When my youngest son, Tom, was five or six years old, he liked to watch me cook. That was fine with me. I believe boys should learn hot to cook. Both of my sons are good cooks. Back to Tom. He would look up at me that that adoring little face and say, Mom, you're a good cooker!" Today, Tom has a copy of my cookbook I put together a few years back. He called me a while back to clarify my recipe for Spanich Rice. There are three kinds of Spanish rice, you know. One calls for a bacon seasoning. Mine has ground beef.

Years ago when i worked as a telephone operator in Angola, Indiana, i learned how to cook rice the South American way. A fellow operator had been married to a man from Venezuela. The main difference is how the rice is prepared. Her Spanish Rice had no meat. She just browned raw rice in a little oil and sauteed it a few minutes. Then she added canned tomatoes, onion and green pepper, cooking until the rice was tender. I understood this was the mainstay of poor folks' diet down there. Do i have you confused as to what is really Spanish Rice? It is whatever you want it to be. Try mine.

SPANISH RICE
1 cup uncooked rice
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 to 3/4 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
16 ounce can diced tomatoes
Tomato juice or water, if needed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in deep skillet. Add dry uncooked rice. On medium heat, cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes or until rice is opaque and lightly browned. Add ground beef, onion and green pepper. Continue to cook until meat is crumbled and no longer pink. Add tomatoes and seasonings. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 25 minutes until rice is tender, stirring frequently. If mixture becomes too dry, add small amounts of tomato juice or water from time to time. This recipe can be easily doubled. Start with 2 cups rice rice and 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef. Be careful with the seasonings. Salt and pepper to taste.