I’ve been pretty lazy when it comes to Spanish rice. Toast the rice in olive oil, add some minced onion, a can of spicy Rotel’s, some liquid, boil, turn off the heat, and cover.
Suppose I go to Baja California. How would I make rice like they make it there?
My mom’s is from Chihuahua. I’m not sure if Baja California is different in terms of their rice.
One thing I’d say that would be different is that olive oil is not traditionally used in Mexican cooking. The recipie we use is fairly similar except we add garlic and use tomatoes.
Rotel is great for stuff like velveeta cheese, but in general it tastes, well, canned. It’s flavor, to me, is more Tex-Mex than Mexican.
I figured it would be easier to find a recipe because I’ve always made this by eye.
It’s very similar to ours except my mom and I have never included chile.
I had a feeling it was pretty much the same in Baja as it is elsewhere. Baja-style restaurants seem to have the same rice as other Mexican restaurants. But I was thinking I may have missed something. (Note: I haven’t been to Baja since I was a child; but I lived in San Diego until I was 15, so I had some good Mexican food growing up.)
I know olive oil isn’t traditional, but I like the flavour. I tend to use corn oil for frying (fish, Wiener Schnitzel, chicken) and canola oil for baking.
As for the Rotel, I did say I’ve been lazy lately. 
Looks pretty much like how I make it, only I’ve never added peas, garlic, or cilantro. I’ll use peas and garlic next time (I like finding things I can put peas into), but I’m not sure about the cilantro. I love cilantro; the more, the better. Not sure I want it in the rice, though.
I won’t judge. 
My super lazy method (“I need to go shopping”) is to use the knot tomato bullion found in the Mexican section of the grocery.
I agree about cilantro. I use a very tiny bit. I love it loads but not in rice much.