Mexican Rice

I've tried numerous times without success to duplicate the rice that's served in Mexican restaurants.  Refried beans are no problem, but the rice has never turned out right.  So, today I went onto Facebook and asked if anyone could tell me how to make it.

Turns out, the secret to the rice is to sautee it until it's golden brown. 

Following the suggestions on Facebook, I managed to make a decent version of the rice.  Mine has too much tomato juice, but it still turned out delicious.  I'll enjoy it as a side dish with the green chili chicken from yesterday.

By adding some green chilies or green pepper and some oregano and cumin I can duplicate the Spanish rice I used to purchase for a simple one dish recipe my family enjoys.  The recipe calls for a can of Spanish rice and it's no longer available in our area.  The recipe just hasn't tasted right when I've made it with the packaged Spanish rice from the store.  Those packages are over seasoned. 

MEXICAN RICE

2 T.  peanut oil

1 cup rice

½ cup chopped onion

1 can diced stewed tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in skillet.  Add rice and onion.  Sautee and stir until

rice is golden brown.   Add salt and pepper.

Drain juice from one 16 oz. can of stewed tomatoes.

Add juice to pan along with some of the tomatoes.

Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Green Chili Chicken

Mexican food is just about my favorite.  I prepared this last night to have for lunch today.  I wanted it to sit overnight so that the tortillas would soften up and absorb some of the liquid from the green salsa.

You don't need much sour cream in the layers.  It does add a nice compliment to the tartness of the salsa and the sweetness of the corn tortillas.  You could substitute plain yogurt or Greek yogurt for the sour cream.  I had sour cream on hand so that's what I used.

Williams chili seasoning is my favorite blend but regular chili powder would work.

This would make good filling for tacos if you used chicken breasts or thighs and shredded the meat once it was done. 

The fastest way to shred cooked chicken is to use your mixer.

I'm also going to try this as filling for chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce.  The recipe made quite a bit so I have plenty left over to have a couple more meals.

GREEN CHILI CHICKEN

1 lb. chicken – I used ground Smart Chicken

1 jar Herdez green salsa

½ c. chopped onion

1 tsp. Williams chili seasoning

Salt and pepper

Sour cream

Corn tortillas

Put chicken, salsa, onion, chili seasoning and salt and pepper into crock pot.

Mix well.

Cook on high until chicken is done.

In a casserole dish layer:

1. some of the liquid

2. tortillas

3. chicken mixture

4. sour cream

Repeat layers.

Since I cook for just myself, I used two tortillas and less than half the chicken mixture.  That made a really large serving for one!

Gyro Meat and Tzatziki Sauce

Gyro sandwiches are one of my favorites and no one in our town makes them.  Today on Facebook an article popped up with a recipe to make your own gyro meat as well as the Tzatziki sauce to dress the sandwich.

Most traditional gyro sandwich meat includes ground lamb, which you're not going to find in rural Oklahoma.  The recipe said you could use any combination of beef, poultry, and pork so I ground up some pork loin chops and mixed it with 80/20 ground beef.  I used the more fatty ground beef to add flavor.

To press the meat after baking, I used a skillet filled with unopened cans  of vegetables.

The Tzatziki sauce recipe needs to be tweaked a little.  I used plain yogurt rather than Greek since I had it on hand, and dried dill since fresh wasn't available.  English cucumbers don't have the same flavor as a regular salad cucumber.  In my opinion, use a regular one!

GYRO SANDWICH MEAT

1 lb. ground beef—I used 80/20

1 lb. ground pork

1 small red onion, finely diced

6 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tsp. ground marjoram—I used dried

2 tsp. dried rosemary

2 tsp. dried oregano—I used ground

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

Put onion and garlic into food processor and process until a fine mince.

Using a stand mixer, combine the meat, onion, garlic and spices.  Mix until meat gets a paste like consistency. Press meat into a greased loaf pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 175-180°

Remove from pan to drain off grease.  Wrap in foil and place a weight on top to compress the meat.  Let stand at least 30 minutes.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

½ English cucumber, finely diced

16 oz. Greek yogurt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/3 c. fresh dill

1 ½ tsp. lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Squeeze excess moisture out of cucumber.  Combine with other ingredients and chill at least one hour.