Pasta and Rice Dinners

Spanish Rice with Ground Beef

A full dinner in one pot for under a few dollars a head. Rinse the rice and measure the liquid and it comes out fluffy, not sticky.

What goes in

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef, 85 percent lean
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 14 oz diced tomatoes with their juice
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp ground cumin · 2 tsp chilli powder · 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp salt · 1 tsp black pepper

Stir in at the end

• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
• fresh cilantro, to serve

How to make it

1. Brown the ground beef with the onion and pepper, about 8 minutes, and drain the fat. Stir in the garlic.
2. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and drain it well.
3. Put the beef mixture and the rice in the pot. Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, the tomato paste, cumin, chilli powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
4. Pour the broth over and stir once so the rice sits in liquid. Lid on.
5. Low 3 hours or high 2 hours, until the rice is tender and the liquid is gone.
6. Stir in the corn, scatter the cheddar over, lid on for 10 minutes to melt, then finish with cilantro.