Rice Medley with Peas, Carrots & Chimichurri

A healthy weeknight home cooked meal your family will love? You got this. Long grain rice medley with peas, carrots, and a tangy, herbal chimichurri is the perfect accompaniment to salmon, chicken, or a big green salad. This post is a sponsored recipe collaboration with Uncle Ben’s™. I only share products that I use and love IRL, and all opinions are my own.

When I was a wee Soupie, my Mom had a slew of dishes that appeared regularly on the dinner table (hip-hip-hooray! for those go-to staples, amiright?). Some I loved (like Mom’s chicken chili soup). Some, not so much (kale and sausage stew — hey, what can I say, I was a kid who wanted to eat nothing but slices of American cheese from the local deli 😉 ).

But one favorite that followed me into adulthood, and my own kitchen, was peas, carrots, and rice with butter. So simple, so easy — comfort food at its best.

And now being a food blogger, I get to play with my food and put it up on the interwebs, so I’ve taken that childhood favorite and adulted it up with the Long Grain & Wild Rice blend from Uncle Ben’s. The white rice of my youth is awesome, but all-grown-up me loves the more complex notes that wild rice adds to the mix.

It’s so easy you can totally toss this side together while your main is cooking. Just add the contents of the Long Grain & Wild Rice box to a sauce pan or skillet, along with water. Cover and cook. When the liquid has been absorbed, stir in the peas and carrots (canned or thawed from frozen), warm everything through …

… and then top with the super-easy and tangy, herbal chimichurri sauce. Done!

Traditionally, chimichurri sauce is served over meat, particularly grilled steak. But it’s so yummy, and I think it’s highly underused. So fragrant and tasty, with fresh herbs, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil, it goes with everything from meat and fish, to vegetables, grains, and salads.

Tip for chopping up lots of leafy herbs at once: Gather up the leaves into a tight ball with your fingertips, and make narrow slices using a thin-bladed paring knife. Then run the knife through the leaf strips to create a fine chop. Or, the bullet blender that’s languishing away in the Cabinet of Well-Intentioned Appliances? It also works great when used with all of the chimichurri ingredients together.

My fresh herb preferences for chimichurri are flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and marjoram, but if you can’t find the marjoram, substitute oregano or tarragon instead. (Marjoram is oregano’s slightly sweeter cousin, and one of my favorite herbs to grow in the garden.)

Oh, and when you’re having one of those super busy, calendar-is-overloaded weeks, and you have to pick and choose your errand stops carefully … Target carries all of the ingredients for this recipe!

Delicious doesn’t have to be complicated, and a tasty, healthy side dish is just a few ingredients and a few minutes away!

Karen xo

Thanks to Uncle Ben’s for sponsoring this post, and thanks to you, Lovely Reader, for supporting the brands that keep food blogs like this one sharing the recipes we love!

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Rice Medley with Peas, Carrots & Chimichurri

The recipe below serves 4 — to double, use two boxes of rice blend, and a 14 ounce can of peas and carrots (there should be plenty of chimichurri as is).

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Karen Gibson

Ingredients

for the chimichurri sauce:

• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh marjoram or oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

for the rice:

• 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Fast Cook®
• 1 small can peas and carrots about 8 ounces

Instructions

make the chimichurri sauce

• Finely chop the parsley, cilantro and marjoram/oregano (or use a food processor or bullet blender). Place in a bowl, and add the remaining chimichurri ingredients. Stir well, and set aside. The chimichurri can be made an hour ahead and left on the counter, or the night before and stored in the refrigerator (olive oil will solidify in the fridge - bring the chimichurri sauce up to room temp before using).

make the rice

• Prepare the rice according to package directions: Add the rice, seasoning packet, and 1 3/4 cups water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low-medium, cover, and cook without disturbing for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let set 5 more minutes, until all liquids are absorbed.
• Mix in the peas and carrots. Return to low heat until the rice mixture is warmed through again.
• Just before serving, spoon the chimichurri sauce over the rice and mix until coated (you might not need all of the sauce). Alternatively, serve the chimichurri sauce on the side.

Nutritional information, if shown, is provided as a courtesy only, and is not to be taken as medical information or advice. The nutritional values of your preparation of this recipe are impacted by several factors, including, but not limited to, the ingredient brands you use, any substitutions or measurement changes you make, and measuring accuracy.

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