Taco Rice — Another Pot of Something Warm When February Won’t Quit

The storm hit Tuesday into Wednesday. Fourteen inches. The clinic canceled. NP classes went Zoom. Sean's chemo infusion center did not cancel — they never cancel — so I drove him in the storm at 9 AM Wednesday. I took it slow. The Mass Pike was plowed. The side streets were not. We made it. He did his dose. We came home. He slept. I shoveled the front walk and the apron of the driveway. The plow service did the rest Wednesday night.

Wednesday afternoon I took Liam out in the snow. Sean was sleeping. Nora was napping. Liam and I in the yard, the sun out after the storm, the snow dry and light, the world bright and silent. He made a snow angel. He made two. He asked me to make one with him. I lay down next to him in the snow and made the third. We lay there looking at the sky for about two minutes. He said "Mommy the sky is very big." I said "yes, Buddy." He said "is Daddy's sickness big." I said "it is. Not as big as the sky. But it is big." He said "okay." He said "does it make Daddy tired." I said "yes. That is why he sleeps so much." He said "I take naps." I said "yes." He said "I can take naps with Daddy." I said "yes you can." He said "okay. I will take a nap with Daddy tomorrow." I said "he would like that."

He did. Thursday afternoon Liam went upstairs and got into bed next to Sean, who was half asleep, and curled against him like a cat, and both of them slept for two hours. I cracked the door. I took a photograph (they did not know). I stood at the door for thirty seconds. I closed it softly. I went back to my studying.

Cycle 4 finished Saturday. Sean was tired but not destroyed. His weight is holding. His counts are stable. Dr. Pei called Friday with a check-in and said "he is doing better than expected on this protocol. I am cautiously optimistic." Cautiously optimistic is a phrase I have given patients' families. It is real. It means "the treatment is working the way it can work." It does not mean cured. It means the current phase is going how we hoped. I will take it.

Shepherd's pie Sunday because the cold demanded it and the mashed-potato topping is comforting and because my mother dropped off a big casserole of it Saturday and we ate it for two days. The weather is doing what February does in Boston — punishing us for living here. The radiator is going full. Linda sent over a small pot of soup Friday. The neighborhood has quietly organized around us. I have been noticing. I have been receiving.

Eleven letters done for Liam. One more to go — age 18. We will do it in March. Then the Nora letters. I am tracking.

My mother’s shepherd’s pie carried us through Saturday and Sunday, but by Monday the casserole dish was empty and the cold had not let up. This taco rice has become my other February standby — one pan, ground beef, rice, everything into the pot, done in thirty minutes while Sean rests and Liam asks me seventeen questions about snow. It is not my mother’s recipe. It is mine, and on weeks like this one, mine is enough.

Taco Rice

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
• 1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken or beef broth
• 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and sliced scallions for topping

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Add the ground beef, breaking it apart, and cook until no pink remains, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2. Season. Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the beef and stir to coat evenly. Cook 1 minute so the spices bloom.
3. Add remaining ingredients. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices, the broth, rice, black beans, and frozen corn. Stir everything together and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer covered. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet tightly, and cook 18–20 minutes until the rice has absorbed the liquid and is tender. Check at the 18-minute mark — if liquid remains, cover and cook 2 minutes more. If the rice is sticking, add a splash of broth.
5. Rest and fluff. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and taste for salt and pepper.
6. Serve. Spoon into bowls and top with shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, and sliced scallions. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 58g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 720mg