Ingredients
Method
Step 1: Brown the Ground Beef
- Grab a large, high-sided skillet or sauté pan with a fitted lid and place it over medium heat.
- Add 1 pound of 90/10 ground beef directly to the pan. You do not need to add oil here. The beef has enough fat to brown beautifully all by itself.
- Using a wooden spoon or meat chopper, begin breaking up the beef as it cooks.
- Once the beef has started browning but you can still see a little pink, sprinkle the entire packet of taco seasoning right over the meat.
- Keep cooking and breaking everything apart so that taco seasoning can toast right along with the beef.
- Continue cooking until the ground beef is browned and cooked through.
- Once the beef is cooked through, carefully use a paper towel to mop up the excess grease before you add the rice.
- You don't need to remove every single drop because fat equals flavor, my friends. We just don't want our rice swimming in grease when it's supposed to be swimming in QUESO.
Step 2: Add the Mexican Rice
- Add both packets of Knorr Mexican Rice directly into the skillet with the seasoned beef.
- Stir the dry rice into the meat and let everything cook together for about 1 minute.
- I like giving the rice that quick little toast in the pan before adding the liquid. It gets coated in all that taco-seasoned goodness before we move on.
Step 3: Add the Stock and Salsa
- Pour in: 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock1 1/2 cups salsaGive everything a really good stir, making sure the rice is evenly distributed throughout the pan.Keep the heat around medium and bring everything up to a boil.
Step 4: Cover and Cook the Rice
- As soon as the mixture reaches a boil, cover the skillet tightly with the fitted lid.Immediately reduce the heat to LOW.Let everything cook covered for about 18 minutes.And don't keep taking the lid off!That trapped steam is what cooks the rice, so we want to leave that baby alone and let it do its thing.
Step 5: Add the Cheese
- After about 18 minutes, remove the lid and sprinkle:1/4 cup freshly shredded mozzarella1/4 cup freshly shredded Colby Jackright over the top!You can absolutely use only one cheese if that's what you have. This is not the recipe where we're going to make our lives complicated.Put the lid back on and continue cooking on LOW for up to another 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the rice is perfectly tender.
Step 6: Make It SWIM
- While that cheese is melting, warm up your favorite queso.Once the rice is tender, remove the lid and drizzle that warm queso ALLLLLL over the top.And I mean generously!!! We're not calling this Swim Beef and Rice and then putting two sad little teaspoons of queso on top!If you like a little heat, drizzle some sriracha over the queso too.That part is optional, but OH MY GOSH is it good!
Step 7: Serve It Up
- Scoop your cheesy beef and rice into bowls and serve it while everything is hot and melty.You can absolutely eat it with a fork, but personally?Give me the tortilla chips!!!Scoop up that beef, rice and queso and make sure you get a little bit of everything in every bite.MAKE IT!!