Friday, July 3

yummy mexican(ish) rice

I canned some dried beans this week. The weather been so cool - in the 60's! I was happy it worked out - we have been out of home canned beans for awhile, and I have such a hard time preparing dried beans - it's my forgetfulness in this stage of life!! Dried beans take awhile, even with the quick soak method.

So with a shelf full of beans, I thought I'd share one of our favorite "Mexican" recipes - for rice. This IS the best rice I've eaten with Mexican food. Tweaked from a great cookbook I bought shortly after Michael and I were married.





1-2 T olive oil
1 tsp or one clove minced garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup long grain rice (or whatever rice you have)
1 can or one pint petite diced tomatoes (or any tomatoes you have)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 cups or one can chicken broth OR 2 cups of water

In a medium saucepan, saute the first 3 ingredients for a few minutes. When the onions are transparent and the kitchen smells good enough to eat, add the rice only. Saute until golden, then add the rest of the ingredients. If you add water, also add 1 tsp salt. Chicken broth has a lot of sodium in it already, so you may wish to cut back on the salt if you use chicken broth. Stirring frequently, cook until the rice is done. You will want to stir frequently as this has a tendency to stick once the rice gets, er, sticky. This is awesome with beans, as a burrito filling, or as a side dish to pretty much any tex-mex or mexican dish.

Please note - I have only tried this recipe with white rice. And, if you have any rice and beans recipes, I would LOVE them!! I'm always looking for a twist on rice and beans!!

7 comments:

Tracy said...

Jenny,
Great job on taking advantage of the cooler weather.
I have a ton of beans on my shelf and never thought to can them. Could you share with me your canning process for the beans?

Thank you.

Jenny said...

Tracy, I'll send you a message on Facebook and do a post next week. :-)

Shelldell said...

I'm going to try this one it looks yummy!
Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I'm super curious about your bean canning too. I can rarely make dry beans taste good enough for the kids to like them.

Thanks for sharing your rice/beans recipe! I think sauteeing the rice in oil first is essential to making a good mexican-style rice.

Kara said...

You are so ambitious.

The rice recipe sounds really really good! I am definitely trying it. I made my favorite chicken enchiladas this past week, this would've went nicely with them.

Anonymous said...

Some cooked rice (brown works), optional beans (black are best if no one in your home has a legume allergy :^), some salsa, a melted brick of cream cheese, some leftover with chicken if you have it. Spice it up more with taco seasoning if desired, sprinkle with sharp cheddar or co-jack and eat with tortillas or plain. Throw in corn, bits of onion, pepper, tomato if wanted. No real recipe. Casserole-ish.
Everyone gobbles it up in this house. This is the main way I use up leftover rice; I cook a big batch initially on purpose. I've always wanted to try the fried rice thing with eggs but that's an allergy too. Someday perhaps....
Cindy

Connie said...

Here is the basics of the cheesy rice and beans, adjust as you like...

1 onion (chopped)
1 green or red sweet pepper (chopped)

In frying pan, saute onion and pepper in 1 T. oil until soft, 5 minutes

2 cups (1 can) black beans (not drained)
2 cups (1 can) diced tomatoes (not drained)
corn (optional)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 cloves garlic
Spices to taste - crushed red pepper, cumin, chili powder

Add and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered until rice is done, 20 minutes for white rice, 45 for brown rice. Remove from heat.

1/2 cup sharp cheddar (shredded)
1/2 cup Monterey Jack (shredded)

Mix in and serve, or put in slow cooker to keep warm.

This is good with a splash of hot sauce and sour cream with lettuce and tortilla chips.

Enjoy!