Taco Rice With Beef And Refried Beans

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups water
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning, divided
• 4 cups instant rice, uncooked
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb vegetarian ground beef
• 16 ounces fat-free refried beans
• 8 ounces reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350.
• 2 in large saucepan, mix together the first 5 ingredients plus half the taco seasoning. bring to a boil and remove from heat. stir in rice, cover and let stand 5 minutes, then add tomato sauce.
• 3 meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef over med-high heat until browned. drain off the grease. mix the remaining taco seasoning with the beef.
• 4 in a 13x9" baking dish coated with cooking spray, spread half of the rice mixture. spread the refried beans evenly over the top. then spread the beef mixture and top with 1/2 the cheese. spread remaining rice mixture, and top with the remaining cheese.
• 5 bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.