Easy Mexican Rice

So, this is the first meal that I am going to post on here. It is for Mexican Rice! This recipe is so yummy and can be changed any way you like to make it more hot or less hot, which is why I love this recipe! I don't like all the ingredients so I usually leave some out and it still tastes great. And, the other great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to watch it. Seriously!!! So here goes...

1 cup uncooked WHITE rice (I've tried brown rice to make it more healthy and the rice never split.

2 cups cold water

2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed

Olive oil

1/2 an onion

Coarsley chopped small roma tomato, chopped into about 4 pieces.

Hot pepper of your choice, sliced lengthwise

Tomato sauce (Buy the small can cause you won't use but about 1/2 of a small can)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

Salt, to taste

Put about a tablespoon of olive oil into a medium sized pot. I would recommend using a non-stick pot or yes, it may burn. Heat the olive oil to a medium temperature, add the uncooked rice, and brown in the oil. Make sure all the rice is lightly coated in oil. You do not have to stir the rice very much at first but when it starts browning more, you will want to stir more to make sure it browns evenly and doesn't burn. (This is what makes the rice split like mexican rice is supposed to.) Towards the end of the browning, add the garlic so that it gets sautéed.

Next, dump the water on the rice (This is the fun part because it will steam loudly and I think that's cool!) Add all the other ingredients too! This is where you can play with taste and add or delete the ingredients above. I will tell you later what I do! Stir well and cover with a lid that has a small air escape. Reduce the heat to medium-low to medium and let cook for 20-30 minutes! Cooking time and temp varies with each stove so check after 20 minutes to make sure it isn't burning. The fun part of this recipe is "do not peek" while the rice is cooking!

When it is ready, all the water will be absorbed, the rice will fluff, and each grain will be split open. It should be dry, not saucy.

So, here is what I do different. First, I omit the peppers and sometimes the roma tomatoes if I don't have them. Sometimes I add a little more garlic just cause I like the taste of garlic and I don't usually measure out the tomato sauce. I just pour till it seems like enough. But like I said above, you won't use more than 1/2 a small can. Also, I have found that medium low head for about 23 minutes makes my rice perfect! I hope that you enjoy making this recipe. It is soooo easy to make cause you don't have to watch it so you can focus on another dish like enchiladas! If you try it, let me know what you think and have fun!

Here is a pic of what your final product will look like! ENJOY!