How to Make the Perfect Boxed Rice-a-Roni Without the Box

• Bring your water and seasonings to a boil and then reduce the heat to "low."
• Cover the mixture and let it continue warming for 15 minutes.
• Uncover the rice-a-roni at 15 minutes and after letting it sit for five more, you're all set to eat.

After bringing the water and seasonings to a boil, bring the temperature down to low. Many people bring it down to medium, or medium-low, but when the instructions say low, they really do mean low. Anything higher will cause the mixture to bubble over and the rice will burn onto the bottom of the pan.

Cover the mixture when the boiling has calmed. Once you set the heat to low, the boiling should subside within a minute or two. After that happens, covered the pan or pot completely. Many people are used to leaving the lid a little lopsided to let steam come out, but this is the opposite of what you need to do here. You need steam to build up within the pot, and if the temperature is low, you won't have to worry about the mixture overflowing.

Leave the lid on for at least 15 minutes. Opening the lid to check on the rice, or to stir it, can seem harmless enough...but what it really does is let out all the steam that was faithfully cooking your rice. Resist the temptation to check the rice. Trust the forces of cooking nature. If the heat is low, it will not burn. Promise.

When at least 15 minutes have passed, you are now allowed to check on your rice. You may find that it is softer, now, than it has been in past Rice-a-Roni cooking adventures. It probably has a little more to go, though, so after a brief stir, put that lid back on tightly and check the rice only every ten minutes.

Don't ignore the last sentence of the box's instructions: Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. When the rice is finished cooking, it will probably be a little on the mushy side. Leave the lid off, remove the pot from heat, and let it sit for a full 5 minutes, and perhaps more. This give the rice a chance to dry out and tighten up, as well as letting it cool. A little bit of fluffing with a fork can help this process along.