Mexican Rice

"Food is the most primitive form of comfort".
- Sheila Graham


Here is one of our favorite winter dishes. I usually have all these ingredients on hand, so it's one of those things I can make I have planned ahead much but I still have a little time to cook. It also makes enough to feed my family of four for 2 nights ... terrific for one of those days when I really don't have time to cook. It also freezes well, so you can freeze leftovers if you like for another day.

MEXICAN RICE

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. browned, drained ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 yellow or sweet onion, chopped
3 cups cooked white or brown rice.
2 tsp.cumin
1/4 tsp.cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black or white pepper
2 1/2 tsp.chili powder
1/2 lb. frozen corn (1/2 bag)
1 cup beef broth or bouillon


If you haven't browned your ground beef or cooked the rice earlier in the day, or like me, happened to have these items as leftovers from the day before, you can get them going and then start as follows:

Heat 2 T of olive or other oil in a large skillet. Saute the onions on medium high heat until they are golden and slightly wilted. Turn heat to high and add the two cans of tomatoes, salt, and spices. Saute until the onions are soft and most of the liquid is gone.

Add the ground beef, broth, and corn, stirring and heating through until the corn is cooked, and most of the liquid is evaporated. Now, you can add the rice, stirring well until it absorbs the remaining liquid.

Cooking the liquids away serves a couple of purposes - first, it thickens the sauce, and second, it concentrates and enhances the tomato and beef flavors. since not all in my family are lovers of hot and spicy food, I didn't add any cayenne pepper to this, but about 1/4 tsp. would give this a nice bit of heat to warm you up on a cold winter evening.

Happy Eating and a Happy New Year!!!