Tex-Mex Sticky Rice

As I mentioned on Friday, this is a recipe I came up with last week while trying to cook with only what I had in the pantry and freezer. Overall it was a success! Tasted great (though I might add more cumin next time, but I’m a huge cumin fan), hubby liked it in spite of the beans and had seconds and ate it for lunch the next day, and it reheated well. I was surprised at the texture – I was envisioning a less-sticky result, more like Spanish Rice, but I actually like it. It made a great one-stop taco filling that wasn’t falling out all over when we bit into the shell, and was great on its own too. It would be great with salsa and sour cream topping, and maybe a bit of shredded cheese. (None of which was in my fridge so I refrained from those additions. Next time…)

Tex-Mex Sticky Rice

1 lb ground beef

2 c uncooked rice

2 c frozen corn

2 c cooked baking beans

1 can diced tomato & juice

1 ½ c tomato sauce

1 pkt taco seasoning

1 T cumin

1 box (or 4 c) beef broth

1 c water

Use a 6-qt crock pot, or halve the recipe for smaller pots. Crumble the ground beef (uncooked worked great for me, but you can brown it first if you want) in the bottom of the pot – it’s important to crumble it or it will cook in one big lump. Layer the uncooked rice on top, followed by the frozen corn, beans, diced tomato, tomato sauce, spices, broth and water. DON’T STIR YET – the meat needs to sit on the bottom to cook for a couple of hours. Cook on low for 4 ½ - 5 hours or until rice is done, stirring after 2 hours and every hour following.