Zatarain's Dirty Rice

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty Rice.
Not as a side, just for dinner.

Now, I normally would prepare this as a side using a recipe given to me by a
former co-worker, Mz. Cloutier from Houma, Louisana. But I suspect she just
adapted it from Paul Prudhomme's recipe, which I've prepared in the past
(excellent!). But that serves about 10 people. I'm one people 😉

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add to this
so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture with chicken stock
rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell pepper, onion and garlic
and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I have no celery. I'll taste it
and add some hot sauce and maybe even ground sassafrass leaves (file powder)
after the rice cooks. File is a thickener as well as a seasoning. This is
one quick cooking boxed meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as a
meal, over a period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For
those of you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

When I was single I probably tried every box rice mix on the market at
one time or another. To me, they all taste way too salty. I have
recently been "cheating" by buying the RiceSelect Royal Blend rice
(produced by RiceTec in TX)
http://www.riceselect.com/rylblend.htm
and spicing it up (sauteed garlic, geen onions, carrots, spices). It's
pre-cooked a bit so doesn't take as long, and still has the whole-grain
benefits. They even have a red beans & rice mix, too. Another
thing I do is to cook and freeze my wild and whole-grain rices and then
add them (thawed) during the last few minutes of cooking time, to my
white rice pilafs - saves a lot of time.

-L.

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty

Rice.

Quoted message said:

Not as a side, just for dinner.

Now, I normally would prepare this as a side using a recipe given to me by

a

Quoted message said:

former co-worker, Mz. Cloutier from Houma, Louisana. But I suspect she

just

Quoted message said:

adapted it from Paul Prudhomme's recipe, which I've prepared in the past
(excellent!). But that serves about 10 people. I'm one people 😉

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add to

this

Quoted message said:

so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture with chicken

stock

Quoted message said:

rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell pepper, onion and garlic
and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I have no celery. I'll taste it
and add some hot sauce and maybe even ground sassafrass leaves (file

powder)

Quoted message said:

after the rice cooks. File is a thickener as well as a seasoning. This

is

Quoted message said:

one quick cooking boxed meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as

a

Quoted message said:

meal, over a period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For
those of you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

I tried the Zatarain's Gumbo. It called for okra --no fresh okra around here
so I tried some canned okra. Turned out to be pretty gross --the canned okra
tasted unpleasant and ruined the rest. They're probably tasty with a little
fixin' up -- a little hog jowls and poke salad on the side :-)
--
Lefty

Life is for learning
The worst I ever had was wonderful

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty
Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Quoted message said:

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add
to this so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture with
chicken stock rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell
pepper, onion and garlic and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I
have no celery. I'll taste it and add some hot sauce and maybe even
ground sassafrass leaves (file powder) after the rice cooks. File is
a thickener as well as a seasoning. This is one quick cooking boxed
meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as a meal, over a
period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For those of
you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

Needed more garlic. I have yet to add any of the file powder but I added
some more stock because some of the rice tender. I'll add the file when
it's done simmering another 10 minutes. All in all, not bad for a tricked
up boxed rice mix.

Jill

jmcquown said:

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty
Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Quoted message said:

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add
to this so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture with
chicken stock rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell
pepper, onion and garlic and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I
have no celery. I'll taste it and add some hot sauce and maybe even
ground sassafrass leaves (file powder) after the rice cooks. File is
a thickener as well as a seasoning. This is one quick cooking boxed
meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as a meal, over a
period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For those of
you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

Needed more garlic. I have yet to add any of the file powder but I added
some more stock because some of the rice tender. I'll add the file when
it's done simmering another 10 minutes. All in all, not bad for a tricked
up boxed rice mix.

Let us know next time you lift the lid. And everytime after
that. I can't stand the suspense waiting to hear how this
finally turns out.

