Mexican Rice (Ultimate Recipe Swap: Mexican Food)

April 30, 2009


Mexican food is a cuisine near and dear to my heart. Growing up in Southern California, my family loved, loved, LOVED to visit Downtown Los Angeles and the historic Olvera Street. The original neighborhood of the City of Angels, Olvera Street features some of the best eating I’ve had in my life. The corner restaurant, La Luz del Dia is my favorite.

Carnitas Tostada, por favor — y dos tacos de carnitas.

And a 7-Up. (I was a French major, remember?)

Such a creature of habit, I order the same. thing. every. time.

But, we can’t go to Olvera Street every week, can we? So, over the years I’ve learned to make many things myself: tortillas, tamales, salsa, and today’s recipe: Mexican Rice. This is very versatile; it’s great as a side dish, but can also make a frugal, meatless main dish, like beans and rice. This is an easy rice pilaf that will astonish you at its simplicity. Promise.

And if you’re truly a visual person, here’s a video to help you through the steps.

What’s a favorite Mexican dish that your family makes? We’d love to hear about it!

Here’s how to participate in Ultimate Recipe Swap:

1. Post your recipe on your blog. Please mention www.lifeasMOM.com in your post so that your readers know where all the other good recipes are hanging out. Then, come back here to add the link to your post to Mr. Linky below. (Find instructions for Mr. Linky here.)

OR

2. If you don’t have a blog, simply post your recipe or tell us about it in the comments section.

3. Above all, please stick to topic. Today is Mexican food. So if your recipe doesn’t fit the theme, it will be deleted. Thanks for understanding.

Have a story to go along with your recipe? We’d love to hear it!

If you have a topic suggestion for future swaps, go here.

Looking forward to seeing what you have to share!

 

Related Posts with Thumbnails
  • Affiliate Link
  • Share on Stumbleupon
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Print This Post
  • Email This Post
Would you rather subscribe by RSS?

Previous post:

Next post:

{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Anonymous April 30, 2009 at 11:20 am

For the Mexican Rice, do you use “minute” rice or the longer cooking rice? The minute rice is probably not as frugal, but CAN you use it?

Thanks!

Reply

2 Liz@HoosierHomemade April 30, 2009 at 11:51 am

Thanks for hosting! The rice looks great!
~Liz

Reply

3 Lynn April 30, 2009 at 12:51 pm

I make mexican rice very much like this. But I put some seasoning in mine like cumin. I think the trick is frying the rice.

Reply

4 Karen April 30, 2009 at 1:23 pm

Your rice recipe looks simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing it.

Reply

5 Gina K April 30, 2009 at 6:01 pm

I goofed! I put just my name in the widget above for the recipe swap, and forgot to add the recipe name…I tried to delete it and redo it but don’t know how to. Please delete the Gina Koston link and leave the second one I put in that has the Mexican Breakfast Casserole recipe title in it. Thanks so much and sorry for the goof!

Reply

6 Megan April 30, 2009 at 9:02 pm

It’s great to have a simple yet delicious side dish like this for all those heavy mexican dishes! Thanks for hosting the exchange.

Reply

7 Charissa April 30, 2009 at 10:30 pm

This is the first time I have read your blog & I LOVE your Ultimate Recipe Swap! Great idea :)

Reply

8 Amy @ Finer Things May 1, 2009 at 2:25 am

I didn’t add one this time, but Mexican is a fave here. Can’t wait to check out some of these recipes!

Reply

9 Marshall June 27, 2009 at 5:54 am

Hi,

We have just added your latest post "Life as Mom: Ultimate Recipe Swap: Mexican Food" to our Food Directory . You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory for getting a huge base of visitors to your website and gaining a valuable backlink to your site.

Warm Regards

foodnrecipes.info Team

http://www.foodnrecipes.info

Reply

10 JULIE December 7, 2009 at 5:37 pm

My Mexican rice (which my husband who normally hates rice absolutely loves) is made like this: Saute 1 cup parboiled rice and some chopped onion (usually 1/2 onion) in some oil till the rice is somewhat browned and the onions are translucent. Then stir in one can of Rotel, one cup water, and half a package of taco seasoning. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed. You can have it just like that, but what we usually do is grill a couple chicken breast tenderloins on the George Foreman, chop them into small cubes, and add to the rice mixture as it cooks…then pour a little italian dressing over it right before eating it…YUMMY!!

