Instant Mexi-Rice Mix

Source

I think I've mentioned before that we are quite lazy. We like Mexican Rice but often, don't care to take the time to put it together. This is primarily because we figured out that we could cook it ahead of time and freeze it in appropriate sizes for later meals!

We use a 6-cup Wilton silicone muffin tin. Each muffin-cup holds just enough mix to make a great batch of Mexican Rice for two. (We split 1 rice cup of rice at dinner.) The recipe is quite scalable - just add one muffin-cup's worth of Instant Mexi-Mix per rice-cup of rice.

It can be easily doubled for a 12-cup muffin-pan as well, which would be good if your family eats 2 rice-cup's worth of rice at a time or more.

Instant Mexi-Rice Mix [printable recipe]

Makes 5 - 6 portions

  • 3 medium carrots, peeled
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeded
  • 1 large ripe tomato OR 2 ripe Roma tomatoes OR 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 - 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • olive oil
  • salt

Finely dice all of the veggies. In a large, nonstick skillet, add a couple teaspoons of oil and heat over medium heat. Cook carrots and onions separately with a pinch of salt until tender and begin to brown. Cook the garlic with tomato paste (if using) with the bell pepper until thick. Finally, if using fresh tomatoes, cook them until thick. As each veggie finishes, remove them to a large bowl where you can mix all of them together.

Pack evenly into a 6-cup silicone muffin pan1. Freeze until solid. Remove from the pan and store in a freezer bag until needed.

To use: Thaw Mexi-Rice Mix until it can be smooshed apart. Add one muffin-cup's worth of Mexi-Rice Mix per 1 rice-cup's worth of rice2. Add the amount of water needed for the type of rice being used and cook as usual.

Notes:

  1. Silicone muffin pans are wonderful because you can just pop them out when you're done. I assume that a metal muffin pan would require some nonstick spray as well.
  2. I use rice here as a catch-all. It will work for any grain or rice type that you think will taste good as Mexican Rice. Quinoa and bulgur would be quite good, for example, or a mix of rice and orzo or rice and wild rice.