Sneaky Rice Recipe That Hides The Broccoli
It's Better Than It Looks!
Decisions, Decisions!
Rice Casserole That Big Kids and Little Kids Are Sure To Like!
When cooking for children during our foster parenting years, I learned a few tricks to hide nutrition. I had discovered that if I chopped up or put veggies through a blender, making them almost sauce-like, and then hiding them into a casserole, the kids would eat them readily.
I laugh now at the commercial about Ravioli, as the adults punish each other if they mention it's "healthy" in front of the kids. That brings back many memories.
I love to talk about nutrition, and certainly mentioned it to the kids whenever I could, but often that was not done at the table. Some of the greens we should eat can have a strong taste that makes us turn away. Plus, if we overcook brussel sprouts, peas, cauliflower, broccoli or asparagus, they can give off a stinky odor that runs my kids out of the house, even now that they're grown.
So, we "parents/cooks" have to develop a few tricks. The recipe I came up with is not so different except in the technique of preparing it.
We all love rice, cheese, and raw broccoli. But, when adding that together, the large chunks of broccoli in the casserole found their way to the trash can.
So, one day, I put the broccoli (frozen or raw) in the blender, (peeled the bigger stems) added some salt and blended it into oblivion. OK, the correct word is puree, but it's not nearly as descriptive as "oblivion." Yes, you do end up with a green ball, so I then mixed it in with cream of mushroom or chicken soup, butter, a jar of cheez whiz, and all the spices that are favored in a broccoli rice casserole. We like small chunks of chicken in ours, and a dash of red pepper, which seems to find it's way into most of our recipes. Leave that out if you want those with younger taste buds to get some broccoli into their systems.
Since that technique was so well received, we named the recipe Sneaky Rice and the tradition began!
My grown, 6 foot sons will often ask as they dip a spoon into a casserole "What's hidden in this, Mom?"
I never say.
May my Sneaky Rice make it's way into your Kitchen! I'll never tell.
Sneaky Rice Casserole
- Peel stems of broccoli with a veggie peeler, this step really does take away some of the bitter part of the vegetable.
- Chunk about 6 stems of broccoli and place in blender.
- Add 2 tblsp water or chicken stock, to help the blender "blend."
- Blend until broccoli is sauce like and thick.
- Add 1 tsp salt and pepper, or to taste.
- Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup to blender mixture, or 1 can each of cream of chicken soup and cream of celery or mushroom soup...all your choice.
- Add 1 stick of butter, sliced.
- Add 1 small onion, chunked.
- Blend all ingredients, adding chicken stock until it is creamy and to a consistency you like.
- Next, add 2 cups (or less according to taste) of shredded cheese to a bowl, and add your broccoli mixture. (Your choice of cheese, cheddar is wonderful but so is velveeta and it's so much easier to eat as it blends smoothly with the rice!)
- Cook 6 cups of wild rice or your favorite rice blend according to normal instructions. I use about 1 cup of Jasmine Rice and 1 cup of short grain rice, and 2 or 3 cups of wild rice, or even yellow rice.
- Once the rice is cooked, set aside to cool to luke warm temperature.
- When rice is almost cool, add it to the bowl of broccoli mixture and cheese. Stir well.
- Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and pour rice and broccoli mixture into it. Add 1 cup of shredded cheese to top, and cover with foil.
- Bake 20 minutes at 350 and then remove foil and add croutons if desired. Continue baking for another 5 - 10 minutes, depending on the consistency you want. If you want it creamy, remember it dries out even when it's out of the oven, so don't overbake. Keep in mind that everything is already cooked, and the broccoli cooks quickly since it's been "pulverized" er, I mean "hidden."
Vary the ingredients by cooking crumbled sausage, draining it well, and using it in the casserole too; checking for more liquid to be added if it's too dry before baking. If you add liquids, make it milk or chicken broth. You can also add leftover turkey or chicken, but then this dish gets really "heavy" and is more of a main dish instead of a side.
Get sneaky, and put as much nutritional greens in dishes as you can...and just FYI, you can also blend into an orange puff, CARROTS; the garden's the limit.
Comments
Sneaky Sneaky I like it! I will have to try this, thank you. I voted up and useful.
Sounds great and never heard of. Must try.
Sounds good and I will definitely give it a try.
