I Heart My Rice Maker

I have always heard people talk about their rice makers but me being me, I just thought it was a trend. I thought only the cute lady at the local Chinese restaurant had a rice maker. I mean how much rice must one eat in order to require an actual appliance to make it? Well, I will be the first to say that I was wrong. WAY wrong!

Every year I head to mom's house to spend Mother's Day/Birthday. Both of our birthdays are at the beginning of May so it is a good weekend for the two of us to have fun and spoil ourselves a little. Well, the last time I was there I got one of the best gifts ever; a rice maker. My mom made sure to send me with a few recipes, which to be honest I thought I would never use, and I was on my way.

I am not sure what inspired me to attempt to use the rice maker that day, but whatever it was, I am glad that I did. I followed the simple directions, 1 cup of rice and 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of water. I absolutely love basmati rice so that is what I used and it was so easy and much to my surprise, it came out perfect! The really nice thing is that you can really make it your own and it is pretty fool proof. I now mostly use vegetable or chicken broth for the liquid, a little bit of butter, and it just tastes so good I could eat it plain!

Here are some ideas for you when you use your amazing rice maker:

-Rice for beef tips or a side dish: A couple dashes of onion or garlic powder, 1 cup of chicken broth, 1 tablespoon of butter diced.

-Rice for stir fry: I cup of vegetable broth, 1 tablespoon of butter diced.

-Rice for burrito bowls: A couple dashes of garlic powder, 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth, 1 tablespoon of butter diced. Once the rice is finished, add about a teaspoon minced cilantro and 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Mix well and serve.

I will post more ideas once I test them out but for now, happy ricing!!! :)