How to fix up Near East's Creamy Parmesan with White Rice & Pearled Wheat

Near East makes a box mix called "Creative Grains: Creamy Parmesan with White Rice and Pearled Wheat". Normally I love it on its own, but tonight I wanted to kick it up a notch.

I took my Le Creuset 2 quart pot out of the frozen undercabinet and put it on low to warm up to room temp. Then I turned it up to high. (This is a thirty year old stove: high will be too high for your modern stove - use medium.) I drizzled extra virgin olive oil in it and let that heat up...

I took a big sweet onion (one more of the Walla Wallas) and chopped that roughly and tossed it into the oil.

I took a red pepper out of the fridge, seeded and chopped it and tossed that in.

I put a tablespoon of minced fridge-garlic in.

I put a teaspoon of minced fridge-ginger in. (Note, that was a LOT of ginger flavor. I would put a 1/2 teaspoon in next time.)

I let it sauté a bit and then raised my eyebrows a few times and reached for the toasted sesame oil. I drizzled that lightly over the sauteeing veggies.

I then squinted at the bright orange pot and scooped a couple of tablespoons of Hoisin sauce into the mix.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.

I pulled out a can of chicken broth and put that in, and brought it up to a simmer.

I opened the box and poured in the rice and wheat. I mixed it all together.

Then I thought to toss in a small snack-size package of mini-baby carrots. Yes, they have preemie baby carrots.

I then pulled out a crossword puzzle and waited for the mixture to boil. I then turned it down to medium and let it simmer steadily. A Strong Simmer.

And it cooked. And I filled out my puzzle. And it cooked. I stirred it a few times, despite dire warnings on ze box. And I filled out my puzzle. And it cooked.

Twenty minutes later, I stirred in the parmesan seasonings packet and a healthy helping of grated parmagiano reggiano.

OH YEAH!! Perfect for this freezing winter evening.

Really strong on the ginger, but luckily I like ginger. I'll hold back a bit next time.