One of the first big sacrifices
that impoverished Veterans have
to make in their food budgets
is MEAT.

Straddling the economics of
eating in restaurants for the
sake of getting good food,
and eating frozen dinners such
as Stoeffers or Swansons also
becomes depressing as rice
and pasta dishes from the
frozen food sections are often
mush and overcooked.

Finding dishes which are
easy to make, full of volume,
and Wow's! the tastebuds are
hard to come by so I offer
this home solution for those
Vets who are tired of the
Same Ole.

This dish runs about $2.00
per serving, and you can
either have large portions
if it's the only thing you
have in the house to eat,
or you can have smaller
portions and make a companion
green salad, fresh coleslaw,
or green vegetable as a side
dish with it (peas, broccoli,
green beans, or chopped spinach).

PAN LIST
________

(1) either 1 quart or
2 quart pan with cover.
This would measure about
10 inches in diameter
and 3 inches deep.

(1) 2-cup saucepan for the rice

(1) strainer/collander


INGREDIENTS LIST
________________


(1) medium sized onion

(1) fresh firm green pepper

(1) 16oz. bag of dried Red Kidney Beans
[ found in the Mexican or
dried food section ]
Yes these particular beans
do make a difference so please
do not substitute.

(1) bag of long grain, white
or yellow rice.
[ you may want a small
bag to test the recipe,
but it's more economical
to purchase the 5 lb. or
10 lb. bags of long-grain
rice which easily stores
at home. Any brand is fine.

(1) 16 oz. can of Tomato Puree
Store brand is fine.
This adds thickness so do
not substitute for tomato sauce
or other choices.

(1) 6 oz. small can of Tomato Paste.
do not substitute. Any brand.

(1) bottle of Chile Powder.
Any brand. It's recommended
that seasonings are purchased
at drug store franchises such
as CVS, Rite-Aide, Eckerd's,
etc. Purchasing seasonings
at the grocery store are far
more expensive because they
are sold in glass bottles and
you pay extra for the glass.

(1) bottle of Crushed Red Pepper.
Any brand, also sold in drugstores
as a seasoning. Hot sauce can
be substituted if this is what
you have in your kitchen/

salt and pepper


Fill the pan half way with cold
water. Dump in the dried beans.
Bring to a boil and then turn
off the heat and cover for about
20 minutes, then bring to a boil
again and so on. The beans are
DONE when they are soft enough
to bite through, but are still
firm and almost a little crunchy.

When the beans are done, dump
them into the strainer and drain.
Rinse out the pan.

Dump in the Tomato Puree, Tomato
Paste, fill the Tomato Paste
can with cold water and dump it
in, add chopped up onion and
green pepper, stir to mix.

Sprinkle enough salt and pepper
each, to lightly cover the
diameter of the sauce. Stir
to mix.

Sprinkle enough Crushed Red Peppers
to lightly cover the diameter
of the sauce. With the Chili Powder,
(you want a LOT of this) shake
enough Powder to literally hide
and cover the diameter of the
sauce. Stir to mix.

If using hot sauce, I would start
with about 6 good shakes of
that into the sauce and then
add more to your liking later
on.

Simmer the sauce on low heat
for about 15 minutes as the
vegetables start to cook.
Add the drained beans, cover
and simmer. The beans will
steadily get softer as they
cook more. Simmering the
sauce should be a 1/2 hour
tops or less before the beans
are completely done.


In the saucepan, add 1 full cup
of cold water and bring to
a boil. Add 1/2 cup of
long-grain rice. Lower heat
and simmer until all the water
is gone from the rice. All
rice cooks the same so
follow this regardless of brand.

This dish is deceiving on
Fill-Factor so it's recommended
that you divide the rice in half
on your plate and finish the rest
if you are still hungry.

Put half the rice on a flat
plate and spread it out.
Spoon enough of the Chili
to cover the rice.


DRINKS THAT GO WELL
WITH THIS DISH: cranberry juice,
milk, or chilled seltzer water.


RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS IF YOU HAVE IT
___________________________________

1 fresh Tomato diced in small chunks
spread over top of chili.

1 half cup of freshly diced raw onion
sprinkle over tomato. Make sure you
don't have a date that night.

1 half cup of shredded cheese,
cheddar or the kind of your choice.
You can purchase these in bags
in the cheese section if you
don't like grating your own.
Spread the cheese on top of the
onion.

Dig in and enjoy.

The rest can be stored in
your refrigerator or freezer
for reheating on stovetop
or in microwave later on.
Use plastic covered dishes
for storage, or Zip Lock bags.

Just make fresh rice each
time which only takes
about 10 minutes.

You will get from 4 to 6
servings out of this one
pan-batch, and you will be
surprised at how filling
and satisfying it is.



VARIATION
_________


Buy 1 box of LARGE sized
crunchy, corn TACO SHELLS
in the Mexican or International
section.

Put the cooked rice inside
the shell along the bottom.

Top with the freshly made
chili. Put 2 or 3 of the
shells in a bread-loaf
pan lined with aluminum foil
to keep from sticking.
Heat the shells in the
oven preheated to 350 degrees
for about 10 - 15 minutes.
You will begin to smell
the tortillas cooking.

Take the shells out, and
top with tomato, onions,
salsa sauce, cheese, sour
cream, or whatever floats
your boat. You know have
meatless, rice Tacos which
are GREAT.

Keep the ingredients on
hand in your kitchen so
that it's there whenever
you want to make this
cheap and tasty dish. It
will not even cross your
mind that there is no
meat in this dish.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: McClellanVet,