Recipe Round-up! {Mexican Rice}

Do you ever dread Mexican night because you can't stand the taste of boxed rice? I know I used to when I was young. My mom would make the Rice-a-Roni Spanish rice. BLAH! I always thought it was so disgusting. I have to say, I even had a hard time getting rice down at Mexican restaurants. Something just didn't taste right.

Naturally, being a Texas girl, I pride myself on my ability to make a mean Mexican dinner. I never attempted rice though, because I thought, "What's the point? I'm going to hate it any way." That was until my good friend, Melinda, convinced me there was Mexican rice worth tasting in the world. She told me tales of her Tia's (Aunt's) rice that was so flavorful you could make an entire meal just on the rice. I asked her to snag a copy of the recipe for me, but apparently you have to be a member of the family to get the full recipe. There was a secret ingredient in her rice that I wasn't allowed to know about. How rude!

It was ok. Our friendship was stronger than a secret ingredient. So, I made it my mission to find the best Mexican Rice recipe that would rival Melinda's aunt's recipe.  Melinda got to be my taste tester, so it was win, win for everyone. This is the recipe I came up with after trying a few and Melinda giving me a few pointers on how to improve.

The basic recipe I found in Food & Wine's Quick from Scratch Chicken Cook Book. It's part of the Arroz con Pollo recipe, but I made a few tweeks to make it perfect.

 

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Bacon - 4 to 5 strips (I use Turkey Bacon)
1/2 Onion - Chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup hot water
1 packet or cube of Sazon Goya (found on the Ethnic/Mexican Food aisle at your grocery store)
1 can Tomatoes with Green Chiles (Rotel)
3/4 can Tomato sauce
1 cup long grain rice

First things first....chop your vegetables.

Next, heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add your bacon. If you use Turkey Bacon, you will need to add a little Olive Oil to keep the bacon from sticking. 

Once the bacon cooks for about 3-4 minutes, add your onion. Let the onion saute with the bacon for 3-4 minutes then add the bell peppers.

Allow the bell peppers to cook for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften.

Now add the tomatoes with green chiles, tomato sauce, chicken broth, water and Sazon Goya.

 Last, stir in your rice...notice I might have added a little more than 1 cup. I love this stuff!

Here is what your skillet should look like at this point...

Let it come to a slight boil, then cover and turn down heat. Let it simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

 Once the rice has absorbed all the liquid your rice is done!

On a side note: The Sazon Goya contains MSG. Boo!! I didn't notice it until this last time I made it. I'm trying to find a good alternative to this ingredient, but haven't found anything yet. If I do, I will update the recipe.

Hope you enjoy this rice as much as we do here at our house!