Spanish Rice Bake

This week's recipe come by way of one of our readers! Thanks, M! She says her family doesn't typically like Spanish Rice, but even her picky eater ate this dish.

Spanish Rice Bake

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned tomatoes
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup chile sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (can substitute chili powder)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat and transfer beef to a large pot over medium low heat.. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, chile sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper.

3. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transport this to a 2-quart casserole dish. Press down firmly and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Photo & recipe from Allrecipes.com. As always with recipes from this site, you may want to read the reviews to see what others thought and to consider any changes they made to the recipe.