Reply

11 lindsey April 21, 2010 at 1:50 pm

Whew! That was close. I had been browsing your site so intensely that I didn’t realize that my laptop battery was about to die. I almost lost your site…which I love!
My husband and I have been debt free for 3 years now (oh man, it feels gooooooooood!) and with recent prices at the grocery store going back into an upswing, we’ve had to tighten the budget’s belt a bit. Beans and rice sounds like the perfect answer. You’ve really inspired me with frugal meals, and I’ve started to look into Once A Month cooking too.
Thanks for such a fabulous blog! I will be back often.

Reply

12 Serenity May 18, 2010 at 1:13 pm

Does this anyone know if this recipe works with brown rice?

Reply

13 Jessica Fisher May 20, 2010 at 2:48 pm

@Serenity, I’ve done it with brown rice. It takes longer to cook and has a slightly different flavor. But, it’s still good.

Reply

14 Serenity May 20, 2010 at 5:36 pm

@Jessica Fisher, Thanks! I’ll be trying it tonight! :)

Reply

15 Gail May 30, 2010 at 6:17 pm

sounds great – I would only make one change. I would use salsa instead of the tomato sauce.

Reply

16 Sarah G June 19, 2010 at 2:04 pm

I just made the Mexican Rice last night and it was fabulous! I am so excited b/c making from scratch (using a very easy recipe) is going to save me lots of money over buying the Uncle Ben’s ready to go Spanish Rice…plus, I know exactly what’s in my rice! Thank you so much for sharing – like one poster mentioned, I added chopped onions to mine, and will try it with salsa and corn next time – gotta sneak in those vegetables whenever I can! Thanks again for sharing!

Reply

17 Jessica Fisher June 20, 2010 at 9:34 am

Glad you liked it, Sarah!

Reply

18 Katie April 11, 2011 at 8:10 pm

I came across this recipe over a year ago, and it has NEVER FAILED ME! For the rehearsal dinner before our wedding, my husband and I cooked a meal for everyone that included this rice, and we got rave reviews! Thank you for sharing this amazingly simple dish!

Reply

19 Jessica Fisher April 12, 2011 at 5:33 pm

Wow! Rehearsal dinner? I’m honored. So glad that it has been successful for you!

Reply

20 Danielle September 26, 2011 at 3:08 pm

I have tried this recipe many times. I love this recipe and so does my family, but I continue to get crunchy rice instead of soft, cooked rice. What am I doing wrong?

Reply

21 Jessica Fisher September 26, 2011 at 10:09 pm

I’ve had that happen before, usu when I’m not patient enough to cook it the entire time, or if there isn’t enough liquid.

Reply

22 Danielle October 6, 2011 at 3:02 pm

I figured it out! My lid wasn’t sealed tight enough (it’s from another pan)-so I put foil between my lid and pan. And I got that yummy rice you talked about! Yeah! Not a rice-cooker-failure after all. :) about to surprise the fam at dinner

Reply

23 Jessica Fisher October 6, 2011 at 10:43 pm

Yeah!

Reply

24 chris December 18, 2011 at 12:10 pm

made the rice today..had the slow cooker pinto beans cooked from yesterday. what a great make ahead meal! had a good amount of ‘liguid’ with the beans and so i drained that out and plan to use IT for something else. mashed the beans alittle and fried them up before serving with shredded cheese on top and green tabasco sauce. topped the rice with sour cream and green tabasco. very good! anyone have any ideas for what to do with the leftover ‘liguid’ from the beans? has a nice flavor to it..must be good for SOMETHING! thanks!

Reply

25 Jessica Fisher December 18, 2011 at 12:38 pm

I would imagine good for soup. Thanks for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed it.

Reply

26 Kristen January 3, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Oh my cow. This was FANTASTIC! I just made it tonight along with your Pintos and tostadas and my whole family raved. This is definitely in our rotation now! Thank you!!

Reply

27 Jessica Fisher January 3, 2012 at 8:14 pm

So glad you liked it!

Reply

Leave a Comment

Thanks so much for participating in this conversation about "a mom's life."

This is a place where moms can be themselves. Remember that each mother's path looks a little different. Please keep your comments respectful and kind. Reasonable minds will disagree in a nice way.

So let's talk about it, using "our big girl words."

{ 30 trackbacks }

Previous post:

Next post: