Western Hash is a terrific, old-fashioned ground beef dish that is almost always made up of the same essential ingredients topped with melted slices of American cheese or Velveeta.
My version is inspired by one in an Arkansas cookbook. I switched it up a bit though and added some heat and used Monterey Jack with jalapeno cheese as, while I do respect traditions, I find that only a very, very few dishes actually work with processed cheese (Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches for example).
To start you need the following ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 large chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper and 1 chopped red pepper
2 large 796 ml cans diced tomatoes (if you can get Herbed and Spiced do)
1 cup uncooked rice (I used Jasmine)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1-3 tablespoons hot chili powder
2 teaspoons basil
10-12 slices of jalapeno Monterey Jack cheese
In a large saucepan saute the chopped onion and pepper in olive oil for around 5 minutes.
The add the ground beef, salt, pepper, basil and hot chili powder and saute, stirring regularly, until the beef is browned.
You can adjust the amount of hot chili powder from mildly spicy all the way to inferno if you like.
Then add the canned diced tomatoes with all liquid and the uncooked rice.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for around 25 minutes.
After the 25 minutes the rice should be cooked.
Carefully spoon all of the ground beef mixture and liquid into a large casserole.
Then top the dish with the slices of jalapeno Monterey Jack cheese.
Set your oven to broil at 500 and place the casserole into the oven uncovered.
Broil until the cheese is fully melted and golden brown. I find that for the best results you want to do it for around 10 minutes, but broilers and tastes are different so monitor closely.
When done, let sit for around 3-5 minutes before scooping out servings into bowls. If you like you can top with some sour cream.
Really tasty family pleasing dish. Great with ice cold beer or red wine.
Enjoy.
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