Mexican Rice and Beans

This recipe was from Food Nanny - like a lot of her recipes it needed a bit of help in the flavor arena. It turned out ok with some spice added in. (3 star) I also changed up directions since I had forgotten to soak my beans overnight. I did a quick soak method I found in my Joy of Cooking book, and also partially covered my beans like I read in Joy of Cooking to speed up the cooking time. They did turn out nice and tender and I'm always trying to learn how to make my own beans from dry beans. This was a great attempt. I kept them on the stove over a low heat uncovered waiting for the rice to cook and stirred them every few minutes and a few mashed making them a cross between a plain bean and a refried bean. That too was nice. They were great in a burrito with sour cream and the rice.

I liked the rice with this meal. (4 star) I would 1 1/2 or 2 times it next time. Maybe cut the salt down a bit. This is how I made the meal. I made the rice, beans, and tortillas (from harina pan which is really for arepas, but it worked out ok - I want to buy maseca next time though.) We ate them as burritos with sour cream and salsa (but only for the first one. Next time I'd skip the salsa and cut up some tomatoes and lettuce to add some veggies to this meal.

Ingredients

• 1 lb gab pinto beans
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 2 whole garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion (1 slick 1/8-1/4 inch thick diced)
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 12 corn or taco size flour tortillas
• Sour cream
• Fresh Salsa

Directions:

1. Rinse and sort beans removing any bad beans or rocks. Put in a pot and cover by 2 inches with boiling water. Cover to soak for 1 hour. Drain.

2. Return to pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Add the 1/4 onion and 2 garlic cloves. Bring to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer partially covered until beans are tender. 1-2 hours. Check water periodically to make sure the beans are always covered. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.

Rice:

1. Saute 2 tablespoons onion in oil in a small frying pan (or saucepan if not using a rice cooker.) Add rice stir to coat. Transfer to rice cooker with 1/2 teaspoon salt, corn, cilantro, tomato sauce and water. Cook in rice cooker (or simmer 15-20 minutes.)

We ate this like a bean burrito with sour cream and salsa. I wasn't a fan of the salsa - thought it was too spicy, but Brandon liked it. I had tried it because it had you roast the veggies first, so I thought it would be good, but it was just plain spicy.