If you know me well, you know that I am a big rice fan.  Whether it’s sushi, pilaf, Spanish rice, sticky short-grain rice, or whatever…  If it’s rice, chances are I will eat it and want more.

It’s not that hard, and though it takes 30 minutes, most of that time is time that it’s basically taking care of itself, allowing you to concentrate on other parts of the meal.

When I make Spanish rice, I use a mix of fresh and canned ingredients to save time.

I prefer par-boiled rice (in brand-name terms, it’s Uncle-Ben’s “converted” rice.)  The store brand will simply be labeled “par-boiled”, but if you don’t have this on hand, regular long-grain white rice works fine too.

As for the canned goods, Rotel is available in a mild, “original” and extra-hot variety.  I love spicy food, and I haven’t even tried the extra-hot yet, because the original variety is <i>plenty</i> spicy.  I’d bet that most people would want to use the mild variety to make the dish most agreeable with an entire family.

If you don’t need the choice of heat levels, there are store-brands of this product also available as just “tomatoes and green chilies”

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup rice, (white long-grain, or par-boiled)
• 1 Green bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine.
• 1 Small onion (or 1/2 large onion) chopped fine.
• 1 10-oz can Rotel (tomatoes and chillies)
• 1 15-oz can chicken broth or stock.
• 1-2 Tbsp Olive oil
• Salt to taste

Sauté the onion and bell pepper in olive oil until softened.  Add the rice and saute for another couple minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning the rice.

Add chicken broth, Rotel,  and salt.  Stir and bring just to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and allow to stand covered for another 10 minutes or so.

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