Super Simple Vegan Spanish Rice & Beans

I always wanted to make my own Spanish rice (or rice and beans mix) but was usually turned off by using meat-based ingredients and/or the recipe being too time-consuming. Hence I came up with this easy dish that also happens to be healthy and vegan! This recipe is not labor-intensive at all, and what's fun and makes for minimal cleanup is that you can pretty much mix everything right in the pot! I like this spice mix but for ultimate laziness, use 2-3 teaspoons taco seasoning or premade Mexican seasoning instead! The usage of frozen mixed veggies comes from my favorite local Mexican joint using that kind in their rice. You can use any kind of rice here, but I use brown so I posted as such, other rices don't take as long to cook. Broth also makes a nice sub for the water to give a deeper flavor. Can also use any kind of beans you want, I prefer black beans or red kidney beans.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 4 1-cup servings

Ingredients

• 1  cup brown rice
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
•  water (or broth, see directions for how much to use)
• 1  dash salt
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 cup  frozen mixed vegetables (the kind with peas, corn, carrots, greenbeans)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Pour the can of tomato sauce into a liquid measuring cup. Add enough water or broth to reach a minimum of 2 CUPS if you're just making the rice and nothing else-- more like 2 1/2 cups total if you're cooking it with both the frozen veggies and beans.
2. Pour the mixture into a heavy-bottom saucepan and add a dash or two of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium.
3. Mix in the olive oil and spices until smooth.
4. Add the rice and make sure it's covered in the liquid, then loosely cover the saucepan and let simmer for 35-40 minutes or until the rice has softened. There should be plenty of liquid in the pot for the mixed veggies and beans to absorb too, unless you're making just the rice by itself then nearly all the tomato-water mixture should've absorbed by now.
5. Remove the pot from the heat element and onto a trivet/potholder. Add rinsed and drained beans and the frozen mixed veggies to the pot, and mix well. Cover fully and let sit for about 10 minutes so they can absorb all the liquid and defrost via all the steam.
6. Fluff with a fork and serve. Makes a great burrito and enchilada filling as well as a side dish! Although with some extra greens and cheese, it's often a one-dish meal for me.