Spanish Rice and Mexican Food/Tex Mex

Now I don't know about you but when I grew up we never had Mexican food at our house and we pretty much always ate at "our house".  In fact it was pretty unusual for us to have things all mixed up in one pile on a plate unlike Mexican food.  For example:  

• For breakfast we had eggs (no salsa - did not know of such a thing) and in fact since mom and dad did not like eggs over easy we never had that choice, the only choices were scrambled or over hard, next to the eggs was bacon or sausage and there was no choice as you got what mom made.  In fact on the eggs you got them cooked the way mom cooked them, no choice.  Toast was made from white bread in the toaster and the butter was "store bought" after we stopped having the diary.  Just for most people's information real butter is basically white and a little yellow, no color added. 

Now the next issue I have here is Guacamole!  The first time I saw the stuff I thought we had just taken the droppings from a cow eating in an alfalfa field.  Who would have ever thought of the idea?  Of course now days I do like the stuff but it still does not look good.

OK, the closest thing we ever had to Mexican food was Spanish Rice and I am bringing it up because it was actually one of my favorite foods when I was a kid in the Osage.  As my dad would say, "that is good eaten". It was the closest thing to Mexican food we ever had.

So here is my Spanish Rice recipe, thanks to Momma Opal.

Now I do have to tell you she gave me this recipe but I had to make a few changes as I think she forgot how she made it and I remember how it was so good luck.  I have to tell you mom was a great cook but did not write things down much.  She just knew what went together.

Spanish Rice from the Osage

1/2 cup salad oil

1 cup uncooked rice

3/4 lb. ground lean hamburger meat

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, chopped (opt. but I think mom did not use the garlic)

1 green pepper

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

a little bit of chili powder to give it some kick - season to your choice

3 cup tomato juice (mom used canned whole tomatoes and it was one quart jar - home grown)

2 cup water if needed

1 tsp sugar (I don't believe for a minute mom put in sugar)

1 cup grated cheese (mom never added grated cheese)

Heat oil in heavy skillet: add rice and cook for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring constantly (now this is where we have to say the recipe is all wrong because mom boiled the water in a deep pan and added the rice and salt then let it sit for a while after it cooked);  Then in another skillet she cooked the hamburger and browned it first then added the onion, garlic (optional), salt and pepper, green bell pepper chopped onion and chili powder; after it cooked a bit she added the quart of tomatoes with the juice;  let that simmer for about 15 minutes and add to the rice; add more water if needed. add sugar and cheese if you think it helps. Leave the lid off the pot and let it simmer until no longer watery.  That should about do it and good luck if you try it.  Let me know how it goes.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Great cooks don't always tell the truth about their recipes
• Eat Beef and live long
• Be careful eating when you see a pile of green stuff especially if you are in an alfalfa field
• If you drop your gum while gathering eggs be careful when you pick it up and put it back in your mouth
• Mexican food basically means you pile everything together and mix it up then put it on a thin piece of rolled corn meal that is fried a little
• If you work hard physically it overcomes a lot of illnesses but most of all it just makes you feel better about everything
• don't expect a free ride - give one and have a great day

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com