Here's what I like to do. When I start to make this recipe, I put one cup of frozen peas and carrots in a bowl. I use the the frozen peas and carrots that are packaged together and the carrots are small diced. The time they spend outside the freezer while you prepare and cook the rice will be ample to thaw them out enough to add to the rice once its cooked. Once you remove the rice from the oven, let the rice sit for five minutes. Remove lid and pour in the peas and carrots and fluff. Place the lid back on the pan and let it sit for another couple of minutes. The heat from the rice will warm the peas and carrots.