Spanish Rice Mix

I have been very VERY into side dishes lately. Rice, noodles, potatoes... whatever I make it's my favorite part of the meal.

I wanted something different yesterday so I decided to try my hand at..

Spanish Rice Mix (single use)

1 cup uncooked rice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

What else you'll need

2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Combine water, oil and tomato paste in a saucepan and stir until the paste dissolves.

Add mix and stir, then turn heat to medium, cover pot and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

When rice is tender, turn off heat, fluff with a fork and serve.

I served the rice with broiled sole and steamed carrots, green and yellow beans.

This recipe is good because it can be used as a side dish, but you can also add cooked meat and vegetables to make it a one pot main course. It goes well with chicken, shrimp, sausage or fish.

Most recipes for Spanish rice call for WAY too many tomatoes, making it taste bitter and creating a real heartburn nightmare. This rice had a sweet tomato flavor and was easy on the stomach. We fought over the leftovers and long after they were gone our daughter was yelling for more rice. Next time I'll make a double batch!