Yesterday at Costco I bought some "Roseland" (Arkansas rice) long-grain
white rice.



I washed it, but did not let the rice soak for ½ hour, as I in my haste
forgot to do it.



I had blanched and frozen 3 slices bacon previous. I chopped it up, not
finely, and sautéed it in a little olive oil and butter.



In another pan I was frying ½ Vidalia onion and cumin seeds (no garlic) in
some olive oil and butter.



After the bacon fried up to almost crisp in the larger fry-pan, I removed it
and added 2 cups of washed rice and stirred it until browned.



Into a 4 quart Pyrex, I put a 10 oz. can of Wal-Mart's Great Value "Diced
Tomatoes and Green chilies" and added water to the 3-cup mark. I added
this 3 cup liquid/tomato mix, along with the finished onion/cumin mix, to
the pan of hot browned rice. I let the ingredients come to a low boil, then
put the lid on it for 20 minutes to steam (lowest on my stove).



*(I did not use chicken broth - we get phlegm!) Perhaps if I had on hand
some home-made chicken broth, I might try that.



*Next time since it's summer and tomatoes are good, I will dice like-amount
of tomatoes and jalapeño (perhaps cooking separately) instead of the canned
tomatoes/jalapenos.



The rice lacked no spiciness and had just the right amount of 'heat' to go
with the rest of the meal - fried mahi-mahi fish and lightly fried
red-yellow-orange bell peppers. Trying this recipe out with a dinner of
enchiladas, beans, etc. was just too much cooking for me today.



One thing I liked about the rice was that it did not have an over-powering
RED, RED, RED chili taste or color. I liked the color of the rice when
finished; the red diced-tomatoes showed up nicely against the light-pink
colored rice.



I was afraid the bacon had not been blanched enough (I blanced it 3 minutes
instead of 1) as it still had a smell as I was cooking it, but in the end,
there was no taste of bacon.



Next time, I might use 2-3/4 to 3 cups liquid instead of the 3 cups. I was
afraid it would burn (I have one of those burners that won't cool off.) I
fluffed the rice after 20 minutes, left it on the still-hot burner for about
3 minutes to dry just a little. By the time dinner was over, the rice was
just the right amount of wet-dry.



Thanks everyone for your encouragement and help.

It was the best Mexican rice I've ever made.

P.S. Still have the left-over bacon for breakfast.

Dee

Dee wrote:

> The rice lacked no spiciness and had just the right amount of 'heat' to go
> with the rest of the meal - fried mahi-mahi fish and lightly fried
> red-yellow-orange bell peppers.

"Mahi-mahi fish?" Is that meant to distinguish it from mahi-mahi pork or
mahi-mahi beef? :-)

I'm glad it turned out the way you like, but this is one more example of how
dramatically tastes vary: To me, Mexican rice has little or no tomato at
all. (When I make what I think of as "Mexican" rice, I usually follow one
of the rice recipes in the Coyote Cafe cookbook, none of which contain
tomato.)

Bob

"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> Dee wrote:
>
>> The rice lacked no spiciness and had just the right amount of 'heat' to
>> go
>> with the rest of the meal - fried mahi-mahi fish and lightly fried
>> red-yellow-orange bell peppers.
>
> "Mahi-mahi fish?" Is that meant to distinguish it from mahi-mahi pork or
> mahi-mahi beef? :-)
>
> I'm glad it turned out the way you like, but this is one more example of
> how
> dramatically tastes vary: To me, Mexican rice has little or no tomato at
> all. (When I make what I think of as "Mexican" rice, I usually follow one
> of the rice recipes in the Coyote Cafe cookbook, none of which contain
> tomato.)
>
> Bob

Thanks, Bob, I would like to see one of the Mexican rice recipes that you
like; I will take a peek the next time I go to Borders or B&Noble. This may
be Santa Fe cooking? or California cooking? I've seen the recipe book a few
times.

Mahi-mahi FISH. But these last two fillets, I swear, tasted like opaka paka
http://allrecipes.com/advice/ref/ency/terms/7682.asp
Opaka Paka is my absolute favorite white fish fillet.
Dee