Brown Rice with Almonds and Cranberries

My wife and I prefer white rice but we can literally eat this brown rice dish every day. I'm also not much of a cranberry fan but their tart, sweetness balances the nutty savoriness of the rice and almonds beautifully. It takes about an hour to prepare but we think it's worth it!

For 4 servings (about 200 cal. each):

1/2 C brown rice
1 1/2 C hot chicken broth (I like Home Basics)
1/4 C sliced almonds
2 T dried cranberries
2 T butter divided
1 onion diced
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of salt
Pinch of brown sugar

Using a 10" non-stick skillet over medium heat melt 1 T butter. Saute onion and almonds in butter until onions are clear (about 5 minutes).

While the onion and almond are sauteing bring the broth to a simmer in a microwave (3-5 minutes depending on your microwave).

Toss the rice in with onions and almonds and toast in the pan stirring constantly over medium heat about 1 minute.

Add broth to rice mixture with a dash of cinnamon, salt and a pinch of brown sugar. Give the rice a good stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the broth is nearly all absorbed then stir in remaining T of butter and cranberries, cover and simmer 5 more minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered 5 minutes and serve.

Paella Pilaf

This was an improvised rice dish I made this weekend that turned out really well. If you don't normally keep orzo or wild rice on hand this is a good excuse to.

For 6 servings:

1 1/4 C long grain rice

1/4 C wild rice

1/2 C orzo

4 C chicken stock

8-10 saffron threads

1 red bell pepper (diced fine)

1 medium yellow onion (diced fine)

1 C green peas (cooked)

2 cloves garlic (sliced)

12 oz spicey sausage (chorizo, keilbasa, italian etc. I used mango-jalepeno chicken sausage)

2 T butter

1 1/2 C shredded fontina cheese

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Over medium heat in a 10" skillet brown sausage (approx 5 minutes), remove sausage to 13x9 baking dish and drain pan. In same skillet saute onions, peppers, galric and peas until onions are clear and brown. Remove to baking dish with sausage. Deglaze skillet with a little chicken stock or white wine then melt butter and toast orzo until golden brown and fragrant then add rices and toast a couple minutes more. Add broth and saffron threads to rice, bring to a boil and simmer, covered until rice is tender (approx. 15-20 minutes). Fluff rice and remove to baking dish add 1 C of fontina and 1/2 C of cheddar then mix all ingredients well. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350F until cheese is melted and brown (approx 20 minutes).