rice oriental

ahhh....rice oriental. you were my favorite hamburger helper flavor, and then betty lame-o crocker discontinued you. as the only asian-inspired hamburger helper flavor, i think you should launch a complaint and request an investigation. or, maybe the asian community is happy to no longer have hamburger helper associated with them in any way, shape or form.

i am getting way off track. if you know me, you know i'd almost rather die than make any food that comes from a box. processed food is the devil, and you are supporting satan by buying, "preparing," and serving processed food to your family. disclaimer: we do eat kraft macaroni and cheese (rarely), suddenly salad, and ramen noodles. i'm not perfect, ok?? when i was growing up, my mom used to make us the rice oriental hamburger helper, and it was faaaaantastic. i loved it. for years, i have always kept a box or two of it in the pantry when i didn't have much time to cook dinner or just felt like having one of my favorite childhood meals. then they quit making it...and i had to figure out how to duplicate this on my own.

another thing you should know (if you don't already): i substitute ground turkey in almost EVERY single recipe that calls for hamburger. the first reason is that it's healthier. the second reason is that it is cheaper. also? you almost never have to drain ground turkey, which saves you an extra step. so. in this recipe, i'm going to tell you that i used ground turkey, but if you are a hamburger person, that is fine. use hamburger. i'll still love you.

rice oriental

*1 lb lean ground turkey (you can use 1.5 lbs, but it comes in 1 lb packages)
*1 pkg lipton onion soup mix
*1 pkg brown gravy mix (or onion gravy)
*1 cup raw rice (any kind is fine. but not minute rice. ick!)
*3 cups water
*2-3 T soy sauce

in a large skillet, brown the turkey. season with a bit of salt and pepper, but go super easy on the salt. the lipton soup mix has quite a bit of sodium in it already. if using hamburger, drain it first and return to pan. otherwise, add all the other ingredients, mix well  and bring to a boil. cover and simmer until rice is cooked, about 20-25 mins.

my kids and my husband love this - and it's pretty darn close to the hamburger helper i loved so much.