Spanish Rice - Real, fresh, and wholesome.

I may or may not have had an emotional break down yesterday.  But luckily, things seem to be turning around.   My husband sat down with me, held my hand, and prayed with me for God to grant me an extra measure of grace, peace, and patience during this time.  I love that man.  I LOVE HIM.

That being said...the show must go on!

So here I am.  Doing the only thing I know how.

Cookin' baby.

Somehow, the sizzle of browning onions and chopping of tomatoes brings peace to my life.  I am thankful the Lord has blessed me with the love of cooking - it sure comes in handy on emotional brain-fart days.

That being said, I had to come up with a quick potluck dish for church on Sunday - and this easy, inexpensive dish fit the bill.  I loved it so much, I decided to make it again for lunch yesterday so that we could enjoy leftovers.  Stuart loves it, as does Georgia, and since it's made with things we mostly keep on hand at all times, it's probably going to be my new favorite go-to dish.  

Did I mention it's super easy?

That term is becoming more and more important to me, now that all G-love wants to do is read her duck book that quacks.  And what Mama doesn't want to sit and read a duck book that quacks?!  

Point being: Time in the kitchen can sometimes be limited.  Insert, main-course Spanish Rice.  But not the over salted boxed stuff from the store baby - this is real, fresh, and wholesome.  Let's get to it!

Spanish Rice
You will need: 
 - 1 1/2 cup organic brown rice (I used long grain, but who cares!)
 - 3 cups of hot homemade chicken stock (I only had turkey, so that's what I  used!)
 - 1 large onion, minced
 - 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped (or one can organic diced tomatoes)
 - 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
 - 3 or 4 large pinches of salt
 - 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (fresh ground is best!)
 - 1 cup of cooked meat (ground beef, ground pork, turkey, chicken) optional
 - A few handfuls of fresh cilantro, chopped
 - Avocado slices, for serving

Step One:  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Step Two: In a medium sized baking pan, drizzle the olive oil.  Add the chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, a handful of fresh cilantro, cooked meat (optional) and the uncooked rice.  Stir this all around so it all gets covered in the olive oil.  Then, season it with the cumin and salt.  Stir again to incorporate the spices.
Note: I used my food processor to chop the veggies - it makes it super quick.  Plus, it's all going to cook down, so don't worry to much about making it all look pretty.

Step Two:  Pour the hot broth over the rice mixture.  Put into the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rice is tender but not mushy.  

Step Three:  Fluff the rice with a fork, dish up, and serve!  I garnished ours with some fresh avocado slices (healthy fat, baby!), sprouted corn tortillas, and another healthy pinch of freshly chopped cilantro.

See, I told you it was easy - didn't I?  One pan meals.  I love that!  And it's only full of good, nutrient dense foods.  Even better.

I literally just finished licking the last bit of it off my fork as I was typing just now.  And it was gooooood.

The only bad thing about it....is that it makes me want chocolate for some reason.  But then again, so do most things...so it may not be the poor Spanish Rice's fault.  Either way, enjoy my friends - a weeknight meal to get you through the hustle and bustle!

I may or may not be going to finish my emotional breakdown now. 

The end.

For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.

Spanish Rice

• 1 ½ cup organic brown rice ((I used long grain, but who cares!))
• 3 cups hot homemade chicken stock ((I only had turkey, so that's what I  used!))
• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped (or one can organic diced tomatoes)
• 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 large pinches of salt
• 1 ½ tsp ground cumin  ((fresh ground is best!))
• 1 cup cooked meat ((ground beef, ground pork, turkey, chicken) optional)
• A few handfuls of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Avocado slices, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a medium sized baking pan, drizzle the olive oil.  Add the chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, chopped bell pepper, a handful of fresh cilantro, cooked meat (optional) and the uncooked rice.  Stir this all around so it all gets covered in the olive oil.  Then, season it with the cumin and salt.  Stir again to incorporate the spices.Note: I used my food processor to chop the veggies – it makes it super quick.  Plus, it's all going to cook down, so don't worry to much about making it all look pretty.

3. Pour the hot broth over the rice mixture.  Put into the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rice is tender but not mushy.  

4. Fluff the rice with a fork, dish up, and serve!  I garnished ours with some fresh avocado slices (healthy fat, baby!), sprouted corn tortillas, and another healthy pinch of freshly chopped cilantro.