Easy and Authentic Mexican Rice

Everyone always raves about my mother-in-law's Mexican rice. Everyone also always wants her recipe for it. The thing is, she doesn't use a recipe. I decided I would pick up what I can from her (mostly by asking my husband a ton of questions about what she does) and create a recipe for Mexican rice. Mexican rice could be made differently of course, but this is really what my mother-in-law uses and does. I also like it because it is simple and easy. I present to you an easy and authentic way to make Mexican rice!  

Easy and Authentic Mexican Rice

Ingredients

• About 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• About 2 tsp. minced garlic (or 4 cloves, minced)
• 2 caldo de tomate bouillon cubes
• Salt to taste 
• Optional: 1 tsp onion powder 
• 5 cups of water*

Instructions

1. Rinse rice with water until water runs clear
2. Heat oil in skillet, add rice. 
3. Cook and stir occasionally until rice starts to brown. 
4. Add minced garlic to rice and sautee for about 30 seconds until fragrant. 
5. Add caldo de tomate, salt, onion powder (if using) and water to skillet. Stir. 
6. Cover skillet and bring to boil. Then cook (covered) for about 20 minutes, or until water is evaporated and rice is tender. Stir occasionally to disperse the caldo de tomate. 
7. Serve and enjoy! 

*If all the water evaporates before the rice is cooked through, add more water in order to cook the rice longer.

Additional Tips  
You could add to this recipe by adding small pieces of onion, tomato, and/or jalapeno. You could use some broth instead of all water. You could also use more caldo de tomate cubes if you want to strengthen the flavor. 

For a treat, put chicken and queso blanco on top of a bed of this rice for what some call "chicken on the beach"!

For another treat, make "chicken on the beach" fajita style!

Easy Way to Get Tender & Juicy Chicken: Thin-Sliced Chicken

Growing up, my family used whole chicken tenderloins for entrees. My husband introduced me to using thin-sliced chicken breasts and tenderloins for entrees. I could not believe how simple but delicious thin-sliced chicken is! So long as it isn't overcooked, it always turns out juicy and tender. 

Not only is thin-sliced chicken delicious, it is quick and easy! It can be made in less than thirty minutes. It is also versatile enough to be used in many different ways. If I were to include an ingredients list, it would literally say: chicken breasts or tenderloins, oil, and whatever else you want. 

Keep reading to see how you can start making thin-sliced chicken in five simple steps! 

Step 1: Thaw chicken if needed. Trim fat from the chicken.

Step 2: Lay the breast or tenderloin down flat. Using a chef's knife or other thick knife, make thin slices through the chicken as shown below. 

Step 3: Season the chicken or put it in a marinade. We have three main ways we like to season thin-sliced chicken depending on what we are eating it with: 
1. Taco seasoning with or without lemon juice
2. Creole seasoning with or without lemon juice
3. Ranch seasoning  

 Step 4: Heat olive oil in a skillet, then add chicken. The chicken will cook in just a few minutes since it is thin, so be careful not to over-cook it!

Step 5: Serve and enjoy! We like to eat creole seasoned thin-sliced chicken with sweet potatoes, taco-seasoned thin-sliced chicken with Mexican rice, and ranch-seasoned thin-sliced chicken with mashed cauliflower.  

For a special treat, we drizzled queso blanco over our taco-seasoned thin-sliced chicken and Mexican rice in the picture above. 

Stay tuned for the Mexican rice recipe I adapted from my mother-in-law! Everyone always raves about her Mexican rice and I was finally able to replicate it and create a recipe for it.

Finally the Perfect Sweet Potato

        

 Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes 

I have been searching for the perfect way to make baked sweet potatoes for months! Only once did I get close-to-perfect sweet potatoes by baking them in the oven. My husband just got an air fryer so I thought I would try it out.

To get the perfect air-fried sweet potato:

• Wash the sweet potatoes
• Stab the sweet potatoes all over (I use a fork)
• Rub the sweet potatoes with olive oil
• Rub salt into the olive oil
• Put in an air fryer basket and cook at 390 degrees for about 45 minutes - turn about half-way through.
• Here is the key: When the sweet potatoes are done, the skin will be loose and you can peel it back easily. Do not stop cooking them until the skin is loose or the sweet potatoes will still be hard in the center. 

While still very hot, I cut a slit in the top of the sweet potatoes and add butter. I think a perfectly cooked sweet potato only needs butter, but you can also add brown sugar if you prefer!

 We usually eat sweet potatoes with thin-sliced chicken. I will post that recipe soon! It's simple but irresistible. Stay tuned!