6 hours ago, Smithy said:I had a pleasant surprise for last night's dinner. Back before we left home, I had cooked too much rice for some dinner dish. I put the leftover rice (jasmine) into a Food Saver bag and vacuum-packed it. As I watched the rice being crushed together in that vacuum I wondered whether it would be any good later, but went ahead and froze it. If nothing else, I could use it as a starchy thickener.
Yesterday was the moment of truth. Out from the freezer came these four packages.
(Ignore the lemon juice, that's for today.) I chopped up a red bell pepper and some mushrooms, sweated them until soft, added the sausage, cooked until it was mostly done. When I opened that package and started pouring the cooked rice in, it fluffed out as though I had just cooked it!
The broth tied everything together. We had had some discussion about whether to chop the sausage or leave it whole, so I did some of both. We liked each version, but I think the cut bits browned better. Dinner, before going into the bowls (because those pictures are rubbish):
I'm very pleased to learn this trick for the rice. Too bad I didn't pack the Food Saver.
The first time I tried it, it was with the same “This is probably a really bad idea” thoughts. It’s now my go to way for rice. I cook a bunch and food saver it in 2 cup portions, takes up almost no space in the freezer, and after a few minutes in the microwave hot, fluffy rice!
I cook, cool to room temp then bag it.
