Spanish Rice Bake

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I have to say, I am not 100% sure where this week went. How is it possible that I am writing about Monday night's dinner, on Thursday night? St. Patrick's Day no less?

The older I get, the faster time seems to elude me. It's a horrible thing that no one warns you about. All the focus is on covering the grays, and making those laugh lines disappear. Smoke screens I tell ya'. Time. Time is of the essence!  Someone needs to come up with a miracle cream to bring back the past couple days. Now THAT would be the fountain of youth.

Back to Monday.....since it was soooooooooooo long ago. All I can tell you is dinner was awesome. There's no other word. Even the huz would agree. It was so good, all I can really say is you have to cook it for yourself to truly appreciate it. I can whip out the thesaurus and try to come up with a bunch of flowery words to describe just how good dinner was, and it wouldn't do it justice. It's like trying take a picture of sunset. It's never the same as being there.



Not a bad sunset afterall



Vegetarian Spanish Rice Bake

Yields 6 servings

1 package Morningstar Farms crumbles or other vegetarian "ground beef"
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned petite diced tomatoes
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 tablespoons chile sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Pepperjack cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion and green bell pepper until softened.
3. Add the Morningstar Farms crumbles and cook until they are heated through - 5 minutes.
4. Stir in tomatoes, water, rice, chile sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper.
5. Le simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Serve with a fabulous salad (like mine) or steamed veggies of your choice.