Spanish Rice

This was really easy, and totally delicious. Double or triple the recipe and eat it alllll week long.

1 T veggie oil
2 slices bacon, minced (I didn't use this, but I bet it's good)
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 C long-grain white rice
1 3/4 C chicken broth
1 C chopped drained canned tomatoes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet or casserole dish, cook the oil, bacon, onion, bell pepper, and garlic over medium heat about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until well-coated. Add everything else, bring to a boil, then cover and put in the oven. (note - I don't have an ovenproof skillet, so I transferred everything to a bread loaf pan and it worked great). Bake about 25 minutes or until fluffy and awesome.

I added chicken, shrimp, and mushrooms, and it was a full meal. Basically a really great and easy way to make rice more interesting.

Pasta Sauce Magee, with Shrimp

Last night Bret and I made a really yummy pasta sauce for our dear friends Mary and Paul. It is really easy and quite tasty.

One onion, chopped
Garlic, couple cloves chopped
One orange (or any color) bell pepper, chopped, or slices
Handful of white mushrooms, sliced
One can stewed tomatoes
Seven or eight cherry tomatoes
White wine
Basil, bay leaves, other herbs that you like

Sautee the onions and garlic until soft. Add bell pepper and sautee until a bit soft. Add a hearty amount of white wine and the can of stewed tomatoes. Let simmer for a few minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes whole. The tomatoes get extra tasty as they stew in the hot sauce. Add the mushrooms and herbs and let simmer until everything is cooked through and delicious. Season with salt and pepper and serve in heaping spoonfuls over fresh pasta. We also added cooked shrimp on top of the pasta and sauce. You could also add unwrapped sausage and cook it in the sauce. This is another nice variation that goes well over pasta. We served this with a simple salad and bread.