Baked Spanish Rice

Cook the rice, with the salt, until the liquid is absorbed, this will be a dry rice at this point. Let stand until partially cooled. While the rice is cooking, saute the ground meat with the spices, onions, peppers, garlic and hot peppers until the meat is browned. Drain excess fat from the meat, add the herbs and mix together. Let stand until partially cooled.

You have a choice of mixing rice and meat together or creating layers in a casserole dish. Once the mixture is in the casserole, try not to pack it down too much, add the canned tomatoes and let this work its way down and in for 5 - 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. At this point you can add cheese on top if you wish, a good old cheddar is great. Cover the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Cook's Notes: Do not forget that the rice is not fully cooked so that, as it absorbs the liquid from the tomato, it WILL expand. So, leave a little expansion room in your casserole dish. As a final touch, if you are using cheese and want a brown top, uncover the dish, after cooking is complete, and broil, not too close to the element, until desired color is achieved. Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes and serve. Makes a great center piece on the dinning room table.