Beef and Rice Casserole

This was a recipe that my mom made while I was growing up.  When I was younger, I hated kidney beans.  As I got older, I decided that they weren't too bad.  Eddie tried this today for lunch and gobbled up those beans like you wouldn't believe!  I hope he continues to like them.  Anyhow - it's an easy recipe, one that you can assemble ahead of time and then bake later.

Ingredients:


1 lb. of ground beef
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of salt
1 onion chopped
green pepper chopped
1 tsp of chili powder
1 can diced tomatoes (1 lb.)
1 can kidney beans
3/4 cup rice
3/4 cup cheese
Olives
1/2 cup water or V8 or tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown beef, onion, green pepper and garlic.  Drain fat and add chili powder, salt, diced tomatoes, kidney beans and rice.  Mix well and put in a greased 2 quart dish.  Cook covered for 45-55 minutes.  Add cheese and olives and cook uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Summer's Notes:

• You could try substituting ground turkey for the ground beef.  I have used ground venison in the past.
• May want to add more chili powder or other seasoning.  Sometimes my mom's dishes can be a little bland.  I think I usually do at least a tablespoon of chili powder.
• I find that white rice works better than brown.  May need to bake longer with brown rice
• I usually use cheddar cheese
• Can use green or black olives.  I like it with green olives.  You can also leave them out or only put on top of half of the casserole (that's what my mom used to do)