Mexican Rice

In our house we eat a lot of Mexican food.  It’s a cuisine that I know the kids like and will eat.  Tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos….they love ’em all!  Sometimes I’ll serve the main dish with a salad or some veggies and sometimes I’ll also make rice to go with it.  The original recipe for this Mexican Rice called for a cup of corn, 1/2 cup of frozen peas and 1/2 cup diced carrots.  I hate having small portions of leftover ingredients which I never end up using!  So instead of having leftover unused portions of veggies, I bought a box of frozen mixed vegetables.  So, this rice might of had some string beans in it, which I wasn’t going to pick out!   This is a pretty quick and easy side dish that the kids enjoyed.  It definitely beats those boxed rice mixes!

Mexican Rice
Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 (10-ounce) box frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
1.   Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook approximately 2-3 minutes, until onions become translucent.  Stir in rice until toasted, about 2 minutes.

2. Stir in tomato sauce and vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Stir in frozen vegetables, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes.

3.  Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.