Remember the church camp fundraiser mentioned in yesterday’s post? Well, in addition to baking pies for the dessert auction, I was asked to bring either refried beans or Mexican rice for the taco bar that preceded the auction. (The purpose of the taco bar was to make people think they’d eaten something healthy first and could therefore indulge in the desserts they purchased at hugely inflated prices.)

Well, Hiram doesn’t care for refried beans all that much, and since I didn’t want to be in charge of eating musical fruit leftovers by myself, I decided to give Mexican rice a shot. Of course, once I found the recipe at The Pioneer Woman Cooks website, it was too late to go to the store for the exact ingredients, so my version was full of substitutions. Despite the substitutions and the use of brown rice, which needs more cooking time than the Pioneer Woman’s recipe required, the dish turned out very well. Good enough that I want to try it again with the right ingredients, especially the cumin and cilantro. Yum!

Mexican Rice

Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cups brown rice
2 cans Rotell tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat a little olive oil in large skillet. Add onions and saute for a few minutes. Add rice and stir well. Add garlic and continue to stir until rice starts to turn golden-brown. Add tomatoes and stir. Add broth, bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer. Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes. Stir every ten minutes or so. Add more broth or water if needed, until rice is cooked and tender and liquid is absorbed. Serve hot.