Super Sides: Mexican Rice

Forget Taco Tuesday. I am down for Mexican night any night of the week. Given my love of that South of the Border flavor, you are almost always guaranteed to find salsa in my fridge and taco seasoning in my spice cabinet. There is also always a healthy supply of Basmati rice, too. Put the three together and you get a Super Side: Mexican Rice. I found this recipe on Pinterest, originally from The Tidy Nest.

This recipe is incredibly easy and requires ingredients that, like me, you probably already have in your fridge or cabinets.

What you need:
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth (or water with bouillon added)
1 tablespoon butter or cooking oil
1/2 cup salsa
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1 teaspoon taco seasoning

What you do:
Toast the dry rice in the pot on low heat for about 4 minutes before adding any ingredients - this opens the pores of the rice grains and allows it to become fluffy when cooked.

After you've toasted the rice, add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then turn heat to low, put a lid on the pot and let cook until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.

So easy, right? I used mild salsa and taco season and admittedly, the flavor of the rice was a little lacking. To give it a boost, I added a few splashes of Tapatío hot sauce. To me, this sauce has a lot of heat, so a splash or two goes a long way.