Spicy Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice from scratch you say! I know, I know, it's so easy to open up that box of Spanish Rice rather have to chop up ingredients. I have to admit, the boxed spanish rice is good and I still use it occasionally, however, making it from scratch doesn't really take that much time and it's so much better. There are alot of recipes for spanish rice out there, but I have my own recipe that I made up awhile ago. I remembered it the other day when I was trying to figure out what to make as a side-dish. I was getting bored with potatoes and had all the ingredients in my pantry to make the spanish rice so I got cooking immediately. I have to tell you, I did have to rename my recipe from Spanish Rice to "Spicy" Spanish Rice. Let me explain...I normally buy Stewed Tomatoes marked "Italian Recipe". Evidently, I somehow bought Stewed Tomatoes marked "Mexican Recipe" by mistake. The Mexican Recipe Stewed Tomatoes have jalapenos, garlic and cumin in it. Of course, I didn't realize my mistake until I tasted the sauce and almost fell over. I never noticed that the can was marked Mexican Recipe and I had already added the red pepper flakes to the sauce so it wasn't like I could take anything out. What' a girl to do? Even though my husband doesn't really like spicy food, I really didn't want to throw it out only to start again. I decided not to tell him about my mistake and see if he noticed anything different. He did notice, but everything turned out well. Once the initial shock of flames coming out of your mouth subsides, it actually is quite good. Although my husband would prefer a potato with dinner, he did go back for a second helping of the rice so I figured that was a good thing. I updated my recipe now to use Mexican Recipe Stewed Tomatoes going forward. So, when you are bored with old standby side-dishes, try this recipe, I am sure you will agree, it's better than the boxed stuff. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 Slices of Bacon, chopped
  
• 1 Red or Green Pepper, chopped
  
• 1 Medium Onion, chopped
  
• 1 15 oz. Can Stewed Tomatoes, Mexican Recipe
  
• 1 15 oz Can Tomato Sauce
  
• 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
  
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
  
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
  
• 2 Cups Uncooked Minute Rice
  
• Shredded Taco or Mexican Cheese (optional)
  
• Salt and Pepper
  

Cut bacon in to bite size pieces and cook on medium heat in large skillet until crisp. While the bacon is cooking, chop red pepper and onion. Once the bacon is cooked, remove from the pan onto a paper towel to drain and set aside.

Next, add red or green pepper and onion to pan. Then cook until tender. Add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, garlic powder and red pepper flakes to skillet. Stir together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stirring occasionally, let sauce mixture come to boil on medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in uncooked rice and bacon to sauce. Reduce heat to low letting rice and bacon simmer in sauce for 10 additional minutes. Continue to stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Remove from heat, add shredded cheese, if desired, and set aside until ready to serve.