Hamburger Spanish Rice

Second full week of school. The new class is finding its shape. Isabel has the walker and the tablet and the particular combination of these two things means she covers the room more than any student I have ever had — she moves to things rather than pointing at them, which means her engagement is physical as well as communicative. The room layout is already adjusting around her without her needing to ask. I noticed on Tuesday that she had rearranged the path between her desk and the book basket on her own, by moving a chair slightly. She did not ask. She solved it. I put the chair back at lunch and then watched her move it again at one-thirty and I left it there permanently after that.

Ryan asked about September 14th this week. He asked quietly, not making it into a production: "Is September fourteenth coming up?" I said yes, in about a month. He said "What do you usually do?" I told him: drive to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Worth, sunflowers, sit in the grass, talk to her. He said "Do you want company?" I thought about it. I said no, not at the cemetery — that is mine, that is a solo thing. He said "Okay. What about after?" I said: I usually go to Nar-Anon and then go home. He said "Can I make dinner for when you get back?" I said yes. Just like that, yes.

Made stuffed cabbage rolls this week — not Babcia Rose's go┼é─àbki exactly, but a version of them, with the measurements I have been building. Ground beef and pork mixed, rice, onion, the tomato sauce. The rolling is what takes practice — you have to blanch the cabbage to make it pliable and then roll the filling inside without tearing the leaf. Mine are adequate. Babcia Rose's are perfect. These are mine, and that is a different kind of right.

I ate them with sour cream and thought about Ryan's offer. He asked if he could make dinner. He did not ask to come to the cemetery. He understood the difference. Some people understand the structure of grief — that it has specific rooms and only some of them are shared. He asked to be in the right room. He is paying attention to everything. I am paying attention to that.

The stuffed cabbage rolls I made this week use the same core as this recipe — ground beef, rice, onion, tomato sauce — just wrapped differently, and that parallel has been sitting with me. When the rolling feels like too much, or when I want those same flavors on a Tuesday without the blanching and the careful tucking, Hamburger Spanish Rice is where I land. It holds the same warmth. It asks less of me, and sometimes that is exactly the right amount to ask.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart, until no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Soften the vegetables. Add the diced onion and bell pepper to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Toast the rice. Add the uncooked rice directly to the skillet and stir to coat with the beef and vegetables. Let it toast for 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly golden.
Add the liquids and seasoning. Pour in the diced tomatoes (with their juices), tomato sauce, and beef broth. Stir in the chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.
Simmer covered. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover the skillet and cook for 20–25 minutes, until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Do not lift the lid during this time.
Rest and serve. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and taste for seasoning. Serve warm, with sour cream if you like.

Nutrition (per serving)

Hamburger Spanish Rice — The Same Ingredients, a Different Kind of Right