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Mexican Plate of Food Including Refried Beans, Quesadillas, Spanish Rice and Tortilla Chips

Easy Spanish Rice

My mother in law very patiently went over this with me at least 5+ times on how to make Spanish rice. It sounds so simple and then you make one adjustment and bam to the garbage the mushy or undercooked rice went. Or you lift the lid to check on it, worst mistake you can make (literally). 
I finally got it down and wasted many ingredients in the process. But, that doesn’t have to be you!
Keep in mind that every burner and pan will retain the heat differently, so adjust your time as needed. I use our medium sized burner to the front right of the stove.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 8 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Equipment

  • 1 10″ pan with lid

Method
 

  1. Start with 10.5″ pan that has a proper fitting lid.
  2. Drizzle olive oil into pan and heat pan medium-high heat.
  3. Gather your ingredients.
  4. Pour dry rice into pan and start to move it around and coat in oil until browned.
  5. Add 1.5 cups of water to pan along with 4 oz. of tomato sauce. It should sizzle, that’s what you want!
  6. Add one tsp. of “better than bouillon” to mixture or one tbsp. of chicken Knorr- whichever you prefer!
  7. Stir mixture until well combined.
  8. Bring to simmer.
  9. Put lid onto pan and reduce heat to low while maintaining a simmer.
  10. Allow to simmer for ~28 minutes (sounds so precise, but because it is. You’ll know your specific time better each time you make it). DON’T LIFT THE LID WHATSOEVER DURING SIMMER TIME- THIS WILL RUIN THE RICE!!!!
  11. After the time is up, turn off heat and let rice rest for at least 30 minutes (I try to give it 45 min to an hour). I also like to set it on a cork pad to cool and finish absorbing everything. (Again, do NOT lift the lid until it rests for this time).
  12. Fluff rice with fork and serve!

Notes

You can fancy up this recipe by adding frozen veggies, diced onion, or seasonings (usually garlic and onion powder is what I’ll add).
I’m just focused on keeping it simple!