A Mexican Twist

Spicy spanish rice folded among the nutty flavor of garbanzo beans, baked tortilla chips dipped in the savory, sweet and salty veggie delight that is salsa, the cooling, crunch of cucumber, can you taste it yet? 

I was really craving Mexican food last night so I decided to give it a go! I didn't have a good cheese alternative, so I omitted the typical taco loaded with cheese, lettuce, salsa, and other ingredients for a lighter meal of spanish rice with beans, some home baked tortilla chips and a side of cucumber to cool the  meal down.  

Here are my ingredients: 

• 1 box of Near East Rice Pilaf Spanish Rice mix
• 1 jar of salsa ( I like Drew's mild salsa)
• Gluten free corn tortillas
• 1 can of garbanzo beans
• 1 slicing cucumber

The cooking went like this: 

1. Cook the rice according to box directions. 

2. While the rice is cooking, peel and slice the cucumber placing them in a side dish. 

3. Strain and rinse the garbanzo beans and add them to the rice during the last 8 minutes of cooking time, keeping the heat on low. 

4. Stack the tortillas together, ( I used 3 of them) and cut them into triangles. Set the oven to 325. Evenly spread the tortilla triangles out on the cookie sheet and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until they reach your desired crunchiness. 

5. Place the amount of salsa you would like into small side dish. 

6. Serve and enjoy! 

This was a filling, pleasing and very flavorful meal and a great alternative to the usual tacos and Mexican fare. I have lots of rice leftover and plan to enjoy this  meal again.