Vegetable Rice Pilaf - 3 points

I've been told by Pilaf Purists that there is one way to make rice pilaf and anything else might be tasty, but it's not rice pilaf. I understand how they feel. An apple-tini might be a tasty vodka cocktail and it might be in a martini glass, but it's not a martini. I almost feel so strongly that if I've had enough real martinis, I'll tell you that your glass of vodka and slice of lemon isn't a martini, either.

But I'm not a Pilaf Purist, and I've tasted a variety of rice pilaf dishes that that delighted me. This is my vegetable pilaf, which makes a delicious side dish that's really low in points!

Here's what you'll need:
1 cup brown rice
2 tbsp orzo
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup frozen string beans
1/4 cup frozen peas and carrots
1/3 tsp Smart Balance spread (or comparable butter spread)
Optional: 1 tsp minced garlic

First, the butter spread goes into the hot pot to soften. One of the key points of pilaf is to saute the rice and pasta before boiling it. Put the orzo in first and get a nice brown color on it. Once it's nicely toasted, add the rice, and just saute a little. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. If you'd like, for a little extra flavor, you can add a teaspoon of minced garlic in with the rice. You don't want to put the garlic in too early, or over too high a flame, otherwise it will burn. Putting it in right before the chicken broth keeps the flavor strong, as well.

From here, you simply cook it the same way you'd do rice. Once the broth boils, bring the heat down to a simmer and let it sit, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. When the rice and pasta have absorbed most of the broth, add in the frozen vegetables. I did a combination of corn, string beans, and peas and carrots, mainly because that's what was in my freezer. The only element that will affect the points is the corn. You can add as much or as little of each as you like. You can put the veggies in still frozen while there's still some liquid in the pot, because the hot liquid and the steam will defrost and cook them up quickly.

I made mine as a side dish for a pork chop with mushroom sauce, coming to an 11 point meal in total (I had two servings of pilaf, because it was so good!) The pilaf itself comes to only 3 points per serving, which shouldn't add too much to your dinner as a whole.