Grandma’s Spanish Rice (and Bri’s Stuffed Peppers)

I think every family has their “family favorite” recipes. My family (on all sides) happens to have quite a few. In fact, several years ago my dad’s sister Letty put together a cookbook full of recipes from family and close friends. The book’s title, “How Lovely Cooks the Meat,” references a song that he and his siblings grew up listening too. For a nice little laugh, listen to that song HERE (wow, YouTube has everything).

Included in the cookbook is one of the family’s most coveted recipes: Grandma Davis’ Spanish Rice. In fact,  Aunt Letty included the following note next to the recipe: “Several people requested that mom send in this recipe. She says she doesn’t use a recipe but this is approximate proportions. Mom is known for her Spanish Rice at picnics and get-togethers.” Awww…yes, this dish has graced the table of practically every family get-together I’ve ever been too. From what I understand, it’s a dish my Great-Grandmother Gladys Bailey threw together, probably during “hard times” (I’ll have to go back to Grandma for the full story). It consists of very simple ingredients, but it has all of the “comfort” you could ever want.

To any family members reading this blog, leave a comment and tell me what your “family favorite” is. I’ll make it and blog about it in the future. I just made Aunt Sue’s Slaw Salad last weekend, and I’m thinking it’s time to try Aunt Linda’s Calico Beans. Hmmmm…idea. . .maybe I’ll pick some random recipes from the book, make them, and blog about them too. There are only 600 recipes to choose from. Ok, before becoming overzealous let me share what’s on the table now . . . my version of Grandma Davis’ Spanish Rice.

 

How Lovely Cooks the Meat . . .Brown 1-1/2 to 2 lbs of ground beef, 1 large white onion (chopped), and 3/4 cup of green pepper (chopped). The green pepper is optional.

Grandma’s recipe says the secret is to “brown the hamburger really good and then add the green pepper and onion.” I actually sautéed the green pepper and onion with the meat. I’m not sure it made a real difference. I did make sure the meat was good and brown. Don’t forget to drain the grease. 

An added bonus . . .
Spanish Rice is perfectly fine served by itself, but I’ve always thought it would be really tasty stuffed inside of a green pepper. Here are my green peppers . . . ready and waiting!

Obviously, if you’ve omitted green pepper from the meat mixture, you’re going to want to skip right on over that “added bonus.”

Adding some color . . .
To the meat/onion/green pepper mixture, add 1 quart of tomatoes (or more). I used about 1-1/2 quarts.

I happen to be very lucky that I have parents who have a garden and a mom who loves to can. It’s a treat (literally) at Christmas time to receive a gift of home-canned tomatoes (and green beans, and cinnamon pickles, and salsa and . . .) Where was I? Oh yes. . .home-canned tomatoes. That is what you’re seeing in these pictures. Yum!

And now some texture . . .Add 1 cup of white rice (not Minute Rice).I suppose you could use brown rice, but it may alter the flavor a little bit.

With everything added to the skillet, I let it sit for a bit. Grandma’s recipe doesn’t really say to do this, but I do it anyway.

Ready to bake . . .
Pour meat/rice mixture into a large baking dish. Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Cooking time may vary.

Important Note: Spanish Rice tends to bake on the “dry” side. I add a little water before putting into the oven. After 1/2 hour, you should add some water (or tomato juice) to keep it moist. You don’t want it to be runny, but you need enough liquid so that the rice is completely cooked. You will also want to stir the rice throughout it’s baking cycle.

About them peppers . . .
Here’s what they looked like before going into the oven. I had spooned some of the mixture directly from the skillet into the peppers.

The stuffed peppers right out of the oven.

Now, here’s what I learned about stuffing peppers . . .it’s a bit of a challenge to add additional liquid to the peppers without it seeping out the bottom. Even more challenging is trying to stir the rice so that it cooks evenly. Thus, some of the rice in my peppers (mostly at the top) was a bit on the crunchy side. So, with my next attempt I will place the empty peppers in the oven about 15 minutes after the rice mixture has had time to bake. About 30 minutes in, I will add some of the “cooked” rice mixture to the peppers. Regardless, they stuffed peppers were delicious!

Spanish Rice right out of the oven

Ready to eat . . .

The woman behind the recipe . . . Here I am with my grandma, Marian Davis. Bless her heart!!!

Spanish Rice
Ingredients:
   1-1/2 to 2 lbs of ground beef
   1 large chopped white onion
   1 to 1-1/2 quarts of tomatoes
   1 cup of white rice (not Minute Rice)
   water or tomato juice
   Optional: 3/4 cup of chopped green pepper
Ingredients for Stuffed Peppers:
   Whole green peppers, seeds removed

Directions: 
   1. Brown ground beef, chopped onion, and chopped green pepper. 
   2. Stir in tomatoes and rice. Let sit for a few minutes.
   3. Pour meat/rice mixture into a large baking dish and add some water (about 1/2 cup) or tomato juice.
    4. Place in a 350 degree oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. 
    5. After 1/2 hour, add water (or tomato juice) to keep the rice moist. Stir the rice throughout the baking cycle. Cooking time may vary.

**For Stuffed Peppers: Place the empty peppers in the oven about 15 minutes after the rice mixture has had time to bake. About 30 minutes in, add some of the “cooked” rice mixture to the peppers. Continue baking.**  (Disclaimer: I haven’t tried this yet as I mentioned above)

For us, this is a meal in itself. We usually serve with garlic bread and maybe a salad. I hope our family favorite becomes your favorite too.

