Rice to the Rescue Sweepstakes Winners!

The winners of the inaugural Rice to the Rescue Contest have been announced!  Over 5,000 money saving tips using U.S. Rice were received, here are the winning entries:

1st Place: Angela Buchanan - Colorado
“One of my favorite ways to use planned leftover rice is to make a 'what's in the fridge' rice frittata."

Sauté any extra vegetables and/or meat, add in a cup or two of leftover rice, pour in beaten eggs, and top with some cheese.  I make many variations based on what is in the fridge and what spices I add…Spanish paella frittata, with shrimp, ham, onions, and peppers, is a family favorite.  Inexpensive and delicious!

2nd Place: Amber Parsons – West Virginia
“Keep that left over rice for your morning smoothie!”

In your blender, process your rice with a small amount of liquid.  Continue with your favorite smoothie ingredients.  Adding rice will make your smoothie more filling; you will even be surprised how  many more smoothies it will make!

3rd Place: Nancy Vaziri - Illinois

I stretch our family budget by making gifts with rice!”

How? I buy large quantities of shelf-stable, affordable rice and create a fruited rice mix, presented in a beautiful recycled wine bottle! This gift is chock full of rice, dry spices, dried fruits, and toasted nuts!  I add a gift tag to identify the contents, and include a recipe card giving the cooking instructions.  It makes for an unusual, eye-catching gift.  Recipients love the thoughtful and delicious gift, and we get satisfaction knowing that we gave a quality gift within our budget!

Beth Klosterboer - Ohio
Money-Saving Entertainment Ideas: I love to throw dinner parties, but in these hard economic times, I have had to be much more creative with my menu. I want my guests to feel like they have eaten a hearty meal that looks as good as it tastes, so I create roulades of meat or poultry filled with delicious rice stuffing.

Each guest's plate is filled with a delicious roulade that looks quite large, but only uses 3-4 ounces of protein. I pound each portion of protein flat and top it with a generous amount of a rice stuffing.  I then roll the protein up and around the rice stuffing and bake, sauté or pan fry each roulade.  The flavorings in the rice stuffing differ depending on the protein, and I choose the protein based on what is on sale.

My dinner party guests are always happily satisfied with their meal and my wallet is equally happy!

Mary Shivers – Oklahoma
Dessert on a dime: When I need a quick dessert, I prepare a small box of instant vanilla pudding, stir in 1 cup leftover rice, and layer it in dessert glasses with sliced fresh or canned fruit, such as peaches or strawberries. Simply adding the rice increases my dessert servings from four to six!

Alex Montana – Texas
Save money with homemade pet food: I save TONS of money by making my own pet food with rice and chicken, freezing in weekly serving size bags and using as needed.  It’s also much healthier for your animals to have fresh food all the time.

Donna Ryan - Massachusetts
Use rice as a meat extender: When making tacos, add an equal amount of precooked rice to the raw hamburger and scramble it together with the seasonings. You can s-t-r-e-t-c-h a pound of meat to two pounds by doing this. The strong flavors and the toppings make it a tasty, nutritious meal!

Roxanne Chan - California
Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Instead of purchasing expensive prepared pizza crusts make your own using budget-conscious cooked rice, add an egg or two and pat into an oiled pizza pan-top with pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella and bake.

Adeline Lum - Nebraska
Budget busters for students: As a graduate student, I am usually in a time crunch.  On the weekend, I will cook a pot of rice and keep the rice as leftover in the fridge. I will also cook stew or a few dishes with gravy to accompany my rice, which are kept in the freezer. Hence, during the weekdays, all I need to do is to microwave the rice and my desired dish. Sometimes, I'll have rice in my soup to add texture to the soup and increase satiety. If the leftover rice is a little dry, I will use it to cook fried rice with eggs, ham or meat cubes, and cabbage.

Shannon Kohn  - South Carolina
Use leftover rice to make homemade veggie burgers!  Combine rice with finely chopped veggies.  Add a can of black beans that have been drained and mashed.  Add one egg to bind everything together and shape into patties.  Cook until lightly browned in a non-stick pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Serve on your favorite buns with your favorite toppings!

For more sample tips from our Ricessionista, Karen Buch, click here.