Mexican Rice

Found this recipe in a different issue of the magazine I got the vegetable mash casserole recipe in. We love Mexican-type stuff, so we had to try it. I made a couple of small changes (nothing major). My notes and changes will be at the end, but here is the recipe as printed in the magazine.

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 garlic cloves and 1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup long-grain rice
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 1/2 cups salsa
1/2 cup water
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In a large sauce pan, saute garlic, onions, green peppers and beef in melted butter.
Add spices and saute for 2 minutes.
Stir in kidney beans and rice and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the corn, salsa and water. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for about 20-25 minutes.
Serve in bowls and garnish with the shredded cheddar cheese

Notes: Alex doesn't like corn, so I omitted that and instead I used chopped red and yellow peppers (about a half cup of each). When I did the first step, I included them. I also didn't use a whole green pepper, I used about a half cup.

We also put some sour cream on top as well as the cheese.

I would highly recommend cooking the rice at least partially before adding it to this recipe (or else use pre-cooked long-grain rice). Because I used uncooked rice, I had to add probably an extra 3/4 cup of water and cook it longer to try to get the rice to cook.

Overall, all three of us LOVED this, and will definitely be making it again. Next time, in addition to pre-cooking the rice, I'm planning on making it with diced chicken instead of ground beef.