This meal has long been a family favorite. My mom’s been making it ever since I can remember, and although it’s a simple dish, it’s a frequent request at potluck dinners. Sometimes too, she’ll stuff this into whole green peppers with the tops chopped off and cook it that way (if you do this, cook until the peppers are soft and brownish – about an hour).
Mom’s Spanish Rice
2 or 2.5 c. dry rice, prepared as directed 20 cents
1 large can tomato sauce $1.38 (or free if you can your own)
1/2 lb. ground beef $1.78
1 small onion, chopped fine 20 cents
1/2 green pepper, chopped fine 30 cents
1 t. chili powder .05 cents
1 t. ground cumin .05 cents
salt and pepper to taste 10 cents
Total cost: $4.06
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While preparing rice, fry ground beef, onion and green pepper, making sure to chop beef very fine (this helps to “spread” the beef so it won’t be noticed as much that you’re using less). Pour rice into a 9×13 pan. Add beef/veggie mixture, tomato sauce, and spices. Mix well (it should be fairly moist before baking. If not, add water and mix again), and bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges are starting to brown. Enjoy!
Want to spice it up? Serve with refried beans, or tortilla chips and homemade guacamole.
This looks pretty good. I should try making this in the next week or two. Thanks for the recipe.
It’s delish. I’ll have a pic up soon. We always make 2 or 3 extra servings and freeze the rest. Also, dividing up into single servings and freezing for lunch would make a good lunch on the cheap too. Thanks for the comment!
This sounds yummy! I love spanish rice.
Thanks, Michelle! It’s one of my faves. Easy, filling and good!
Looks like a tasty recipe Laurie! We love dishes like this and my wife just made homemade guacamole for the first time the other night. I generally am not a big fan of it, but it was quite good.
Hi John! Yeah, I was never a big fan of avocado until we made homemade guac. Now we can’t get enough!
Looks good and easy to make. Always two pluses in my book!
Me too, Shannon. :-). And, it freezes well. We like it better frozen and then cooked, actually. Thanks for the comment 🙂
We don’t eat rice anymore but when we did this was my all time favorite recipe. So easy and so delicious!!
Interesting, Sicorra. Is it the whole arsenic thing? We’ve thought about that too.
Rice is a great pantry staple that can really stretch your grocery budget. Plus it’s very versatile. Great recipe.
Sounds like an interesting dish.
Interesting good, or interesting “not in a million years”? 🙂
This recipe sounds outstanding!.. I love the tomato-ey spanish rice.
Thanks, Jefferson! You’ll have to let me know how you like it.
I’m a disaster in the kitchen but this recipe looks simple enough to try 🙂 Annndddd you can’t beat the price! It sounds tasty too. Thanks Laurie.
LOL! Yeah, it’s easy, and good. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out!