It sounds good - my kids actually like broccoli, but I'm sure this would work great with green peppers, sweet potatoes and the like :-)
Minnetonka Twin, Thank you!! Necessity is the mother of invention, yes!? I'm sure this will help your nephew, we converted many a picky eater this way. Kids often say they hate onions, but it's so hard to cook anything without them, so almost always, our onions are pulverized in the blender, giving us great flavor but no chunks. Yea! Let me know how your nephew does!! It's our secret!
Hi Ghome!! Sneaky is a parent/cook's best friend...may you have much pleasure in hiding nutrition creatively!! Good Luck!
Hi Hello!! I hope it works out great for you, just think how many different ways you can sneak in extra nutrition and flavor!! YUM!!
Hi Breakfastpop, I'm so glad you liked it, good luck and keep me posted!! Come back soon!
Hi Steph, I'm the one who can't eat chunks of green peppers, tho my brother can bite one like an apple. So, you're on the right track, we pulverize many a pepper around here!! LOL Specially in meatloaf! Thanks for stoppin' in and good luck with this!!
Hi Marisue,
Sigh,,this sounds absolutely yummy to me, however, my granddaughter is not easy to fool. I have managed to slip a few things by, but for the most part, she wants none of it. Perhaps you can explain to me, given all your experiences with so many children, why it is a child who would try anything, and like a lot of things, do a complete 180? Just the other day she said to me, I'm not a big fan of peanut butter and jelly. What?! Little by little she keeps eliminating things from her diet that she ate only several days before.
So, last night, I sat with her and said here, I would like you to fill out this menu planner for the week. My thinking was if I could engage her in making choices for daily meals, perhaps it would spark some interest in healthy eating. Well, the experiment failed. She filled out 2 days and quit. Her answer to me was, I can't think of anything else. What was on her menu? potatoes, chicken, pancakes, French toast, and not much else. She also hates medicines/vitamins of any kind. I've tried offering her a daily vitamin, to which she says yuk! I'm about at my wits end, as I don't want to see her develop an eating disorder. She is a healthy child and at 9 yrs old, is not overweight. Yet. She is aware of proper nutrition, yet she wants no part of it. Is this just a phase she's going through? I so miss the child who liked everything, even broccoli, raw or otherwise.
Any ideas?
Hi Trish, you know, I have several thoughts, and thanks for sharing your concern with me. I hope you don't mind me answering in the hub here, as it might help others too.
One: Probably is a phase.
Two: May not be. Think back to when you noticed this, and think about her life. I say that, because most kids will react to life in their taste for food. Either they will eat everything, or lots of one thing, or nothing. The point is "extreme" in any area is normally a symptom of a need somewhere not being met. Could be temporary, but may not be, and it requires great sensitivity on your part to investigate - like a detective!
Here's what might help: Talk, and listen. Ask general questions, and then go where her response takes you. Guide the discussion, but let her comments be hers, with no judgement, which I know you're good at that part...obviously...
Here's what I learned about kids "acting" out things by changing their "norm" -- their behavior is a gift, and is really a language of the mind.
Next, involve her in the cooking. She should help with the shopping of the ingredients for whatever you both have decided to cook, and let her do as much as she can; if she's hesitant, maybe she could invite a friend, too?
However, that might be something to do after the first few times you talk and cook, so you can talk with her more deeply.
I don't want to worry you, because most of the time what kids like today they don't next week; however, I suspect this is linked to some other things you've noticed too. If not, then keep a friendly eye on it, but I'd still provide some talk time and shopping/cooking time; even if it's just cookies or a cake.
Other thoughts: She's at an age where she is changing from a girl to a young woman/older girl...she could be having some insecure thoughts about herself, or she could be reacting to something that has hurt her lately.
Ask yourself: Is she involved in activities she likes? What kind of attention is she getting? How does she feel about school? Friends? Herself? Clothes? Hairstyle?
Easy does it on the questions...but let your instinct guide you and if you need more help, or more specific info, let me know.
In the meantime, I'd let her eat basically what she wants from several healthy choices, of course.
I bet you find out something soon, kids normally reveal things thru their behavior when we're alert.
Good luck!
Hi Marisue,
Yes, there's a lot to be considered. I will take your wonderful thoughts and put them to use. Hopefully, this too, shall pass :)
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment.
Thank you, Trish, for allowing me to speak about a subject near and dear to my heart....Kids!! Always a joy when you visit me!!
I can tell by your advice and also your recipe that you are excellent with kids. They are fortunate to have a caring person like you and your husband in their lives. I can also tell by the amounts given in your recipe that you cook for crowds! Ha!
