Mexican Rice

Just for the record, Mexican rice really isn't a favorite of mine. When I eat it at restaurants it usually seems cold and dry. It could also be described as tasting like it has been sitting out all day under a warmer. Yuck! This rice was quite the opposite. It was very flavorful, moist and almost creamy. It was delicious at our dinner and was great as leftovers a few days later. I'm pretty sure this will be a Mexican staple at our house. Maybe it will be at your house too.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup white rice
1/2 can of canned tomatoes pureed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
Alpine Touch
2 1/2 cups water
3 chicken bullion cubes

Directions:
Dissolve the bullion cubes in the water. Over medium heat, brown the rice in one tablespoon of vegetable oil. You want it browned, not burnt, so be careful and stir constantly. After it has browned, add the tomato puree and saute for one minute. Then, add the garlic salt, onion salt, alpine touch and bullion water. At this point, taste the broth to see if you need to add more seasonings. If the taste is to your liking, bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Note:
So don't hate, but I'm not sure I made this correctly the first time. That being said, the positive notes above still remain true. I am pretty certain I used a whole can of diced tomatoes. I just put them into my blender, pureed and threw it on top of the rice. The original recipe just called for garlic salt and onion salt to your taste. I have no clue how much I put in so 1/2 teaspoon was a guess. Also, because I was trained by my mother, I put in a bunch of Alpine Touch. You will definitely want to taste the broth and adjust before boiling.

Another note:
Can someone also explain to me how 2 and 1/2 cups of liquid plus a whole can of tomatoes resulted in a yummy serving of rice? It almost doesn't seem right. What can be learned from this is that you probably can't mess up this recipe.