Rice can be nice or it can ROCK!

Rice is stupid cheap. For some reason, I can't get normal rice to work in my new house. Fine. I've switched to minute rice (or the store brand equivalent). The cool thing about minute rice is that it takes 10 minutes to make and as long as you keep it covered, it turns out perfect every time.
I'd rather spend a little more and not wait 30 minutes to find out I ruined dinner and it's going to have to wait another 30 to be served. That is, if I have enough for a do-over.

There are a few staples that make rice a really cool side dish and not just cheap salted starch.

Flavorful Rice Additions:
Chicken and Tomato Boullion
Chicken Boullion
Beef Boullion
Vegetable Boullion
Chicken broth
Beef broth
Vegetable Broth
Green olive juice (and the olives, too... unless the picky eaters strike you down)
Sazon by Goya (It's a spanish seasoning packet)

Rice needs salt to taste decent at all. You can trade the salt for any of the flavor additions in the list. When you cook a meat, after it's done you may want to drain and/or strain the juice, measure it and use it in your rice (with some extra water to make enough liquid for your serving needs)

Veggie and Spice Additions:
Saffron (can be found in the spanish aisle on a little hook, it looks like dark orange hair)
Peas
Carrots -diced or grated
Chopped Celery
Chopped Onion
Canned Tomatoes (use the juice as part of your liquid measurement)

If you can add a brightly colored veggie or something to your rice, it makes it a little prettier than a pile of white things on your plate. Not to mention, adds something healthy to your meal.

Be adventurous. It's rice, not particle physics.