Cooking for Teens- Easy & Quick Recipes for Rice Dishes (Part I) for Teens to Prepare

Welcome to my Cooking for Teens series.  The purpose of this series is to provide recipes and ideas for tweens and teens to cook main dish entrees for the family.  My parents worked shift work when I was growing up, and in my teen years, often one of my chores was to make supper before waking my mom when she worked night shift.  So I know a thing or two about simple meal preparation as a teen. 

These rice main dishes are prepared with leftover rice and canned products, or packaged rice and sauce mixes.  With the packaged rice and sauce products, rice does not have to be cooked separately nor drained. 

If you have a tween or teen who has expressed interest in participating in family meal preparation, you’ve come to the right place.  Read through these recipes with your tween or teen and see what you think.  Then just add a salad or vegetable side dish to these rice and meat main dishes. 

Recipes in this hub:

Roast Beef with Rice

Tuna with Rice

Chicken Rice

Herb & Butter Rice with Ham

Dirty Rice with Shrimp

Broccoli Rice au Gratin with Chicken

My mom used to fix this when I was growing up.  It was one of those easy main dishes that I would later prepare for the family, when I was a teen. 

Ingredients

1 can tomato soup

¼ can or less water, just to rinse

1 large can roast beef

4 cups cooked rice

Instructions

1.  Pour soup into saucepan.  Rinse can with water, and use a spatula to remove as much soup as possible from the can. 

2.  Add roast beef and its juice or gravy.  If there is a thick gravy, use a couple tablespoons of water, or a spatula to get as much gravy as possible. 

3.  Heat on medium heat setting until moderately hot. 

4.  Add the cooked rice to the tomato soup and beef mixture. 

5.  Heat until thoroughly warm. 

I didn’t have this growing up because our folks didn’t eat tuna.  In my current household, this is a staple. 

Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken soup

¼ can or less water, just to rinse can

1 large can of tuna or 2 small cans, drained

4 cups leftover cooked rice

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1.  Pour soup into saucepan.  Rinse can with water, and use a spatula to remove as much soup as possible. 

2.  Add the drained tuna, salt, and pepper to the soup. 

3.  Heat on medium heat, stirring frequently until moderately hot. 

4.  Add the cooked rice. 

5.  Heat until thoroughly warm. 

Ingredients

2 pkgs of Knorr Chicken Flavored Rice

4 cups water

2 Tablespoon butter

1 large can (12.5 ounces) of boneless chicken, or 2 small cans

Instructions

1- Use a medium sized saucepan.  Pour in water.  Add butter.  Bring to a boil. 

2- Add package contents.  Stir to combine. 

3- Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes. 

4- Open chicken.  Pour juice into rice.  Use a fork to separate chicken as you add it to the rice.  Stir to combine. 

5- Cover and continue heating 2 to 4 minutes until rice is tender and chicken is warm. 

Ingredients

2 pkgs Knorr Herb & Butter Rice

Water per package directions (1 ½ to 2 c per package)

2 tablespoons butter or oil

2 (5 oz) cans ham

Instructions

1- Use a medium sized saucepan. Pour in water. Add butter. Bring to a boil.

2- Add package contents. Stir to combine.

3- Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

4- Open ham. Pour juice into rice. Use a fork to separate ham as you add it to the rice. Stir to combine.

5- Cover and continue heating 2 to 4 minutes until rice is tender and ham is warm.

Ingredients

2 pkgs Knorr Dirty Rice

Water (1 ½ to 2 cups per package)

2 Tablespoons butter or oil

12 ounces frozen cooked shrimp

Instructions

1- Use a medium sized saucepan.  Pour in water.  Add butter or oil.  Bring to a boil. 

2- Add package contents.  Stir to combine. 

3- Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes. 

4- While rice and sauce is simmering, prepare shrimp.  Put shrimp in a colander.  Run cool water over shrimp until semi-thawed. 

5- Add shrimp to rice.  Stir to combine.  Cover and continue heating 2 to 4 minutes, until rice is tender and shrimp is warm. 

This is may be my absolute favorite rice and sauce package.  My mom has always used Uncle Ben’s (white) “converted” rice.  It has a really nice, firm texture.  But it’s not just the texture that makes this broccoli cheese rice so good.  It’s really tasty! 

Ingredients

2 boxes Uncle Ben’s Broccoli Rice au Gratin

4 ½ cups water

2 Tablespoons butter

1 large (12.5 ounces) of boneless chicken (or 2 small cans)

Instructions

1- Use a medium sized saucepan.  Pour in water.  Add butter or oil.  Bring to a boil. 

2- Add package contents.  Stir to combine. 

3- Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 8 minutes. 

4- Open chicken.  Pour juice into rice.  Use a fork to separate chicken as you add it to the rice.  Stir to combine. 

5- Cover and continue heating 2 to 4 minutes until rice is tender and chicken is warm. 

Cooking for Teens- Easy & Quick Recipes for Soups & Chowders for Teens to Prepare

Cooking for Teens- Easy & Quick Recipes for Pasta Dishes for Teens to Prepare

Cooking for Teens- Easy & Quick Recipes for Rice Dishes (Part I) for Teens to Prepare

Cooking for Teens- More Easy & Quick Recipes for Rice Dishes (Part II) for Teens to Prepare

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