Italian Rice-A-Roni
Did you eat this as a child? It’s great combination of pasta and rice. Of course I add my Italian flair to this tasty dish! I add tomatoes and herbs,but I have also made this plain. This is really easy to make and quick enough for a weeknight meal. The boxed stuff is no more! You won’t believe how simple this is! I can almost guarantee that you probably already have everything already in the pantry to make this for dinner tonight!
This is really neat too. The pasta part of this dish is just spaghetti broken into pieces! This is fun for the kids to help out with! I just put some spaghetti (I like to use thin spaghetti) in a zip top bag and kind of crunch it until it breaks up into about 1 inch pieces. The pasta and rice get coated in olive oil and butter and cooks in a mixture of chicken broth and diced tomatoes.
Everything comes together in about 30 minutes. It is the perfect side dish to go with that chicken or pork chop! I had my daughter help me recipe test this one! She loved it! She ate it for lunch and dinner. She couldn’t get enough! I think this one will be a big hit with kids and adults alike.
Italian Rice-A-Roni
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsly chopped fine
- 1 cup spaghetti broken into 1 inch pieces I like to use thin spaghetti, but any kind will work
- 3/4 cup rice I used jasmine rice
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth more as needed
- Parmesan cheese for topping
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic. Cook for a minute and parsley.
- Add butter until melted.
- Add broken spaghetti. Toss to coat in the butter and oil. Cook until the pasta just starts to turn brown.
- Add the rice and mix.
- Add the tomatoes.
- Add the chicken broth.
- Cook until all the liquid is absorbed and pasta and rice are cooked through. Add more broth if needed. Season with salt& pepper.
- Serve topped with Parmesan cheese!
