Saturday Dinner

I'm still sick (head cold) and still not up for cooking, but I really wanted something warm and rich and comforting for dinner tonight, so I solicited some help from my family to make Mexican Rice. Mainly I sat at the kitchen table and "directed traffic" - chop that, add this, stir, etc.

Mexican Rice

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
3 slices bacon, diced
1.5 cups uncooked rice
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning mix
2 cups chicken broth or water (I used chicken broth)
shredded cheese (I used cheddar/jack blend)

Brown ground turkey in large nonstick skillet; remove and drain. In same skillet, saute diced bacon with onion until bacon is cooked. Add turkey back to the pan along with remaining ingredients except cheese. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 - 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Add a little more chicken broth or water if it starts to get too dry. Top with shredded cheese and replace cover for a minute or two until cheese melts. This dish feeds 6 - 8 generously.

Options: I had both leftover corn and leftover black beans in the fridge -about 1 cup of each - so I threw them in.

My head is too fuzzy to do all the calculations, but I estimate this dish cost about $4 based on $1.29 chub of turkey, bacon & cheese bought on sale, taco seasoning free after triple coupons, etc. But even if you paid full price for every ingredient, this would still be a pretty economical dish to make given how many people it feeds.