Hi Peggy, you bring up an important point, this recipes feeds about 12 - 14. OOPs. I did have a big household and it was so natural for me that I didn't think about it as I put this together. LOL Soo, anyone reading, cut the rice down to 2.5 cups and the soup to one can, and the cheese to taste...about 1.5 cups. eeeek!
And thanks for the compliment on the kiddos. I do love them, and tho our foster parenting years are behind us...what we learned along the way is my passion! Do come back sooooon!
Marisue, I think you are the queen of comfort food. This broccoli dish makes me want to take the entire casserole from the oven and eat it myself, fending off wannabe dinner companions with sharp knives and deadly forks. I can't imagine a kid who wouldn't eat this.
At the same time, I'm going to take a liberty about Trish's comment...kids act out in all kinds of ways, and food is often one of them. All the advice about involving children in the kitchen and in the planning process is excellent, but sometimes kids have to make their own discoveries and decisions, all by themselves.
Trish and her granddaughter spent some time here this summer, and at one point Trish took a nap and her granddaughter and I were alone, going through the garden, snipping leaves and flowers to identify and press. The child was hungry and I said, what would you like? She said, a sandwich. I said, well, you know where the dishes and silverware are, so go help yourself to peanut butter and jelly, which I also knew she knew where they were.
I was out on the patio, the child went inside, and a few seconds later, I heard..."PETER PAN?" shouted from the kitchen. I ignored it.
A few minutes later, she came out to the patio with a plate of three pieces of bread spread with peanut butter and jelly. End of issue. She made a choice. Peter Pan was not her brand, but it was what was there.
Sometimes kids need to be left alone about making choices. All I said when she returned to the patio was that I was proud of her for finding everything she needed.
Hi Sherri!!! You are exactly right about kids needing to make their own discoveries. And, perhaps that is part of the issue with the food choices lately. Or, there may not be an issue at all.
Here's some real life situations: I know a family who made huge issues out of food. Soon, their kids rejected everything because everything was prescribed and ordered, right down to how many bites they had to eat before they got up from the table. Later, they grew up to be nervous older kids, even stuttering, and intense.
Another family never noticed what or if their kids were eating at all. Their kids loved sugar and sweets, and ended up overweight and unhealthy, hating anything that didn't resemble fast food.
My attitude of teaching both foster kids and my own independence with a "help yourself to the carrots or squash" attitude, turned out kids who ate anything put before them, or didn't...and if they wanted something else later, they were offered the use of the kitchen if they put it back better than they found it.
You hit the nail on the head, giving them the power and opportunity to decide what to eat, and the opportunity to prepare it!!
My guidance with the kids food choices wasn't that I was genius at the time, it was my own lack of "time" factor, and decisions to buy healthy food. I refused to fill their plates for them once they were old enough to balance the plate, nor did I cook all the meals alone.
Sometimes their independence turned around to bite me but they are productive and resilient now.
NOT SAYING, Trish, that your granddaughter has anything "wrong" -- I'm just talking about kids in general...!! Even my 5 year old granddaughter does better eating what she helps prepare, chicken salad being the meal of choice today.
As we were making it, she folded her arms very importantly, after having peeled 12 eggs all by herself, and said, "Nana Sue, this salad still needs something. What else can we add?"
I said, "Well, we've added everything but sugar..."
She quickly replied, "That's it!! It needs SUGAR!"
(Oh no!!) Then I thought, "well, the pickle relish has sugar, what can 1/2 tsp more do?"
So, we added the sugar. "That's just makin' it gooder, NanaSue! Those cookin' shows taught us a lot this morning huh?"
They sure did. Duh. But, it was good chicken salad, and she ate the sandwich like it was cake, probably due to the sugar...LOL
Sherri, always thanks for your wisdom!!
`Sonamasuri' rice famous quality in India.
Great tip on nutrition in food for kids. I enjoyed the hub and I do hope I get the chance to try this recipe out.
I love it! Getting ready to order seeds for planting broccoli for the fall, will definitely have to give this a try!
I do the same thing with my zucchini, cooking first, though, and then puree. The flavor doesn't have to compete with the slimey texture, that way, and I have great success in getting most of my kids to eat it!
I have to say I had to laugh but it is because I had to use a few sneaky ideas for my grandsons. I actually made a broccoli casserole with turkey and they loved it. Glad I came across this story
Minnetonka Twin 18 months ago
I love this recipe. You are a genius. My nephew can't bear to eat veggies and I think this could be the cure. I will have to bookmark this. Thanks for sharing your sneaky tips with us.