Baked Rice and Beans

Ingredients

3 cup white basmati rice
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
1 jar tomato salsa (16 oz)
2 cup chicken broth
2 can kidney beans OR (optional)
x cup dried black beans (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Pour white rice into a casserole dish and season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano. Pour in olive oil and stir until rice is thoroughly coated with oil. Add salsa, chicken broth, and kidney beans (SEE NOTES); stir until evenly combined. Cover very tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until rice is tender, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove foil, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, and fluff with a fork. If the rice is not done, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more broth, fold it in, and cook 10 more minutes. Turn the oven off and leave to coast for a few minutes after that.

Notes

Ratings:
E: 4 if making with dried beans, 5 if making with canned beans
T: 4
I: 5
T: 5

Nice base for a meal. Needs a meat or strong vegetable to go with it. We added the optional cayenne pepper and used Pace hot salsa. Delicious. Also made with LS beef broth instead of chicken for the inaugural batch, because that's what we had hanging out in the fridge.

At 1h10m, the rice was undercooked. Added about 1/4-1/2 cup more broth, folded it in, and let it cook ten more minutes before turning off the oven and letting it coast. Was just right.

Also made using dried black beans. We measured out the right amount of black beans to end up with the right amount of cooked (amount has been forgotten, write this down next time we do this recipe!), soaked em for a day in cold water in the fridge, and then added more water and boiled them until they were tender. left them in the fridge overnight and then proceded with the recipe as written.

Makes a LOT. Used the 9x13 pan and it filled it to the brim once the rice plumped up. Eight servings or so?

Reheats adequately well, perhaps a bit dry.

Price Breakdown: