Homemade Rice-A-Roni

I set out to find a recipe for a homemade version of Rice-A-Roni for my sister. Her boys love the stuff and she wanted a healthier version she could prepare for them. Stephanie Cooks had a recipe on her blog from Recipezaar that seemed pretty simple so I thought I'd give it a try. I haven't had Rice-A-Roni in years, so I can't say how close it comes, but it is a tasty side dish and my ten month old son polished his plate. I followed the recipe pretty closely, using angel hair pasta instead of spaghetti, adding in some parsley, and adding instructions to cover the dish during cooking.

Rice-A-Roni

• 1/2 cup raw angel hair pasta broken into 1/2 inch long pieces
• 3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
• 14 1/2 ounces broth
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• dried parsley

In medium skillet saute broken pasta pieces in butter, stirring constantly, until the pasta begins to brown. Add rice, stirring until the rice is well coated with the butter and the pasta browns a little more. Carefully pour in broth. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Stir in some parsley to give it a more authentic look.