Garlic Rice Pilaf

I'm always trying to find new ways of incorporating "healthier" side dishes into our meals, mainly veggies and good starches.  It seems like we never grow tired of roasted (or grilled in the Summer) veggies; they take on a whole new flavor when cooked different ways and both methods are so versatile and allow you to change up the flavorings just by adding different seasonings or sauces.

Good starches, on the other hand, are a little more trying for me to work with in the sense of them not being too "fattened up" with butter, sauces, etc.  We love pasta and could eat it everyday but let's face it, it's not always the best thing to eat every.single.day.  Potatoes are good, couscous is good and rice is good too, but I only have so many variations in my repertoire of how to prepare these items to prevent us from getting bored and throwing ourselves off the healthy bandwagon!

So when I came across this recipe, I thought that it not only looked tasty but sounded tasty and easy enough to make.  It is a little time consuming in sense that it takes a while to cook but the preparation part is rather effortless and includes ingredients that are kitchen staples: rice, garlic, chicken broth, lemon, salt and pepper!

I actually altered the cooking time a bit to shorten it up and I felt like it turned out just fine and was really, really good!  Now that I know I can make it in less time than what the original recipe says, this will become a regular side dish in our weekly rotation of favorite meals!

Garlic Rice Pilaf

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 cup White Rice, uncooked
2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth, divided
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 Lemon

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pan, melt the butter over med-high heat.  Add in the garlic and rice; cook until both are browned (about 4 minutes).  Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.

Pour the mixture into a small casserole dish and bake, covered for 15 minutes.

Stir in the remaining chicken broth and bake, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.  Squeeze in the juice of the lemon, stir to combine and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is light and fluffy.

Yield: 4 Servings
Source: Adapted from Jaime Cooks, originally from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen