Spanish Rice

We whipped up this yummy side to go with Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos- the two teamed up really good!!  I didn't think it was the best rice I've ever had - but it was better than the store brought stuff for sure!! It was even better eating with chips - I felt like I was at Chipotle!!

Serves 6ish - OBB

Ingredients

6-8 oz. bacon (1/2 of 1 package)

1 medium onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small (or 1/2 larger) green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

28-oz. can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 cups water (2 for high elevations)

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoons Tabasco sauce (no need to measure it, just add a few shakes and go from there)
1 1/4 cups long-grain rice

Cook bacon until crisp in a Dutch oven if possible. Remove from pan and drain the grease, reserving 2 tablespoons in the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent.

While the onions are cooking, place the tomatoes in the jar of your blender and pulse 2-3 times to chop them. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Stir, cover, and reduce heat to low.

Cook for 20-25 minutes at low elevations or closer to an hour for high elevations or until the rice is cooked, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice is not burning.