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Instant Pot Cilantro and Lime Rice

8/18/2019

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime and Rice
by Cheryl L. McClure

We love a good rice recipe to eat with Tex Mex here at the ranch and this sounded so good! Not to mention, it tastes good!! Recently, my favorite home & health products company came out with Cilantro Vitality essential oil and I was excited to give it a try in this dish.

We use a 6 qt Instant Pot and it cooks rice perfectly every time so I did not hesitate to experiment and it turned out delicious!! Most recipes for the Instant Pot will use the same ratio for rice as for water, so makes it easy to remember.

We use it for a lot of different dishes, but FYI it's a great appliance for cooking beans from dry to done in no time!

Anyway, this side dish is so EZ to make but if I don’t have all the fresh spices, herbs and fruits, I have essential oils to replace them, right here in the cupboard!

Here are some of the Vitality line of essential oils that would come in handy for this recipe or to flavor any Tex-Mex meal!

You can find all these and more at essenty.com/cherylintexas - Use my member number to purchase! #1176855

While the weather was cool in the springtime, I was able to harvest my own from the garden and it was soooo good! I love all the texture and color with cilantro, but I find so often, that I want to cook something with cilantro and I don’t have any, don't have enough or it has gone bad.

We don’t live around the corner from the grocery store, so having essential oils is like having fresh herbs in a bottle! They're ready to use at any time.

It only takes a little, so use sparingly. The good thing is, you can use herbs fresh, dried or essential oils interchangeably or together in recipes. Don't be a fraidy cat! Experiment with your oils and herbs and adjust to your own taste, just start low and add from there.

Note, you will want to add all your essential oils after the rice has cooked.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Jasmine Rice (or long grain white rice)
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter to add to rice
+
1 drop Bay Vitality (Laurus Nobilis)
1 drop Cumin Vitality
3 drops Citrus Fresh Vitality
2 drops Lemon Vitality
2 drops Lime Vitality
2 drops Cilantro Vitality
1 drop Black Pepper Vitality
1 drop Orange Vitality
Butter or olive oil to mix EOs into

OR use fresh/dry ingredients
2 fresh bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Butter the inside of the instant pot.
Add 2 cups rinsed and drained rice and 2 cups chicken broth. Throw in 2 fresh bay leaves.
Set Instant Pot manual pressure for 4 minutes, after done, allow 11-18 minutes natural pressure release.
Add butter with essential oils or your fresh/dried herbs, combine all.
Enjoy!

This makes a double batch, about 6 cups, which I like because after I've used it as a side there are leftovers to use in a soup or casserole.

Hope you enjoy this dish and discover more ways to use this great line of Vitality essential oils in cooking. Let me know what worked for you!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch
essenty.com/cherylintexas
picklecreekranch.com

If you would like to order any of the essential oils for cooking you can do so through either website, you will just need my member number to order.
CL McClure - Member #1176855

You can order retail or save 24% by becoming a member. I'd be happy to tell you all about it!

Young Living is the leader in the essential oil industry because they have what no other company has, the Seed to Seal promise. I do not recommend any other oil besides Young Living.

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Zucchini Boats

8/1/2019

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We have had such a productive garden with zucchini, yellow squash and patty pan squash this year!

I find many ways to prepare zucchini. Here are a few:

A. Shred for baking zucchini bread
B. Press through a zoodle maker to pan sear in lieu of noodles
C. Slice down the center and core out for zucchini boats
D. Chop for casseroles or roasting on the grill
E. Slice or chop and add to salads

You can also shred, chop or slice and freeze in zip lock freezer bags to use during the season.

Some of the zucchini get a little big but they are still great for making zoodles and even zucchini boats! In this case I used two large zucchini. You can use smaller ones so I will list the ingredients as if you had medium size.

Gifts from the Garden

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp Basil, fresh leaves
1 tbsp Garlic
2 tbsp Parsley, fresh leaves
6 Zucchini, medium
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 onion, chopped or any variety of onion, green onion tops too
1/2 tomato, chopped
Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425°F

Trim the stem end of the zucchini and slice down the center, lengthwise. Score and scoop out the center leaving a half to 3/4 inch. I used a melon ball scooper. These did not have large seeds so no need to discard seeds. Set aside.

Drizzle olive oil and brush all over zucchini. Place face down on the pan. sprinkle with salt and roast for 12 to 15 minutes until tender but firm.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion in olive oil, add the zucchini, tomatoes, basil and garlic and cook till tender. Let cool for a bit.

In a medium size bowl, add 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I put both in a 1 cup measuring cup); fold in the sautéed vegetables.

Pull the zucchini out of the oven and turn it cut side up. Spoon in the mixture you have prepared, put back in to the oven and bake for another 8 - 10 minutes till mixture is crispy golden brown.

We enjoyed this a lot the first night. As much as we like leftovers, I would not recommend this for leftovers, but if I transform them into something else, I'll let ya know!