Recipe - Mexican Rice

Doesn't everyone love Mexican food?  Judging by how often it's on the menu at our house, I guess we do.  After last week's post featuring Mexican Corn Chowder (which many of our sisters successfully made and enjoyed, by the way), I had planned to focus on Thanksgiving foods today, but since there are lots of Tuesdays in November, I thought I'd wait another week to talk turkey.  Looking at the plate above, it occurs to me that it looks pretty much like the typical American family dinner (even down to my everyday Corelle plates!)  I made this Mexican Rice to accompany soft-shelled tacos, with a little fruit salad on the side.  Topped with melted cheese and cilantro, leftovers the next day actually became our main course.   Most meals I make don't get a whole lot fancier than this.  However, a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to go on a 7-day Caribbean cruise with 3 other family members.  Along with all the fun and fabulous activities on the ship, we ate like kings in lovely dining rooms where waiters draped napkins across our laps and served us dishes like this:

and this . . .

And this . . .

Followed by gorgeous desserts like these:

Yes, I did photograph my food on this vacation!  You can't just dig into such works of art.  My daughter even took the rare opportunity to sample Escargot (literally, French for Snail), which if you've ever wondered, looks like this:

By the way, she loved it!  After days of being waited on hand and foot and never lifting a finger (or a dish cloth), it was pretty hard coming home to make  . . . .Mexican Rice.  But as wonderful as a vacation is, for most of us everyday life involves lovingly nourishing ourselves and others as best we can on our everyday plates--and more often with rice than with lobster!  No complaints here.

Mexican Rice

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4- 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green or red pepper, diced 
• 1 1/2 cups white rice, uncooked 
  
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in ½ cup hot water
• 1 can corn, drained
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teas. black pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes (or a quart of home canned tomatoes, drained)
• 1 regular sized jar mild or medium Salsa
•  chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
• Shredded Cheese (optional)

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add rice and sauté a couple of minutes. Add onions and peppers for a few more minutes. Add garlic and sauté just a minute or so more. (By the way, the reason there is dark green in this is that I used my food processor to chop the onion, then mince the cilantro in the same bowl, so bits of cilantro is what you are seeing).

Add the peppers.  Saute a minute then add spices and other ingredients.

Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low until done, about 20 minutes.  If the liquid seems to have absorbed before the rice is fully cooked, add some more water or salsa and continue to cook until the rice is tender and it isn’t juicy anymore.
Sorry about the change of skillets!  The photos are from two different occasions. 

Top with grated cheese and fresh cilantro if desired.