foil and let rest for about 2 hours. (It will stay hot and be completely set after 2 hours.)
• Release the ring. Slice through the outer crust with a serrated knife, then a sharp chef's knife to finish slicing the pieces.