Mexican Rice, a Long Story

Easy Oven Mexican Rice

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)*
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup uncooked short or medium-grain white rice*
1 cup chicken broth*

2 Tablespoons tomato sauce*

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the rice into the casserole.  (I use a 1.5 quart Pyrex casserole with a lid)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent.   If the heat is too high, the garlic will burn and taste bitter.  Don't get in a hurry like I do and turn the heat up too much.

Stir in the chili powder and cumin, and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the chicken broth and tomato paste, and bring to a boil.  Pour over the rice and stir.  Cover with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.

 

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 THE LONG STORY PART

So, I wanted some Mexican Rice to go with the chicken enchiladas.   I found a decent recipe, cooked in a skillet.

It was pretty good, but of course, it made a huge amount, so I tried a half recipe.   Thought it'd be better to use a smaller skillet.   It seemed to be going well until it came time to cover the rice for cooking.   The only skillet  I have with a lid is enormous, so I usually cover the medium-sized one with the lid from my soup pot.   It sits just inside and works as long as the recipe doesn't say a "tight-fitting lid", and it seems like all the lids now have those steam holes in them anyway...

But the lid hung over the edge of the smaller skillet, and I didn't think anything of it... well all the spicy, tomatoey steam condensed on the lid and ran to the edges and dripped out on the stovetop...

The next time I tried a recipe for oven-baked Mexican rice.  I was baking enchiladas anyway, so heating up the oven was no big deal.   It turned out even better!  And with some adjusting, I cut it down to two servings and used medium grain rice, which is more chewy and satisfying and tastes better, too.

When I first moved to Arizona, I couldn't find Silver Pearl rice anywhere.  My mom would bring some when she visited, and later I'd bring some home from California, once I stuffed 5 two-pound bags into my carry-on... But now it's available at Fry's, Hinode brand.    But the once red package of Silver Pearl is now a yellow package of Calrose.  But it's the same rice. 

This makes two GENEROUS servings.  It could be four servings if you were having some beans, too.  Or a salad, or a bunch of lettuce or something...

You will need a skillet and a covered casserole (or a baking dish and some aluminum foil.) 

An ovenproof skillet with a lid would work and save washing a dish...  but keep in mind that rice expands a lot when it cooks.  If the skillet isn't big enough it could get messy... 

*HINTS AND TIPS:

You can use more onion, garlic, or spices if you like.  Maybe throw in some chopped green chiles.  I wouldn't, but you could...

If you don't have chicken broth, use water and  1/2 teaspoon of salt.

I'm too clumsy to mince garlic... it's an invitation to cut my fingers.  So I buy it already minced.  Last time I bought it in a squeeze bottle, so I squeeze out a generous spoonful, probably closer to 2 teaspoons.

An 8 ounce can of tomato sauce has about 14 Tablespoons (it's 8 ounces by weight, not volume).  But.. you can freeze the rest!  Put 2 Tbls into each of six cavities in an ice cube tray and freeze.  Pop them out and store them in a freezer bag.   (I just pour the leftover sauce into the cavities to fill up 6 equally.  I realize not all ice cube trays are the same size, so you might want to measure, at least the first time.)

When using the frozen cubes,  It's best to thaw it out first, but if you forget, just pop the cube into the skillet with the broth, or pour the broth into a glass measuring cup, add the sauce cube, and microwave for a minute.

If you're making enchiladas, put this in the oven first.  It takes me about 10 minutes to assemble the enchiladas, so it works out great.   (They bake for 25 minutes, the rice for 35)

I could take some pictures, but honestly... it's just red rice.   Just eat it.

This is if you make two servings out of the recipe.  Like I said, if you're having beans or salad on the side, it'll make four servings.