Recipe: Jalapeno Cheese Rice

I hate broccoli. And it is to this reason why I despise Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole. I do not despise it for what it is inherently; I despise it because someone out there decided to take a perfectly good batch of cheese rice and throw in nasty old broccoli to completly ruin it. And it doesn't matter how finely chopped the broccoli is. The smell just permeates it.

So I have reinvented the wheel here with my Jalapeno Cheese rice. And don't worry about it being too spicy. If you use my method for de-heating the peppers, you can put in a lot without having to "bite the bullet" the next morning.

Ingredients
- 3 Large Jalapeno Peppers, stemmed and seeded
- 1 cup uncooked regular rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 TBSP Olive Oil
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 2 TBSP Flour
- Salt

Pre-Prep Prep: Stem and seed the peppers, shred the cheese, measure the ingredients.

The Rice
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the peppers and sautee for 1 minute. Add the rice and increase heat to high. When the rice begins to pop or turn brown on the bottom, pour in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer for 16 minutes. Remove from heat.

The cheese sauce
In small sauce pan, heat the milk over medium-low heat. When it begins to simmer, add the salt and slowly whisk in the flour. As the mixture begins to thicken, add the cheese in handfuls, letting it melt through. Continue heating the mixture until it is thick.

Pour the cheese sauce into the rice and stir through.