This rice has been a favorite in our house for a couple of years now. I got it from my good friend Stephanie, who is a California native, and a wonderful cook. It comes together in under a half an hour, allowing you that time to make whatever main dish you may be making. It goes with anything Mexican of course, but we’ve also had it as a side with grilled chicken. Absolutely love it inside a burrito.

I struggled with rice on the stove top for quite some time when I started cooking. It was always mushy, and clumpy. I hate to admit it here – but, for years my preferred method of rice cookery was the microwave. Finally I picked up the tip to sauté the rice in a bit of butter or oil before adding the water. After that, morale improved considerably. I haven’t tried it with brown rice yet, so if you do…please let me know. I’d like to start incorporating more of it into our diet, and I think it would be a relatively easy swap out. I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does. It’s a great side dish to have in your recipe box!

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Spanish Rice

1 cup white rice
1 3/4 cups water
1 cup salsa
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup black olives, roughly chopped
1 tsp chicken or vegetable bullion (powder, cube, or base)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp butter

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers to the pan, and sauté until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add rice to the pan, and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

Add cumin, black pepper, olives, salsa, chicken bullion, and water. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes. Remove cover and fluff with fork before serving.

Source: Mrs. Stephanie Burke