Kids School Lunch Box 5 – Spanish Rice – Today’s lunch box theme is Mexican. Sid who normally complains when I pack any kind of Indian rice dishes, quietly finishes the entire lunch box if i pack this Spanish rice. This is what I packed for his school lunch
1. Spanish Rice – packed in a thermos/ hot pack tiffin box
2. Oranges – Clementines are small oranges that are seedless, easy to peel & perfectly sweet to eat. That’s definitely mess free…
3. 100% Apple juice
4. Dark chocolate cookies – a little treat!
Kids / Adults / Lunch / Non-Vegetarian / No Microwave / No Re-heating / School Lunches / Lunch Box Idea 5
| Basic Chicken Stock / Broth (In case if you want to make your own) | |
|---|---|
| Chicken bones with little skin | 3-4 pieces |
| Onion (Yellow Spanish) | 1 count |
| Carrot | 1 count |
| Salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Black pepper crushed | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Bay leaf | 1 count |
| Water | 3 cups |
| Chopped Parsley leaves ( 1 tablespoon ) , 1/2 celery stalk (optional) | adds extra flavor |
Put the leftover bones and skin from a chicken into a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Add veggies like celery, onion, carrots, parsley along with bay leaf salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to barely a simmer. Simmer uncovered at least 30 minutes. Remove the bones and strain the stock.
| Ingredients for Spanish Rice | |
|---|---|
| Long grain rice | 1 cup |
| Chicken broth | 1 + 3/4 cup |
| Olive oil / Butter | 1 Tablespoon |
| Yellow onions | 1 small |
| Green Bell pepper (chopped) | 1 Tablespoon |
| Tomato (pureed or crushed) | 2 medium |
| Garlic powder | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Red chili powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Cumin powder | 1/8 teaspoon |
| Salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Cilantro (chopped) | 1 teaspoon for garnish |
lets see how to make this Kids lunch box…
Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet or pan over medium heat. Stir in onion, bell pepper and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix rice into skillet, let it brown a little bit and then add crushed tomato, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin powder, salt and broth. After it starts boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Switch off and garnish with cilantro. (1 cup uncooked rice yields about 2 cups cooked rice)
Notes
1. Usually 1 cup of uncooked rice yields roughly 2 cups of cooked rice.
2. You may use Veggies stock to make it vegetarian.
3. To cut down on time – use store brought broth and cook the rice with a cup of store bought salsa.
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