-sw

Lefty said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's
Dirty Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Now, I normally would prepare this as a side using a recipe given to
me by a former co-worker, Mz. Cloutier from Houma, Louisana. But I
suspect she just adapted it from Paul Prudhomme's recipe, which I've
prepared in the past (excellent!). But that serves about 10 people.
I'm one people 😉

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add
to this so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture
with chicken stock rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell
pepper, onion and garlic and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I
have no celery. I'll taste it and add some hot sauce and maybe even
ground sassafrass leaves (file powder) after the rice cooks. File
is a thickener as well as a seasoning. This is one quick cooking
boxed meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as a meal, over
a period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For those
of you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

I tried the Zatarain's Gumbo. It called for okra --no fresh okra
around here so I tried some canned okra. Turned out to be pretty
gross --the canned okra tasted unpleasant and ruined the rest.
They're probably tasty with a little fixin' up -- a little hog jowls
and poke salad on the side :-)

Life is for learning
The worst I ever had was wonderful

Canned okra is nasty, slimy stuff. Frozen, not canned okra, if you must use
it and can't be bothered with fresh. The fresh pods aren't hard to slice
and dice but are sometimes hard to pick out as 'good'. Still, no okra
called for in this.

Jill

Estaban Vuertez said:

jmcquown said:

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's
Dirty Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Quoted message said:

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add
to this so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture
with chicken stock rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell
pepper, onion and garlic and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I
have no celery. I'll taste it and add some hot sauce and maybe even
ground sassafrass leaves (file powder) after the rice cooks. File
is
a thickener as well as a seasoning. This is one quick cooking boxed
meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as a meal, over a
period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For those
of you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

Needed more garlic. I have yet to add any of the file powder but I
added some more stock because some of the rice tender. I'll add the
file when it's done simmering another 10 minutes. All in all, not
bad for a tricked up boxed rice mix.

Let us know next time you lift the lid. And everytime after
that. I can't stand the suspense waiting to hear how this
finally turns out.

-sw

I only lifted the lid after 25 minutes of simmering, thank you very much. I
know how to cook rice (without a rice cooker). And I get tired, *really
tired* of killfiling you *sqwertz*, in all your various incarnations.
Haven't seen this one before, so there you go.

Jill

I really like the Zatarains products; they're pretty good for dinner
from a box. The yellow rice is very good, although I like to dice some
onion and pepper in it. The Red Beans and rice is good also, if you
doctor it up with some diced onion and pepper; I also like to use a
combination of smoked sausage and shrimp with it. My favorite product
of theirs is probably the Alfredo mix.

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty Rice.
Not as a side, just for dinner.

Aren't Zatarain's rice dishes made with pre-cooked freeze dried rice,
like Uncle Ben's?

nb

notbob said:

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's
Dirty Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Aren't Zatarain's rice dishes made with pre-cooked freeze dried rice,
like Uncle Ben's?

nb

You still have to simmer it 25 minutes so I don't think they use par-boiled
rice.

Jill

Michael O'Connor said:

I really like the Zatarains products; they're pretty good for dinner
from a box. The yellow rice is very good, although I like to dice
some onion and pepper in it. The Red Beans and rice is good also, if
you doctor it up with some diced onion and pepper; I also like to use
a combination of smoked sausage and shrimp with it. My favorite
product of theirs is probably the Alfredo mix.

I've never tried their Alfredo mix. I was a bit disturbed when I looked for
the Red Beans & Rice mix to only find pasta mixes rather than rice mixes at
my local grocery store. I don't associate New Orleans/Cajun/Creole with
pasta. Couldn't find any rice and bean mixes at all.

I wound up adding 1 cup cooked seasoned pinto beans to this mixture when I
added the file powder. It was tasty 🙂

Jill

notbob said:

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's
Dirty Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Aren't Zatarain's rice dishes made with pre-cooked freeze dried rice,
like Uncle Ben's?

nb

Took 25+ minutes to cook so I don't think it's "converted" or parboiled
rice.

Jill

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty Rice.
Not as a side, just for dinner.

.. . .

Quoted message said:

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add to this
so I'm just using ground beef. . . .
File is a thickener as well as a seasoning. . . .

Quoted message said:

Jill

No gizzards or livers, try breakfast sausage, browned and drained. Or
any sausage diced.
And let me know how the file faired in your leftovers. It supposed to
do bad things in reheatings.

