Tiny Four-Patch

 

There are several recipes on the Internet for copycat Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice. I didn’t use any of them. I knew I’d have my hands full with the other dishes, and wanted to simplify where possible. The back of the Zatarain’s Cilantro Lime Rice box said it contained 3.5 servings, so I bought five boxes. Once I got them home, I decided my crew wouldn’t eat 17.5 servings, so I only opened four. I dumped the rice and seasonings into a bowl, and measured them into my rice cooker using the cup it came with. Then I added water according to the rice cooker directions, along with a little unsalted butter. I closed the lid, set the cooker to “white rice,” and turned it on. The cooker finished up while I handled everything else, then kept the rice warm until dinnertime. It was effortless, but every bit as good as if I’d chopped and stirred.