I like a lot of rice dishes but I'm not too fond of most of the rice they serve in Mexican-American resturants. Too dry for me. So I set out to do my own. After some initial research thru cookbooks and on the net, I found most start out by toasting the rice first in a skillet and some oil. So... here it is.

1 cup of rice- any type or your favorite.

2 tbsp olive oil

Chili Powder, paprika, red chile flakes etc. to season.

1 or 2 minced garlic cloves

1 small to med. onion, chopped

1 med sweet pepper, chopped

1 can or chopped green mild chiles or fresh ones

Also can add chopped hot ones if you want.

1 cup skinned, seeded and chopped tomatoes or diced tomatoes from a can.

1 1/2 to 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth

Place oil, rice and chili powder, paprika other seasonings into skillet and heat. Stir until rice is a light reddish brown. Then stir in onion, sweet peppers and other peppers until softened. The add in the garlic. I then put in the chicken broth (amount of liquid called for to cook the plain rice in. In my case I used a shorter grain rice that called for 1.5 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice. It also called for cooking 15 min. instead of 20.) When the rice is cooked, stir in the tomatoes and heat thru. Taste and add any seasonings you like. Cook it to the degree of dryness you like.

The nice thing about this is I can use my garden veggies and even add more if I want. I can make it as juicy or dry as we like and as hot as we want. My husband really likes this and he is a man who usually likes his rice with cream, sugar and cinnamon!!!

Ann in Montana