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> hitched up their panties and posted
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty
Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

Now, I normally would prepare this as a side using a recipe given to
me by a former co-worker, Mz. Cloutier from Houma, Louisana. But I
suspect she just adapted it from Paul Prudhomme's recipe, which I've
prepared in the past (excellent!). But that serves about 10 people.
I'm one people 😉

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add
to this so I'm just using ground beef. I'll [censored] up the mixture with
chicken stock rather than water; I'll add some diced green bell
pepper, onion and garlic and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Alas, I
have no celery. I'll taste it and add some hot sauce and maybe even
ground sassafrass leaves (file powder) after the rice cooks. File is
a thickener as well as a seasoning. This is one quick cooking boxed
meal which I adore. And as I said, I eat this as a meal, over a
period of a several days or I can freeze the leftovers. For those of
you who don't know, cooked rice freezes very well.

Jill

Been there Jill. Zatarain's isn't bad for boxed rice mix. I usually use
ground beef also. I add diced bell pepper (whatever is on hand) fresh
crushed garlic, cracked pepper and hot sauce to taste. It's quick and easy.

Michael

--
"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she
served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been
found."

--Calvin Trillin

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's
Dirty Rice. Not as a side, just for dinner.

. . .

Quoted message said:

At any rate, I have no chicken gizzards or livers to grind up to add
to this so I'm just using ground beef. . . .
File is a thickener as well as a seasoning. . . .

Quoted message said:

Jill

No gizzards or livers, try breakfast sausage, browned and drained. Or
any sausage diced.
And let me know how the file faired in your leftovers. It supposed to
do bad things in reheatings.

I wound up just adding a sprinkling of file to the heated (served in a bowl)
result rather than the entire pan. I know it's best in gumbo and this
doesn't have a lot of liquid so I wasn't sure about it as an overall
seasoning, you know? Yes, of course you know! <G>

Jill

While I am a great fan of Zat..... products,
their "Dirty Rice" was most unimpressive.

As you'e said, you've got to add way to many enhancers
to make it a presentable dish.

jmcquown said:

Yes, tonight I'm preparing dinner from a boxed mix. Zatarain's Dirty Rice.
Not as a side, just for dinner.

Jill

<rj>

jmcquown said:

You still have to simmer it 25 minutes so I don't think they use par-boiled
rice.

Hmmm... Maybe it was another brand.

nb

Quoted message said:

While I am a great fan of Zat..... products, their "Dirty Rice" was
most unimpressive.

Quoted message said:

As you'e said, you've got to add way to many enhancers to make
it a presentable dish.

I'll second that for the Creole and Jambalaya mixes. I ate this stuff
many, *many* times -- seriously tarted up, with canned tomatoes and
frozen spinach and sliced carrots -- and eventually gave up anyway.
Don't know if it's me or the mixes, but I barely taste anything in
there but salt any more. I know salt is put in instant foods for
flavor, but can't herbs and spices provide that?

notbob said:

jmcquown said:

You still have to simmer it 25 minutes so I don't think they use
par-boiled rice.

Hmmm... Maybe it was another brand.

nb

Maybe Uncle Bens makes something similar? I dunno. It was tasty, though
and I have enough for at least 6 more servings so I'll probably freeze some.

Jill

[email hidden] wrote in news:1145030438.608356.111860
@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

While I am a great fan of Zat..... products, their "Dirty Rice" was
most unimpressive.

Quoted message said:

As you'e said, you've got to add way to many enhancers to make
it a presentable dish.

I'll second that for the Creole and Jambalaya mixes. I ate this stuff
many, *many* times -- seriously tarted up, with canned tomatoes and
frozen spinach and sliced carrots -- and eventually gave up anyway.
Don't know if it's me or the mixes, but I barely taste anything in
there but salt any more. I know salt is put in instant foods for
flavor, but can't herbs and spices provide that?

I've used their jambalaya mix using hot italian sausage which I steam
cook in a pan of water to half cover over medium temp stove burner
uncovered for about an hour flipping twice or thrice. I poke the skin
"greaee bubbles" to release the inside oils after flipping... use a kabob
skewer (wearing an oven mit) as that juice can really fly. Then I food
process it into large crumbs and work the recipe from there.

http://i2.tinypic.com/vg1wrb.jpg

It's spicy hot that way.

I've seen too many jambalaya recipes to risk following them. But I'll
never forget the jambalaya we had at Mardi Gras on some second-story
balcony overlooking Bourbon Street, back in 1991. Hooked me like a fish
to bait.

Andy