Good morning!

My kids made this recipe for Taco Tuesday and I just HAD to post it! It was that good! The kids are 9 and 13, so we decided that they will make dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This frees me up on Tuesday because I have my graduate counseling classes on Tuesdays from 5 to 9:30pm. The program at Missouri Baptist is great if you are looking into one. Other ones required me to go in person… which looking back would never have happened anyway since everything shut down 1 month before I started the program.

This recipe stems from our love of Mexican food (or probably here in Missouri closer to Tex Mex technically). Casa Mia Mexican Kitchen in St. Charles makes the most wonderful food and almost everything is handmade – no pre-made canned salsa there! Inspired by them, the kids found a recipe and made it all by themselves. I think it is super important that kids learn how to cook at a young age. Something as basic as feeding yourself is so important to being healthy and I think important even if you are busy. No one wants to learn to cook an egg while studying for finals, you know?

We used this recipe with refried beans and also as the base for burrito bowls. But you can have Spanish rice however you like! Instead of a jalapeno, I used Pico and Salsa seasoning from Penzeys Spices – it is a nice combination of cumin, oregano and dried jalapenos that give our dishes a little jalapeno flavor without hurting our hands. The company used to have them free with purchase, but they haven’t had many sales since March. In the recipe, I included the jalapeno pepper since most people would have that on hand.

Currently, I am reading The Ghosts of St. Charles by Michael Harry. If you go down to Main Street in St. Charles MO ever – even just for the Christmas Traditions – it is an interesting read into the history of the buildings and area around there. One of the buildings slopes at a 15 degree angle towards the street. One owner back in the 1800’s made tombstones and this angle allowed him to move the tombstones out of his workshop and into the street to be transported.

Instant Pot Spanish Rice

Spanish rice that tastes just like it was from a Mexican restaurant! You will never use a Spanish Rice spice packet again after making this dish. Serve with refried beans or use as the base of a burrito bowl!

Print Recipe

Servings 8 people

Equipment

Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot

Ingredients

1 T olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 small jalapeno diced and seeds/ribs removed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika or paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups broth vegetable or chicken
2 cups brown rice or white rice rinsed
6 oz canned tomato sauce

Instructions

Add olive oil to the Instant Pot and turn on SAUTE. Keep the lid off of the Instant Pot.
Once hot, add the onion and stir often. Cook about 2 minutes or until soft. Add the minced garlic, jalapeno and spices. Stir constantly for 30 seconds.
Push the OFF button.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Put the lid on the instant pot. Turn on for 25 minutes on High Pressure for brown rice. Or use the RICE setting for white rice.
Once done, let the pressure release on its own and do not vent.
Stir and eat! We topped our rice with refried beans!