Green Cilantro Rice

I must confess, I haven't really been posting too many new recipes lately. My parents just got back from their 3 week vacation last week. During that time, I also took a vacation from work to stay home with my daughter while they were away. Because of that, I haven't really had time to experiment on different recipes. I did a few, but not as much as I used to.

Anyway, my aunt gave me some Tamales the other day that she had ordered. I wanted to eat it for lunch today, and I wanted a rice side dish to go with it. But I didn't really feel like making my normal Mexican rice. I remember eating a Cilantro Rice one day when my friend from work and I went out to lunch at a popular Mexican restaurant. I've always wanted to try to make it at home. I found some cilantro in the fridge, so I decided to create my own version. And boy am I glad I tried. It came out so good and when I fed it to my daughter, she cleaned out her plate and asked for seconds! The picture here doesn't do it justice because you can't really see the beautiful color of green it turned out to be. While my daughter was eating up her rice, it gave me an idea to add another ingredient next time, to try to squeeze in some more vegetable in her diet.....spinach. We'll see how that one turns out.

1 Tbsp. oil
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cloves garlic
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup pureed cilantro (a bunch of cilantro with a splash of water, then pureed)

1) Heat oil in medium heat. Add rice, onions and garlic. Cook until the rice becomes opaque and begins to slightly turn golden brown. During the cooking, add cumin and salt to taste.

2) Add broth and pureed cilantro. Cook until liquid begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium/low and cover, stirring occasionally. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid has dried out.