Easy Homemade Spanish Rice

So, if you haven't noticed...I tend to make a lot of Mexican food in my house. However, I usually buy packaged Knorr brand Spanish rice to go along with most of my Mexican dishes. Last week, though, the grocery store was all out. So I had to improvise. I looked up several recipes and then adapted it to make with the ingredients I like or had on hand. This is what I came up with. It may not be 100% authentic, but it certainly is closer than the prepackaged stuff I normally get. This recipe is pretty simple, and delicious! (fyi my phone is going crazy, so I ended up losing some of my pics.

Ingredients:

1 cup long-grain white rice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1. Heat oil in a pot or deep skillet. Add rice and cook until browned. 

Here's the rice all browned. 

2. Next, add the chicken stock, salt & pepper, minced garlic, cumin, chili powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-25 minutes. 

Voila! Delicious Spanish Rice!

Chimichangas

Okay, so I'm definitely noticing a trend in my house...HA! Mexican is apparently my favorite food type so yet again...here's another recipe. One of my good friends (who is a Latina) used to come over for dinner often and it always seemed that I was making something Mexican ..I think she though I was being racist or something..lol. Not really. It's just one of those things that I can whip up quick and decide last minute to make. They're usually fairly quick, easy and delicious! What's not to love about that?? So the other day I saw a picture of chimichangas pass over my Pinterest feed and my mouth was watering. Does that happen to anyone else when they're on Pinterest?? I have hundreds of recipes in my Food To Try board and I don't even know if I'll ever get to all of them. So when I saw how easy it was to make them I figured I would just use my typical recipe for tacos and adapt them to make these babies. So here ya go! They turned out amazing!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 T. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil

burritos sized flour tortillas

1 can Old El Paso refried beans with green chilies (You can use original if you want)

Mexican blend cheese

Toppings: (Optional)

shredded or diced lettuce

diced tomatoes (fresh not canned)

salsa

sour cream

1. First, brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet. Add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic. Brown over medium to medium-high heat till browned.

Princess9...my little assistant...

2. Drain...ignore the messy sink! In another large skillet or saute pan pour in the vegetable oil so it is about 1/2 inch deep and preheat.

3. While waiting for the oil to heat up get the chimichangas prepped. Spread the refried beans in the center of the flour tortillas leaving space on the ends to fold them up.

4. Add some of the seasoned beef and then some Mexican blend cheese.

5. Now fold the ends in.

6. Now turn and roll up.

They should look like this.

7. The oil should be ready by now. Insert the handle of a wooden spoon in the hot oil. If it bubbles around the handle then the oil should be hot enough. Place two burritos in the hot oil seam side down and fry until golden brown. Then using tongs flip and cook the other side.

mmm....these look delicious! Top with some salsa, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream. Grab a fork and knife and dig in!! So yummy!!

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Chicken Fajitas

Okay, so I have yet another Mexican dish for y'all to try. If you haven't noticed, I LOVE Mexican food! This is also a dish that my entire family loves too. Score! Tonight I made some Chicken Florentine from the Pioneer Woman for them for the first time, and yeah... it took them 45 minutes to finish the smallest servings ever...so let's be thankful for dishes that your kids love, right?? Sometimes if we are having guests, I will prepare this as a self-serve buffet because it is pretty simple to prepare ahead. The marinade recipe I use off the back of the Mission flour tortilla package. I actually prefer to use the larger burrito tortillas but you can use any size you'd prefer. In these pictures I have fajita size. Well, I hope you enjoy it!

Chicken Fajitas

10 Flour Tortillas 

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Cumin

1 lb. Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless, rinsed, fat trimmed off, and sliced

white or vidalia onion, sliced

green bell pepper, sliced

red bell pepper, sliced

sour cream

salsa

Mexican blend cheese

jalapenos, optional

lettuce, chopped

tomato, diced

Alright, so first dice up them veggies! I am actually the only one in my house who eats these. I love when my company enjoys it too. Then I'm not the odd ball out. One day, hopefully my princesses will take after me and actually enjoy some caramelized onions, so sweet and tasty that I can eat the whole bowl all by themselves....hmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about them.

Anyway, moving on...In the dish you plan to use for marinating combine the olive oil (or your preferred oil, I sometimes have used vegetable oil), lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and cumin. Whisk together.

Next take your rinsed and sliced chicken breast and add it to the marinade. (You can use chicken breasts or chicken breast tenders. I use whatever I have, we always have some type of chicken on hand and it's usually which ever is cheapest. Just make sure to slice them about 1/4 inch thick by 2-3 inches long)Toss to coat and set it in the fridge while prepping the rest of the meal.

In a skillet over medium-high heat add the peppers and onion. Saute until beginning to caramelize. You don't have to cook them that long if you don't want to. Some people do not like mushy veggies, but I LOVE them when they caramelize. Like I said before, I can eat them all by their lonesome little selves. Ha ha! You can put the lid on the pan with it cracked a bit to vent the steam in order to speed up the cooking process a little.

Once finished, remove the veggies to a bowl and put some tin foil on it to help retain their heat.

In a preheated skillet, add the chicken breast and cook over medium-high heat till cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

Set aside in a dish and cover with foil also.

Dice up the tomato and lettuce. 

Now's the fun part! Putting them together and eating them! I have this handy little tortilla warmer my sister got me as a gift forEVER ago. I just add the tortillas and nuke 'em in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Here's my little trick...Put the sour cream on FIRST! It's so much better because you get some in every bite this way instead of putting a dollop on later where it's clumped together. Add some cheese and a few pieces of chicken.

Next, add the sauteed veggies, lettuce, tomato, and salsa. Roll 'em up and dig in! Oh and serve it up with some of my favorite Knorr Spanish Rice. (No, they didn't pay me to say that, I just love it)

These fajitas are amazing! Love Love Love them!

Enjoy!

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Chicken Enchiladas

Okay, so I found this recipe on Pinterest...I know...I'm a total addict. I tweaked it a bit to my liking and absolutely LOVE it! I hope you enjoy it as well!

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

salt to taste

pepper to taste

2 T. vegetable oil

1 lb. chicken breast tenders or chicken breast cut into strips for quicker cooking

1 small onion, diced

8 medium/large flour tortillas, softened

2 cups Mexican blend cheese

4 T. butter

1/4 cup flour

1-1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz.) can green chilies

First, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and then combine the spices in a small bowl.

Sprinkle chicken with the seasoning mix. In a large skillet add oil and saute onions over medium high heat for a couple minutes.

Next, add the seasoned chicken and cook until center is no longer pink.

 

Using two forks, shred the chicken if desired. You may chop with a large knife if you prefer,but I prefer shredded chicken.

Warm the tortillas for 20 seconds in the microwave to make them more pliable. Add chicken and cheese to the center and roll. Place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish.

In a saucepan melt the butter ove medium to medium high heat and then whisk in the flour.

Continue to stir and cook for a few minutes. Then add the chicken broth.

Stir until thickened and add sour cream. Mix. Then stir in green chilies.

Pour sauce over the rolled tortillas.

Top with remaining cheese next. (I don't ever measure this part. You can never have enough cheese! :) )

Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! I usually cook up some Knorr Spanish Rice to go along with it. Delicious!

Here's my picky picky Princess5 enjoying her enchiladas making a silly face.

Enjoy!

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