Mexican Rice

OH MY! This Mexican rice was DELICIOUS! I love, love, LOVE Mexican food and could eat it every day. Seriously. Every day! In my opinion, an excellent Mexican restaurant stands out by the quality of their carnitas, carne asada and rice. This rice was so yummy that it could've easily been served at one of our many tasty Mexican restaurants here in San Clemente. :) I made Spanish Rice in February but it had a different taste and texture than this Mexican Rice. Both are tasty but Son #2 really liked this drier, fluffier rice. The extra steps for making homemade Mexican rice was well worth it. The fam loved this!

This was good. REAL GOOD!

Mexican Rice

Yield: about 6 c cooked rice 

Ingredients:

• 2-3 ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
• 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 c long grain white rice
• 1/3 c Canola oil
• 5-7 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapenos, ribbed, seeded and minced
• 2 c chicken stock
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• cilantro, minced
• 15.5 oz corn, drained and rinsed
• lime, cut into wedges, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and move rack to middle position.
2. Process tomatoes and onions in food processor until thoroughly pureed. Transfer mixture to a 2 cup measuring cup. Add water to make 2 cups if necessary.
3. Place rice in med. bowl and enough water to cover 1-2" over rice. Wash rice by running fingers in rice and water. When water turns cloudy, empty bowl of water but be careful not to drain rice, too. Fill bowl with water again and continue wash process until water runs clear. Usually takes about 4 bowls of water. Remove excess water when rice has been washed.
4.  In oven safe saute pan with tight fitting lid, heat oil over med-high heat about 1-2 mins. Add rice and stir frequently until golden and translucent about 6-8 mins.
5. Reduce heat to med and add garlic and minced jalapenos. Continue to stir 2-3 mins.
6. Stir in pureed tomatoes and onions, chicken stock, tomato paste and salt. Increase heat to med-high and bring to boil.
7. Cover pan and transfer to oven. Bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender about 30-35 mins. Stir well after 15 mins. I forgot to stir at the 15 min mark but the rice still turned out great. :)
8. When done, stir in corn and cilantro. Serve with lime. ENJOY!

TIP:  This makes a TON of rice which is perfect when serving a big group.  I made the whole batch for a group of 8 and had a lot left over. I froze small portions in ziploc bags to have on hand for quick meals. It's great for adding to soups or in enchiladas as a filler if you don't have enough filling ingredients. If making for a small fam, half the recipe.

Source: Adapted from You're Gonna Bake It After All