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.