Spanish Rice

 Have you ever craved a random food from childhood without even knowing it until you ate it? That is exactly how I felt when I took one bite of this Spanish Rice. When I was younger, we didn't have a lot of money so Hamburger Helper was a treat. So was mac and cheese with hot dogs. This was gourmet for me back in the day! Boy have my tastes changed!
 As I started eating this rice I felt another kind of "fullness." It was as if it was some kind of comfort food for me. I did not even realize it until I ate it. It was like Hamburger Helper all over again, but in a good way. Childhood food, particularly my Grandma's, is a comfort food for me.
 Oddly enough, this is a recipe from my boyfriend's family so to me the recipe is barely a year old. They call it Spanish Rice. Not sure where the name comes from, but it's pretty tasty. AND it's a One Pot Wonder. I LOVE those. You only need one pot to cook everything in. It's.... in a word.... Amazing.
 I realize by now that you may be thinking this is some weird dish that's a cross between hamburger helper and hot dogs. SO NOT TRUE. This is a spicy rice dish sauced with tomato juice and ground meat. And trust me it's spicy, if you don't like spice tune the spices and hot sauce down some. I've tweaked the original recipe from my boyfriend a bit, but it's delish. Trust me, some crazy internet blogger chick, you'll love it.

 The first thing you want to do is chop two shallots into a small dice, but not super small. You could also use regular onions, I cannot. That and I just wanted to be fancy.

Oh look how fancy pants we are

 Then you want to get a large pot on the stove, put it on med-hi heat, and put in oil. Once the oil is heated, it looks more "runny," add the shallots and saute.

Once the shallots have gotten a bit steamy, add in an old friend- some minced garlic. You want to continue cooking until the shallots are translucent, and the garlic isn't getting too dark. That's always the trick. Burnt garlic is not cool. Just ask a vampire.

Happy Happy!

 Now you'll want to add your ground protein of choice and chili powder, cayenne, and cumin. The original recipe calls for ground beef, but this time around I'm going with ground turkey. I wanted something different and healthier, sue me.  

raw turkey, not very handsome, so cook it

 Brown the ground turkey and make sure it's cooked all the way through. Nobody likes raw poultry. Not sure who to ask on that one, maybe the CDC? Trust me, ok? Cook all poultry! (that was a dragon voice on that one)

oh yes much better

 Now you'll want to drain the fat. But I used turkey so there's like zero. Oh yeah. After you've drained the meat, pour in the tomato juice. This is pure genius in action and you are a part of it!

cooking rice in tomato juice, who woulda thunk it

 I like to crank that heat up all the way and let it boil. I have a gas stove, so I can be impatient with it. Thank goodness. You'll want to add in the hot sauce at this point. Whenever I use hot sauce I use the wing sauce from Red Hot. It has a great flavor and the spiciness is toned down a bit.

I like to put rice in my little babushka's head

 Once the tomato juice has come to a boil, add the rice. I know this seems like an absurd amount of rice and food in general. The tomato juice I had came in an enormous can. But you can freeze this and reheat with a little more tomato juice. If you wanna scale it down, I just use a small can of tomato sauce and water it down with an equal part water for tomato juice.

this is gonna blow your mind

 When I'm adding the rice I like to keep my burner on. If you have an electric stove I'd suggest turning it off, but you can leave it on the burner. Just stir it up and put a lid on it. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed, and then enjoy. Or rather, Be Amazed. At how easy, simple, yummy, and comforting this can be.

please do not eat your screen

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 large shallots, diced
• 2 TBSP oil
• 2 TBSP minced garlic
• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 3 TBSP chili powder
• 1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 Tsp cumin
• One 46 oz can of tomato juice
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot sauce (wing sauce) depending on your spicy tolerance
• 5 cups instant white rice

Directions:

1. Heat large pot on medium-high heat on stove with oil. Add shallot. Saute for 2 minutes. Add garlic, saute until shallot is translucent and garlic just browning, about 2 min.
2. Add turkey to the pot with shallots and garlic. Add chili powder, cayenne, and cumin. Cook until turkey is browned. Drain fat.
3. Add tomato juice and hot sauce and bring to boil. Add rice and stir. Turn off heat. Put a lid on the pot and keep covered for 10 to 15 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.