Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf is a perfect side to well, let's face it, any southern food you cook!

I love Annie's Eats, and I found this recipe on her blog last week. I read that it took a while in the oven, so I tried to prep for that. Well, last night nothing went right in the kitchen. I was trying to fix too many things at once, and nothing was going right! I got halfway through this recipe and realized that I didn't have any chicken broth. How did I run out of that? I had to put the prep on hold and wait until Clay could bring some home for me. So the rice didn't even make it into the oven until 7:30 or later. While the rice was cooking, I made the Maple-Butter Blondies. After I ground up half of the walnuts, I accidentally dumped them out of the floor. That left me with a big mess and no walnuts for the

While the rice was cooking, I made the Maple-Butter Blondies. After I ground up half of the walnuts, I accidentally dumped them out of the floor. That left me with a big mess and no walnuts for the blondies. You can imagine that with everything going wrong and 2 little girls wanting my attention, my patience was running low! Clay also bought us two steaks to put on the grill when he stopped for the chicken broth. The rice was almost done, so I asked Clay to light the grill. Guess what? No propane. Dang! We ended up searing the steaks and finishing them off in the oven. They weren't bad. Pretty good actually. And this rice was really good too. I am going to make this one again. It takes a while, but most of it is inactive time. I may add some toasted slivered almonds next time. A little crunch would have been good!

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf Recipe:

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup long-grain white rice
2-1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

How To Make Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Have a small casserole dish ready.

2. In a saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and rice to the pan and cook until both are golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.

3. Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth, the salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

4. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish, cover (either with a lid or aluminum foil) and bake for 25 minutes.

5. Stir in the remaining 1-1/2 cups chicken broth and bake covered for another 45 minutes.

6. About 15 minutes before it is finished baking, stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The lemon really brightens up the flavor!

A note from Annie's Eats: This recipe can be doubled without increasing the baking time.

*This recipe made plenty of rice for my family of 3. I saved the leftovers and may use it for my Stir-fry later this week instead of serving it over noodles.

Enjoy!

(adapted from Annie's Eats)