Side note: I may or may not have listened to “How Lovely Cooks the Meat” about five times while typing this post. :-)

RunZa Casserole

Being from Nebraska, one of my favorite things to eat is a swiss cheese mushroom runza. If you've never heard of runzas than I would say that you are missing out. It's actually a surprise to me just how many people have never heard of such a thing. But, I guess that's because it's a Nebraska thing. . . ha ha!

According to Wikipedia, a Runza (also called a bierock, fleischkuche or Kraut Pirok) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. They are baked in various shapes such as a half-moon, rectangle, round (bun), square, or triangle. In Nebraska, the runza is usually baked in a rectangular shape. The bierocks of Kansas, on the other hand, are generally baked in the shape of a bun. 

According to the Runza restaurant website, a runza sandwich is homemade dough made from scratch everyday — stuffed full of choice ground beef, onions, cabbage, and secret spices—and then baked fresh and served hot. MMMmmmmmm yes...pure heaven! I thought that the Runza restaurant chain had patented the "runza" name, but don't quote me on that. Even when we make them ourselves, we still call them runzas. 

When I was growing up, my grandma would make a big batch of runzas and share with us. My mom has also made them a time or two. I'll get around to making my own runzas someday. For now I have a quick fix  . . . RunZa Casserole.

The basic ingredients . . .

1-1/2 lbs ground beef, 1/2 onion (chopped), salt, pepper, minced onion, minced garlic, garlic salt, 1 bag of shredded cabbage (approx. 4 cups), mozzarella cheese (shredded), 2 tubes of crescent roll dough.

Variation: replace the mozzarella with swiss cheese . . . so good!!!

The extras . . .

Cheddar cheese and sliced mushrooms.

Putting it together . . .

Brown the hamburger and onion. If you're not a big fan of onion, and because the recipe also calls for minced onion, you may want to skip the fresh onion. 

We LOVE onions so the more the better!

 The next step is to season the meat/onion mixture. I used lean beef so I really didn't have any grease to drain, but be sure to drain if you have too.

Add minced onion, minced garlic, garlic salt, pepper and salt.

The key to flavor is really in the seasonings so make sure you have a taste.

Add the shredded cabbage to the meat mixture. 
This particular bag mixture had carrots.

Cook the mixture until the cabbage shrinks down. I added more seasonings, especially salt.
At this point you may want to have another lttle taste test.

Assembly at it's (uh) finest . . .

Place one tube of crescent roll dough in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Flatten out the dough with your hands or  use a baker's roller (Pampered Chef plug).
It doesn't have to be pretty, but knock yourself out if you want it to be perfect.

  

 Add the meat/cabbage mixture on top of the dough.

 Optional: Add one can of sliced mushrooms

Here comes the love . . .

Sprinkle one package (2 cups) of mozzarella cheese on top of the mixture.
Variation: Substitute swiss cheese for mozzarella.

 

Optional: Add some more love (aka cheddar cheese). I used about 1/4 cup.

Topping it off . . .

Place the second tube of crescent dough on top. 

You may want to make it look prettier than I did. But, if you don't care and you just want to eat it then you will end up with a top crust that resembles Frankenstein!

Bake according to directions on the crescent roll dough. Since you are using two tubes of dough, you will more than likely double the time. Just keep an eye on it. It should be golden brown when done.

Voila!

Fresh out of the oven.

Ready to eat! 
We like to eat with ketchup and mustard, but it's good by itself too.  

My husband had a big smile on his face when I served this to him for dinner. I told him that I thought it looked ugly (ie, Frankenstein), but he said, "who cares...it tastes good!" Yay! That's what I like to hear. I hope you enjoy it as much as he did.

RunZa Casserole
Ingredients:
  1-1/2 lbs Ground beef
  1/2 onion (chopped)
  salt
  pepper
  minced onion
  minced garlic
  garlic salt
 1 bag of shredded cabbage (approx. 4 cups)
  mozzarella cheese (or swiss cheese slices)
  2 tubes of crescent roll mix
Additional (optional) ingredients:
  1/4 cup cheddar cheese
  1 can of sliced mushrooms

Directions:
1. Brown the hamburger and onion. If you're not a big fan of onion, and because the recipe also calls for minced onion, you may want to skip the fresh onion.
2. Season the meat mixture with minced onion, minced garlic, garlic salt, pepper and salt.
3. Add the shredded cabbage to the meat mixture.
4. Cook the mixture until the cabbage shrinks down. I added more seasonings, especially salt. *
           **At this point, make sure you've had a little taste*
5. Flatten out one tube of crescent roll dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. It doesn't have to be pretty, but knock yourself out if you want it to be perfect.
6. Add the meat/cabbage mixture on top of the dough.
7. If desired, add sliced mushrooms.
8. Sprinkle one package (2 cups) of mozzarella cheese on top of the mixture.
9. If desired, add cheddar cheese.
10. Place the second tube of crescent dough on top of the cheese/meat/cabbage mixture.
11. Bake according to directions on the crescent roll dough. Since you are using two tubes of dough, you will more than likely double the time. Just keep an eye on it. It should be golden brown when done.