We saw a commercial for Mexican food, when we were participating in one of our favorite “stay at home” pastimes. We didn’t want to pick up food, or go to the store and buy ingredients, so we had “make-due” Mexican! Don said enchiladas, refried beans, and rice would be nice. After raiding the pantry, I made enchilada sauce by mixing picante and sour cream. Then, I layered tortilla chips, cooked chicken, and cheese, with sauce in between. For the beans, I mixed canned refried beans with a little of the makeshift sauce, some extra spices, and topped with cheese. But the best creation turned out to be the Mexican Fried Rice. There was leftover rice in the fridge, and I figured if I knew how to make Chinese fried rice, certainly a Mexican version would be as good. It turned out amazing, and better than the Spanish rice recipe that I usually make. While I can’t give you exact amounts, I can give you ingredients and ideas of how to make your pantry items work for you. When the recipe calls for a “tomato product,” it’s because the one I use is obscure. Last year I over-dehydrated some tomatoes. They were too hard to do anything with them. So, I ground them into a powder and put it in a jar. When I want tomato flavor, I break out the jar!
If you’re not feeling like making a whole meal, with rice as a side, turn Mexican Fried Rice into a meal by adding chicken or beef, and black beans or pintos.
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1/3 cup grated carrot*
- 2-3 cups cooked rice, or packaged ready to eat rice
- Frozen peas
- Capers (optional)
- Manzanilla olives, chopped
- 2 TBSP tomato product (tube, can, or jar) and/or 2 TBSP enchilada sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Granulated garlic powder
- Smoked paprika
- Ground cumin
- Chili powder
- Ground coriander
- Little dried oregano
- If you don’t want to use above spices, use taco seasoning
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet.
- Add onion and carrot. Cook until onion is translucent.
- Stir in rice.
- Stir in the rest of ingredients.
- Cook and stir until thoroughly combined and heated through.
- To make fried rice into complete meal, add chicken or beef and beans (black or pinto).
- *or use a frozen carrot/pea combo