Mexicali Rose…I mean Rice!

Mexicali Rice! Mexicali Rose!

Do any of you remember the song Mexicali Rose sung by none other than Gene Autry? 

“Mexicali Rose stop cryin’
I’ll come back to you some sunny day”

“Dry those big brown eyes and smile dear
Banish all those tears and please don’t sigh
Kiss me once again and hold me
Mexicali Rose, goodbye”

Don’t know why that came to mind, but you know me….always the romantic and always off in another world of music somehow relating it to food!

OK, this is not an original Mexican recipe…instead it is one I kinda threw together out of necessity a few days ago.

It’s not really TexMex, but sort of an in-between TexMex and a little California… so I called it Mexicali….which made me think of the song Mexicali Rose! which made me hum it all the while mixing ingredients for this recipe.

I needed something quick and easy and only had about 15 minutes to get it together.

When I started to make this quick dinner, the recipe actually started out as Chinese and how it ended up Mexican-ish is still a marvel to me.

Perhaps it is because I tend to “spice” foods up with Mexican or Spanish types of spices and foods.

I was in such a hurry that I reached for the soy sauce on the fridge side door and accidentally grabbed the Worcestershire sauce.

OK, I was watching the Kansas City Royals play baseball and I was kinda distracted. 

OK, truth is, I was a lot distracted. 

Hence…Mexicali Rice was born!

The Captain had been at one of the “Flips” supervising the laying of the grass sod and then he called me and said he needed to meet our general contractor at a “possible future” flip house and did I have something quick to eat?

I didn’t think a sandwich would suffice, although that certainly would have been easy to throw together. I looked in my fridge and saw a small amount of left over white rice and my thoughts raced to a quick stir-fry with lots of veggies.  However, if I wanted to include a protein, I would have to thaw chicken or pork and instead, I pulled out a package of ground beef!  Ground beef is always easy to thaw right in my cast iron skillet.

Next, I chopped up a red bell pepper, onion and a jalapeno and luckily my fridge left overs didn’t let me down…I found a bit of whole kernel corn along with fresh cilantro, which is considered a staple in my kitchen….along with Pico de Gallo! 

Wah-lah! A meal in one that took about 15 minutes to prepare! I topped it with fresh cilantro and a bit of Pico de Gallo. (see recipe for this easy salsa)

Below is the handy dandy printable recipe although, as is most of my recipes, one can adjust ingredients to what you prefer or happen to have left over in the fridge!

By the way…the Captain was impressed with my Mexicali Rice and ingenuity. sigh! 

Have a great middle of the week my dear readers.

(And for all my fellow sports fan enthusiasts…..tonight is game 5 of the ALDS series with the Houston Astros! #LetsGoRoyals! #ForeverRoyal! #TaketheCrown! 😉 )

Mexicali Rice

2015-10-11 10:55:20

Another quick 15 minute meal using ground beef, left over rice and a few veggies from the fridge. Yum!

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Ingredients

1. 1 pound of ground beef
2. 1 medium onion, chopped
3. 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
4. 1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
5. 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
6. 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if spicy is not your thing)
7. 1 cup of cooked white rice (left over is great or you can make fresh)
8. 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
9. 1/2 to 1 cup of whole kernel corn
10. Juice from 1/2 lime, slice remaining half for garnish
11. fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Instructions

1. Brown ground beef, onions, jalapeno and bell pepper in heavy skillet. (you can use two skillets, one for veggies and one for meat)
2. Add red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper stirring occasionally.
3. Add the cooked rice using a fork to separate the rice, if clumpy
4. Add the corn, Worcestershire sauce and the lime juice and heat through to assure the rice is warmed and flavors blend
5. Pour out onto a platter and garnish with slices of lime and chopped cilantro

Notes

1. You can serve with warmed tortilla chips and pico de gallo or warmed tortillas. Fresh Pico de Gallo is always in my fridge!
2. Make Pico de Gallo by cutting up equal amounts of finely chopped tomato, jalapeno, and onion. Add a bit of lime juice and fresh cilantro and salt and it is Yum City!

Me and My Captain https://meandmycaptain.com/