Mexican Rice

I know, I get no points for a creative title.  But that aside, take my word that this is a really yummy and easy dish to put together. I imagined what I wanted the final "product" to taste like and then just added whatever ingredients I believed would lead to that result. :p Yes, very scientific. That's usually how a lot of my cooking takes place.

I will let y'all in on one secret for this dish though- Trader Joe's enchilada sauce. I cook the rice in a diluted version of the sauce so the rice absorbs all that flavour. Normally I would just add a packet of your favourite taco seasoning to the rice but I think the rice tastes better with the sauce and gives it added moisture.

Leftovers make a great lunch.

Ingredients:

-  1 cup basmati rice (which is what I use on a day to day basis)
-  1 cup Trader Joes enchilada sauce
-  1 can black beans
-  1 poblano pepper diced
-  1/2 onion diced
-  1/2 red pepper diced
-  handful of chopped cilantro
-  1/2 cup corn kernels (optional)

Directions:

1.  Cook the rice on the stovetop- 1 cup rice to 2 parts liquid (1 cup enchilada sauce and 2 cup water).

2.  In a large skillet, sautee onions, peppers, and black beans.

3.  When the rice is done (20-25 minutes), spread out in a large platter and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. If you try mixing the rice with the veggies right away, it's going to turn to mush and nobody likes mushy rice.

4.  Mix the rice with the veggies/beans mixture and season as needed. Remember that the sauce already is salted as may be the case with the black beans.

5.  Add the chopped cilantro. And please, if you dont like cilantro, leave it out. Don't substitute parsley. It's not the same.