Mom's Spanish Rice

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 onions, diced
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cayenne
• 14 ounces diced tomatoes
• 4 cups rice
• 1 1/2 lbs hamburger (optional)

Recipe

• 1 being that i like to cook quick (and so do you, probably), i like to dice, chop, and get everything out and measured and put aside before i even begin the cooking, so dice your onions and chop up the bell peppers. you can leave the seeds of the peppers if you'd like but make sure to de-stem them.
• 2 in a pot, heat vegetable oil over medium heat.
• 3 add the chopped peppers, diced onions, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne. stir very frequently (about 1-2 minutes) and make sure that the all the spices are mixed into the vegetables.
• 4 immediately, and in a separate pot, prepare your rice according to the package.
• 5 when rice is cooked, add it to the cooking veggies.
• 6 add the canned tomatoes and stir frequently on medium heat.
• 7 cook for 30-45 minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the rice and so that the rice can absorb the tomato, oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
• 8 if you want a variation, add small pieces of cooked hamburger meat (prepared in a separate skillet) to the mix. you can add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne to that, as well, before finally adding it to the mix. if you are a brontosaurus and don't eat meat like your t-rex friends, skip this step.
• 9 you will know the rice has absorbed everything and that everything is cooked when the rice is golden. (note: if you believe the rice to taste too salty, gradually add just pinches of sugar until the flavor balances back out; sugar, kids, is a great equalizer -- use it wisely.).
• 10 serve hot and enjoy!