My hubby and I LOVE a nice rice to accompany Mexican food, but plain rice ‘n beans just don’t cut it for me. I want more. I want flavor, and I want something fun!
Oh, sure, you can buy the commercial boxed mixes that taste pretty darned good, (some of them), but they’re also LOADED with sodium and unwanted, unpronounceable preservatives.
When you make things from scratch, you control what goes into it and how much. And this is just as easy and as simple to make as the box. So why not, right? There’s just no excuse nor reason not to. 😀
Ok, so, I’m not perfect, either. Far from it! And I made this on a whim when I was out of my favorite boxed mix, and now my hubby and I prefer this over the popular commercially made!
I never thought I’d say that! I LOVE a certain brand that’s always been handy, and still will be made maybe on rare occasion, but you sure can’t beat the price of homemade and how much healthier, and more tasty it is!
My homemade ended up having a much more authentic taste too, as should’ve been expected. But it’s always such a nice surprise anyways! 😀
It tasted more “Mexican” in flavor, too, which was exactly what I was going for. Not overly spicy hot, not bland, but just right for us! And my addition of celery is a must! It really added a nice extra flavor and was the perfect way to sneak in another veggie!
All in all, you just can’t beat homemade!
And you can play with my recipe and adjust it to your own personal taste easily. Add jalapeños for extra heat, green onions, extra spices, or even top with fanned slices of fresh avocado if you’d like.
And don’t forget, in the summertime when we have access to better veggies, you can add fresh tomatoes instead of canned if preferred.
You can pair this with any taco, burrito, or enchilada as a side dish, or you can simply add some grilled chicken or shrimp and turn this into a main dish in a flash!
A good thing to keep in mind for this summer! 😉
This can also be used inside your favorite wrapped Mexican dishes even including adding this to your scrambled egg breakfast tacos as my hubby did!
Add some fresh tomato, guacamole, sour cream, queso blanco and some sriracha or hot sauce, and you’ve got one heck of a tasty morning treat!
It’s uses are about endless! So I hope you find this handy and as delicious as we did, and it helps to complete your meal in whatever way you choose to enjoy! Have a wonderful day, and keep on smiling! 😀
AUTHENTIC MEXICAN BLACK BEANS & RICE with CELERY, TOMATOES & GREEN CHILIES
6-8 servings
2 cups water
1 large rib celery, sliced
1 Tbl. Superior Touch Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
1 rounded tsp. Sriracha Chile Sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel Mild Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
1 cup raw white rice
1 Tbl. butter
1 ( 15.5 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained, I used Goya
fresh sliced green onions, optional garnish
finely minced fresh cilantro, optional garnish
DIRECTIONS:
In medium saucepan, place all ingredients except black beans. Heat over medium-high heat, covered, until just to a boil. Remove lid, give it a good stir to mix, and replace lid. Lower heat to just a very low simmer over lowest heat. Low simmer for 16-17 minutes without lifting lid until tender. Move pan to a cool spot on stove and let rest 5 minutes, still covered.
After resting, quickly and evenly stir/fold in rinsed and drained beans, recover, and let rest 5 more minutes until beans are warmed through. *This stays hot for a nice amount of time, so just keep it covered until needed.
Serve topped with sliced green onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and also serve with more sriracha or hot sauce if desired.
*Accidently made it too hot? No worries! 😉 Just serve topped with a small dollop of sour cream to take the heat away. Been there done that before. 😉
