Lemon Cilantro Rice

When I was in Oklahoma City last week, I ate with my friend Layla at a yummy Mexican restaurant whose name I keep forgetting.  They had a wonderful cilantro lime rice that I decided to give a try at home.  Since I’m all about making things easy, I decided to make it in my rice cooker.  I didn’t happen to have lime OR fresh cilantro, so I used bottled lemon juice, dried cilantro, and orange zest. (I’m all about using what I’ve got!) I think it would have been even better with fresh cilantro, but it turned out absolutely yummy made as shown below.  My whole family enjoyed it, and I loved that all I had to do was toss it into the rice cooker and walk away.

Cilantro Lemon Rice

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2-1/2 cups  rice (I used short grain Asian rice)
4-1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon dry cilantro (or a scant 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced fine)
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon orange or lime zest
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker.  Stir with a wire whisk to break up big clumps of seasoning.  Turn on the rice cooker and let cook until done, stirring once about 15 minutes into the cooking time.  Top with a bit of additional butter and add more salt to taste, if desired.  Enjoy!