Mexican Rice (Well...Mexi-Cali-Tex Rice)

This rice is magical. I promise. I buy a wild rice from the bulk section of a local store. I do vary the vegetables depending on what I have (bell peppers, green peas, etc.), but this combo is by far my favorite. I make a lot because I eat a lot of it. It makes a great leftover scramble.

The original recipe was from a cook from the California & Mexican border. And then I added my Tex-Mex spin on it. So it's probably a little different than a lot of traditional Mexican rice recipes. But, trust me, it's yummy!

You need:

• 2 tblsp butter
• about 5 carrots
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 ears of corn
• 6 jalapenos
• 2 cups rice
• 2 cups broth

Chop the garlic, onions (I used 2 small onions), and carrots.

Add to a large pot with 2 tblsp butter. Saute about 5-7 minutes on med-high. While this is cooking, get the tomatoes and corn ready.

Coarsely chop the tomatoes for a food processor. You are pureeing the tomatoes and will use that for half of the liquid needed to cook the rice (I am making 2 cups of rice, which needs 4 cups liquid. I am using about 2 cups pureed tomatoes and 2 cups broth). I have made this with canned tomatoes. I think the texture isn't as good.

Cut the corn off the cobs.

If you put the corn on a towel, the kernels don't bounce and roll as much as a flat surface. The texture of the towel slows their roll. Plus it makes it easy to pick up and dump in the pot.

The veggies are ready.

Add 2 cups rice. You can use any rice. I usually use this wild rice. If you use white rice, cut the cooking time in half to about 20 minutes.

Add about 2 cups pureed tomatoes. If your tomatoes didn't make 2 cups, that's ok. You just need 4 cups total of liquid, so just add more broth.

Add 2 cups of broth (or more if needed).

Add the corn.

Stir.

Add whole jalapenos. These are delicious! They basically get steamed for 45 minutes and turn out perfect and super spicy. They do not make the rice spicy at all. I actually don't think they even flavor the rice. But they soak up all the flavors from the rice. Be careful when you stir the rice as it cooks. You don't want to break the stems off the jalapenos. That would make the rice spicy if the juice from the jalapeno spills out.

Put the lid on the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 45 minutes (20 minutes if you use white rice).