Cheezy Zucchini Rice

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

splash of milk, as needed

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan or a deep pan over medium heat.

2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Toast the rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden. It sounds weird but it makes the rice not as fluffy/soggy and I think it produces a little nutty taste. Don’t burn it though! I think this step took us about 7 minutes.

3. Pour in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover.

4. Cook, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

5. Remove from the heat and add the butter, grated zucchini, cheddar, and garlic powder. No need to squeeze out the extra moisture in the zucchini on this one. Stir until well incorporated.

6. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

7. Stir again and add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little bit.

Ian and I absolutely loved this and it will be made again in the near future. Cheesy, a little nutty plus a healthy vegetable, I didn’t feel guilty about this one. Warming it up for leftovers was great too. I’m really going to miss having zucchinis from our garden…