Easy Mexican Rice

If you are anything like me I have struggled to make fluffy rice my whole life.  It always seems to come out either overcooked or mushy.  I’ve played around with this Mexican rice recipe for a while now and am very pleased with how it came out.

What’s the difference between Spanish rice and Mexican rice?  As far as I’ve been able to figure out Spanish rice is made with a saffron base and Mexican rice has cumin, cilantro, maybe some peppers and a tomato base.   You can use diced up tomatoes, tomato paste or salsa for your Mexican rice.  I chose Rotel for this recipe.

Also, rice is known to contain arsenic, so buying organic once again is essential if you want to avoid additives, preservatives and toxic chemicals in your food.  I buy Yoga Organic Rice at my supermarket but I know it can be very hard to find so I included a link for another brand in the recipe instructions if you don’t feel like running from store to store to find it.

It’s a great healthy side dish for my Sweet Potato Burritos, Roasted Chicken, and Blackened Chicken recipes.  It also goes great with any Mexican food you are serving, even fish.

Easy Clean Eating Mexican Rice

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon organic butter
• 1 cup organic long grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup organic onion, diced finely
• 1/4 cup organic green (or red) pepper, diced finely
• 2 cloves organic garlic, minced
• 2 cups homemade chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried organic cumin
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped organic cilantro
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped organic parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes, drained (or salsa or petite diced tomatoes)
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste

Instructions

1. Add the butter to a large skillet that has a tight fitting lid.
2. Add the rice and over medium heat, sauté until light brown, approximately 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the onions and peppers and sauté another minute (your pan will start to get very hot and may even get a little loud)
4. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
5. VERY CAREFULLY add the chicken stock, your pan may sizzle and pop and steam so please use caution.
6. Add your spices, tomatoes and tomato paste.
7. Stir and reduce heat to low.
8. Simmer for 35 minutes without lifting the lid.
9. After 35 min stir the rice to see how much liquid is left, if it needs a little more time, continue to cook, otherwise, turn the stove off, put the lid back on and let the rice sit for 10 minutes.
10. Fluff with a fork and enjoy!

Recipe Source:  HappilyUnprocessed.com
I used all organic ingredients when making this recipe, and hope you do too!  🙂

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