Oh, the box. The box rocks.
Sometimes, it comes to my door with a big Amazon label and I do a little happy dance of retail therapy happiness.
And I can't name one person who doesn't love a big pink box from the bakery.
Anyway, I often have a few boxes in the kitchen...a San Francisco treat!
I do enjoy the Rice-A-Roni (chicken flavor is my favorite). However, the crazy high sodium content and long list of "ingredients" with many syllables makes me long for a different recipe. I found this recipe for
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli on the Everyday Food website.
1/2 onion, finely chopped, 1 ounce of angel hair pasta, and 2/3 c long grain white rice are the main ingredients. I tried to health it up a notch and used whole wheat angel hair pasta. Next time, I want to replace some of the white rice with long grain brown rice (might need to cook it a bit longer).
Saute in a pan, just like the box and add low-sodium chicken broth. You can go vegan and make it with veggie broth or powder. I threw in a bunch of finely chopped Italian parsley at the end. Or you can use dried parsley and other dried herbs (like the box stuff).
I still love you box. But this is a nice homemade version of Rice-a-Roni...with a lot less salt and ingredients you can pronounce!
Recipe:
Everyday Food
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
