Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Spanish Rice

Due to some outrageous medical bills we've been eating at home every night (which I love) but we have to eat the cheapest meals we can (which I hate). Our cheap meals are usually hot dogs, noodle soup, hamburger helper, burritos, grilled cheese, etc. All junk type foods with no fresh fruits or vegetables :-( Why are cheap meals also the most unhealthy meals? I gotta tell you, it really tweaks my melon!

Anytime someone says "tweaks my melon" I always hear in my head "I gotta tell you Travis, it really tweaks my melon to see a buff bro like Crawl here get weeeeezed on by a greasy scumbag like you! Now let's chow down here and munch on some grindage!" I'll give anyone a hug that can name that movie! Also, anytime someone says "Yippee Ki-Yay" I finish it with something in my head too... but that's not really blog appropriate ,-)

So, anyways! To save money I thought I would make my own Spanish Rice! We were bummed though, this recipe wasn't very flavorful. Don't stop reading yet though, this rice has potential! Justin added some salsa to his and it was much better so I'm going to give this rice another try but substitute salsa for the tomato sauce! I'll let you know how my 2nd try turns out ,-)

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons oil
2 cups white rice
1/2 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (next time I am using 1 cup of salsa instead)
1/2 onion, minced
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
5 cups water

Directions
Heat oil in skillet and fry rice until light brown. Add tomato sauce and stir. Add onion, bouillon and water to the rice, stir well and cover. Bring rice mixture to a boil, over medium-high heat. Once liquid level has dropped below the rice, turn heat down to low and simmer 30-35 minutes. Move rice to see if liquid remains. If so, keep simmering. Once rice is done, you may crack the lid to let steam out and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving (this helps the rice dry out a little and not be so sticky).

8 comments:

Elle Belles Bows said...

Thanks for sharing! That was always one of my favorite things that my Mom would make for us! Kerri

Toni said...

Oh my! I thought I was the only one who could quote Son-In-Law verbatim. LOVE that movie.

Coleens Recipes said...

I can't help it, I love Pauly Shore in that movie. Spanish rice is one of my all time favorites (budget or no budget). Your recipe is close...next time add 3 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp black pepper and if you have it, a diced sweet red pepper.It's to die for.

Carrie said...

That would make all the difference Colleen, I am definitely trying your additions! This Spanish rice just didn't have any "Spanish" flavors :-(

Julie said...

Medical bills suck, but your rice looks super! Not that you asked for any advice, but have you ever checked out the site Hillbilly Housewife? She's got a lot of "frugal meal" idea and such. I get stuck in a rut if it's just me trying to think of cheap stuff to eat, but she's got some ideas that I wouldn't have thought of.

Andhra Style Recipes said...

Thanks for share.

miranda s said...

made this for supper the other night to go with our mexican chicken....used more chicken broth then water and added 1 cup of salsa instead of tomato sauce.....it as pretty tasty! :)

Anonymous said...

Another easy way of doing this is just "frying" one cup of rice until the rice is golden, add 4 c of water and one square of the knor tomato cubes and one knor chicken cube. This is the way my mom taught me. She added cilantro when it was almost done. I cant remember what the cubes are called, i just know one is green and one is red. You should try it!