I have two life lessons for you tonight. But first, a little back story. It was probably about 8 years ago and we were traveling across the country. We decided to make a pit stop at a friends house for a couple of days. It just so happened that they had some family staying with them at the same time and man did she know how to cook! So while we were there, we were treated to some home cooked Mexican meals. It was amazing. What was even more amazing was that she taught me a few of her recipes as she was cooking for us. Life lesson number one: always plan your visits around when deliciousness will happen. Ha!
Tonight's dinner is two of her recipes: Caldillo and Mexican Rice. She was very particular about the order that ingredients were added. She wasn't sure why it would make a difference, but to her it did. So, to me it does too. She didn't have measurements for a lot of it so it is based a lot off of taste. Here we go...
I had never heard of Caldillo before. Just imagine a hamburger soup with a Mexican kick. Start off by browning a pound of ground beef, along with some chopped onions. Season it with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cumin. When you think you put enough seasonings, add more. And maybe add more again. You really want that cumin to pop. When the beef is about half way cooked, add 2 medium potatoes that are chopped into bite size pieces. Continue cooking until the beef is cooked through. Add 3 cups of water and heat to boiling. Then turn down the heat and keep it simmering, covered, until the potatoes are tender. Add 1 can of tomato sauce and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn and green beans). Cook for another ten minutes.
Heat up 2 cups of water and add 5 chicken bouillon cubes to it. Set it aside. Add some olive oil to a pan. Heat the oil and then brown one cup of Mahatma rice in the oil. Carefully add 1 can of tomato sauce. It is going to splash up so be prepared! Then stir in the bouillon water. This was one thing she was very particular on. She said that you had to add the tomato sauce first! Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to low and simmer for 20 minutes. There is no need to stir. Once it is done, add some cumin and chopped fresh cilantro. Stir. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes without the lid.
To serve: Put rice and caldillo into a bowl. You can then top it with your choice of sour cream, mixed shredded cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro. We love to eat tortilla chips with it. My hubby crushed some up into his bowl. I used them as a scoop and ate some of my dinner like a dip. Yum!
Life lesson number two: learn to make do. I had to make a few adjustments to the recipes tonight. The only potatoes that I had on hand were purple potatoes. Hmmm. Ok. The recipe called for a mix of carrots, corn, and green beans. The only bag I had also included peas. Ok. I normally have a bag of Mahatma white rice. I buy this rice only for when I make this dish. I was out of it so tonight I used Jasmine rice. I didn't feel like running up to the store and didn't think these minor changes would make much of a difference.
Simple recipes but I hope you are prepared for how delicious they are!
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