The first dish Michael Gallacher made for his daughter was pasta, but rice has emerged as her hands-down favorite.

Michael Gallacher of Moscow, Pennsylvania, loves cooking for his wife and 16-month-old daughter. “My daughter has never eaten store-bought baby food as I have made all of her food myself,” he confides. “She is finally at the age where I can start using a little spice in her food and she loves it.

“We have started to interject some grownup dishes into her diet—her favorite dish is a Spanish-style rice that my father makes. It has rice, ground beef, veggies and spices.”

Next up might be Michael’s Veggie Rice, which gets its golden hue from a few threads of saffron. “I usually make a double batch and we will eat this twice in a week. It’s a great side to chicken, beef, pork chops, fish or just about anything,” he says.

“My favorite way to serve Veggie Rice in summer is with grilled steak, garlic bread, and grilled corn on the cob,” he adds. “I cook the Veggie Rice on a side burner to the grill while the steak and corn are cooking.”

Michael doesn’t save a pinch of saffron just for this rice dish. “I have also found that I like saffron in couscous as well as in chicken soup and turkey soup,” he says. “It gives a nice golden color to the broth and a really nice flavor.”

Veggie Rice

This recipe from Mike is a colorful, healthy side dish that goes with any meal, especially Spicy Turkey Gumbo.

• 1 Cup white rice
• 1 TB. olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/4 bell pepper, any color, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. MINCED GARLIC)
• 2 Cups chicken stock (2 cups water plus 1 tsp. CHICKEN SOUP BASE or 2 cups vegetable stock can be used to make this dish vegetarian)
• 1 tsp. THYME
• 1 TB. PARSLEY
• 1 BAY LEAF
• 1/2 tsp. PENZEYS FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
• 1 pinch SAFFRON
• 1/4-1 tsp. salt (to taste)

Heat the oil in a medium pot. Add the onions, peppers and carrots. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken or vegetable stock. Add all of the SPICES and salt and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, and turn off the heat. Leave covered for 20-25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Uncover, fluff with a fork and serve.

Nutritional Information: Servings 4;
Serving Size 1 cup (313g); Calories 250; Calories from fat 35; Total fat 4g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 360mg; Carbohydrate 48g; Dietary Fiber 2g.