SPANISH STYLE BEEF AND RICE

Steps:

• Heat beef stock, water and butter to a full boil. Add rice, reduce heat and cover pot. Cook 20
• minutes, until tender and liquids are absorbed.
• Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, 2 or 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, Worcestershire. Cook together 5 to 7 minutes, until veggies are just tender. Add tomato sauce, cloves, cumin and parsley. Bring mixture up to a bubble and reduce heat to low.
• Combine cooked rice with meat mixture and serve with Spicy Chopped Salad wit and Taco Dressing, recipe follows. Reserve 1/2 of the beef and rice and freeze for stuffed peppers for another meal. Recipe follows.
• * Please note: You can also choose to make the stuffed peppers in their entirety, then freeze and microwave when ready to serve for 12 to 15 minutes on high. Reheat with loose plastic over the dish to keep the peppers from splattering. If you do not have a carousel microwave, rotate peppers once during the reheating of your peppers.
• Stuffed Peppers with Beef, Rice, Spinach and Cheese
• Preheat a griddle or grill pan. Seed chile peppers. Drizzle peppers with a little oil and grill over medium high to high heat 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until tender. Transfer peppers to a broiler pan or baking sheet, hollow side up.
• Place a small skillet on the stove top and add 1 tablespoon, 1 turn of the pan, olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic. Heat over medium flame and add spinach in bunches until it is all wilted and is giving off liquid. Season greens with salt and pepper. Remove spinach and drain. Set aside.
• Preheat broiler to high.
• Defrost beef and rice in microwave oven. Combine 1/2 cup broth and defrosted rice in the skillet you cooked the spinach in and reheat over medium flame. Add 1 cup tomato sauce and heat through.
• Pile spinach and hot beef and tomato rice into peppers, mounding them up in the center of each pepper. Top liberally with grated cheese and melt cheese under broiler 3 to 5 minutes, then serve.
• Yield: 4 servings
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes
• Ease of preparation: easy
• Spicy Chopped Salad with Tortillas
• Combine salad ingredients in a bowl, toss with tortilla chip pieces. In a second bowl, combine taco sauce, lime juice, cilantro or parsley. Whisk in olive oil in a slow stream until dressing is combined. Toss salad with dressing to combine and coat ingredients evenly, then serve.
• Yield: 4 servings
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: none
• Ease of preparation: easy