Autumn Bourbon Brown Rice Recipe

Happy October! I can’t believe the month of cooler weather, pumpkins, vibrant fall leaves, and marathon taper is finally here. Like many of my friends, I’ve been craving anything and everything apple, spice or pumpkin. Therefore, when the folks at DailyBuzz and RiceSelect gave me the opportunity to try RiceSelect Texmati Brown Rice blend in a recipe, my mind went to Fall flavors.

Brown rice is great staple for healthy dinners, with only 170 calories per serving and 2 grams of whole grain fiber. The nuttiness of brown rice was a perfect base for a Fall inspired side dish that is simple, healthy, filling, and tasty enough that your whole family will enjoy it. After Bo tasted it, he immediately suggested it for a Thanksgiving dinner side.

Autumn Bourbon Brown Rice

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

1 cup RiceSelect Texmati Brown Rice

2 1/4 cup water or stock

1/2 teaspoon of salt (if you used water above)

1/2 sweet onion, finely diced

1 apple, finely diced

1/4 medium butternut squash, finely diced

olive oil

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon Vermont Maple Syrup

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1/8 cup Bourbon

black pepper, to taste

teaspoon salt, to taste

Vermont Maple Syrup, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree

2. Finely dice apple, butternut squash and sweet onion. Toss the diced fruits and vegetables in olive oil, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and maple syrup before spreading on a non-stick jelly roll pan.

3. Roast mixture in oven for 25-30 minutes until tender.

4. While mixture roasts, cook brown rice following directions on box.

5. While rice and mixture cools, toast 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, just into lightly aromatic.

5. Once both rice, walnuts and vegetable and fruit mixture have cooled, combine mixture and walnuts into the rice pot on the stove, stirring to mix. Add bourbon, black pepper, salt, and a dash of Vermont Maple Syrup just to taste.

6. Enjoy as a side dish, salad topper, savory breakfast item, or as an easy afternoon snack.

Full disclosure: This post is part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program with RiceSelect. All opinions are my own.

This post is brought to you by Rice Select.