The late great Barbara Walter was a gigantic voice in journalism, respected throughout the nation. It also turns out she had a few recipes up her sleeve that could really wow people. Barbara Walters Bake is one such example: a classic mixture of ground beef (or turkey or chicken, whatever suits your fancy) combined with fresh veggies, ripe bright tomatoes, and hearty, fluffy rice, and topped with cheese. The easiest way to get the scoop on a great dinner is to get a scoop of this Barbara Walters Bake!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup bell pepper, color of your choice, chopped
- 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
- 2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup ripe olives, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2-3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 cups cheese, of your choice, shredded
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Step 2 –Cook the ground beef in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 3 –Transfer the ground beef to a plate.
Step 4 –Add the onion, the bell pepper, and the rice to the drippings in the pan and cook, stirring, until the onion is browned, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 5 –Add the tomatoes, the water, the olives, the cooked ground beef, the salt, the chili powder, the black pepper, and the Worcestershire sauce.
Step 6 –Bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 7 –Pour the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish.
Step 8 –Cover the dish with foil and bake until the rice has absorbed the liquid, about 40 minutes.
Step 9 –Uncover the bake and sprinkle it with the cheese.
Step 10 –Bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
Step 11 –Serve.
