Easy Baked Tex Mex Taco Rice Recipe -- Gluten Free, Vegan Spanish Rice

You know me, I'm all about saving money when it doesn't impede on my quality of life. And though some people think its sacrilege to put rice in tacos, since you don't actually need it, I like to put it in, because it stretches the meat nicely, tastes good, and makes your tacos more filling, so that you don't need to spend as much on expensive ingredients to enjoy a delicious meal. You also can use this as the base for a burrito bowl, put it inside a burrito, or just eat it as a side dish. It's flavorful yet goes well combined with other dishes. I just topped mine with some leftover chocolate chili and homemade salsa and it was terrific.

I based my recipe off this one, but adjusted the quantities of the spices to my liking, added veggies to it, and made it a baked recipe, and it's terrific.

This recipe as written is gluten free and vegan, and costs very little to make. It's very versatile. I highly recommend you make it.

Easy Baked Tex Mex Taco Rice Recipe -- Gluten Free, Vegan Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes
1 red peper
4 cups rice (I prefer basmati but any will do including brown rice)
8 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder (use this homemade spice mix if you don't use the store bought mix)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teasspoons salt
2-3 scallions

Instructions:
1. Chop your onion, mince your garlic, chop your peppers and tomatoes, and stick all the ingredients other than the scallions into a baking pan. (A 9x13 works perfectly for this.)

2. If you want it to go faster, use boiling water. Otherwise add cold water.

3. With boiling water, bake covered for 35 minutes at 350 degrees (if using white, add an extra 15 minutes for brown) or until the water is all absorbed. If using cold water, this will take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour (or an extra 15 minutes if using brown). But this is forgiving, even if you forget the rice in the oven longer it should be fine.

4. Once cooked, fluff up and mix with chopped scallions.

Enjoy!

When you serve tacos, what fillings do you include? Do you put in rice? If so, how do you make the rice? Does this look like a recipe you'd try? If you make it, how would you serve it?