7 Days 'til Christmas

7 Days 'til Christmas: I finally got the cards in the mail today and finished my homemade gifts, now on to cookies and candy.
One of my favorite side dishes for holiday meals, or any meal, for that matter, is Wild Rice. It's super easy to make, extremely healthy, tasty and versatile. Make extra for leftovers, soups, casseroles, breakfast, whatever!
Wild Rice:
2 cups long grain wild rice--the real deal, not that Uncle Ben's nonsense
6 cups water
2 pinches salt
2 Tbsp butter
Rinse the wild rice then place in saucepan with water, salt and butter. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cover. Wild rice takes about 1 hour to cook and will become soft and plump when finished. You should check it occasionally to make sure there is still some liquid left in the pan because depending upon your stove it may dry out and burn before the rice is fully cooked.
To help speed up the cooking time, rinse the rice and place in the pot of water for up to 8 hours before cooking. This will help ensure that the rice cooks in the 1 hour. You can easily prepare the rice a day or two ahead of your meal and simply reheat it in the oven, on the stovetop or in the microwave.