Mexican Rice

Photo by Heidi

I've been making Spanish rice from a mix lately, but I wanted to try making it from scratch. I found a recipe on the All Recipes website (it's like my Wikipedia for cooking) and found a promising recipe. After reading the reviews and seeing some of the changes other people made to the recipe, I tweaked it a bit and made it for the first time tonight, as a side to our cheese enchiladas. I was too lazy to cut an onion, but it was delicious without it. It tastes like restaurant rice! Audrey, who loved the mix-version I previously made, loved this even more!

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice (I used Jasmine)
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 ounce can tomato paste or 1/2 cup (half a can) tomato sauce
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Dash of dried parsley

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and seasonings.
2. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato paste and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Lift lid and sprinkle with parsley, then quickly replace the lid. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.